A ceremonial fireworks and review in Gabrovo marked the beginning of the climax of the celebrations for the 145th anniversary of the Shipka Epopee.
People in the square knelt to honor the memory of those who heroically perished for the freedom and independence of Bulgaria. The defense of the Shipka Pass in August 1877 turned the tide of the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation and paved the way for the restoration of the Bulgarian state after five centuries of Ottoman rule.
