It's August. Summer is in full swing.
It's early.
I travel through the green Rhodopes.
The road winds past countless hills, following the natural curves of the river that cuts through the mountain.
My path leads me to my next dream!
My path leads me to a peak.
My heart is beating faster than usual. Why!?
Because this peak, towards which I have aimed this early summer morning, is special and has not given me rest for a long time. And when the heart is disturbed, it seeks - strives for the realization of the dream a moment sooner.
Chepelare, Progled, Sokolovtsi - the road winds past towns and villages and leads me forward to my dream, forward and always to the top.
I enter Smolyan, but for a short time, because I quickly take the detour leading to Fatovo.
The road is not bad at all. Turn after turn, I'm getting closer to my dream and to the top.
After only a moment, the huge barrels of the two cannons, placed in the place where they tirelessly keep vigil today, bravely standing at their post, most solemnly welcome me.
I pull over to the large roadside wooden gazebo, turn off the engine and get out.
I stop, my heart does not stop!
I'm here to worship!
But what happened here?
Why is this place so important to me?
What does my dream represent?
This dream of mine was born two years ago, when I was a kind guest of the Svezhen Architectural-Historical Reserve - a descendant of ancient Ajar and a settlement of boyars.
My mid-mountain walk through Svezhen took me to the birthplace of a Bulgarian colonel - brave, fearless, valiant, honest, in love with Bulgaria, fond of everything Bulgarian, a worthy son of her!
His name is Vladimir Genov Serafimov!
He remained known in Bulgarian history as the Liberator of the Rhodopes!
He's why I'm here!
Because of what this brave man and valiant Bulgarian, together with his selfless boys, true sons of mother Bulgaria, have done! Right here – in this place. On Mount Srednogorets, once called Kavgadzhik.
But what exactly happened then?
How did these men glorify Bulgaria?
Why is their feat equal in importance to the feat of Shipka's militiamen?
Why is the place still known as Rhodope Shipka?
I will tell you everything and I will take you to the monument quietly rising here today!
And you leave everything else for a moment, read this story of mine, keep it in your heart and worship the heroes.
Srednogorets Peak is located in the very living and throbbing heart of the Rhodopes, in the immediate vicinity of the villages of Polkovnik Serafimovo and Fatovo.
The peak bears the name of the 21st Srednogorsk regiment - the regiment of Colonel Vladimir Serafimov.
The pretty and quiet Rhodope village of Kolovnik Serafimovo, for its part, today bears the name of the man to whom the Rhodopes owe their freedom, because of whom this region is Bulgarian today!
The year is 1912.
Bulgaria is feverishly preparing for the war that will unite all Bulgarians in one unified state. The three Bulgarian armies are strategically arranged, the invincible Edirne fortress is broken, and the Bulgarian troops are only 30-40 kilometers from Constantinople.
A very important task rests on the shoulders of Colonel Vladimir Serafimov. His Twenty-first Sdnjegorsk Regiment was to recapture the 200-kilometer front across the hard-to-reach and still under Turkish Rhodope Mountains, severing the link between Ottoman units in Macedonia and Odrin Thrace, including severing the railway line connecting Thessaloniki to Constantinople.
The news of the beginning of the war boiled the regiment near Chepelare.
Dear soldiers and officers, the twelfth hour has come.
The Rhodope Mountains, this sacred center of our love and sorrow, will surely become our Calvary, but I believe that the Resurrection of Bulgaria will be seen from it.
God with us!
After Serafimov's fiery speech, Srednogortsi set off in their designated direction, advancing into the Central Rhodopes.
Autumn is already here.
As early as October 5, the Srednogorians put the Turkish garrison on the then Bulgarian-Ottoman border on the Rozhen-Pamporovo line to flight.
The colonel sends a company to take control of the so-called Tamrashki or Devlenski (Devinski) wedge - Ottoman territory embedded in Thrace, with a strong garrison threatening Plovdiv.
After the successful completion of the operation, the regiment was ordered to begin an offensive on the night of October 12-13. In one day, Pashmakli, Raikovo and Ustovo (which later formed today's Smolyan), as well as Momchilovtsi and Petkovo, were captured.
The population of the large and noble Bulgarian villages welcomed the 21st Srednogorsk Regiment as a liberator.
The units, skillfully guided by Colonel Serafimov, forced the Ottoman army to retreat in total disarray. The entire military warehouse of Pashmakli, which at that time was the center of the kaza, and a large part of the wagons fell into Bulgarian hands.
The regiment deployed in this mountainous ocean more than 30 kilometers long and more than 50 kilometers deep from the border - a space of valleys, hills and settlements along the upper reaches of the Arda River.
Stoyu Shishkov,
a participant in the fighting and a future remarkable explorer of the Rhodopes
Colonel Vladimir Serafimov introduced strict measures to protect the Bulgarian-Muslim population, providing the poorest with food. However, the retreating Ottoman units received reinforcements and, under the command of Yaver Pasha, began a counter-offensive from Xanthi to Palas (today's Rudozem).
The population rejoiced and came out to meet them.
They were walking towards Kavgajik.
Whoever had wine, brandy and tantura, brought them out and drank them.
We walked around and looked at the Bulgarian officers.
A strong feeling of joy, appreciation and love for everything Bulgarian covered us.
Atanas Sulinandzhiev from the village of Ustovo
Colonel Serafimov sends an order to the First Company and Stefan Kalfa's squad to return from Buk station, although they have not completed their important task of blowing up the railway bridge. The defense of Mount Kavgajik - elevation 1311 near the village of Alamidere is entrusted to the Second, Third and Fourth squads. Together with them is the population of the surrounding villages, who transport ammunition, food and prepare the trenches for military operations.
Before heading to the White Sea, the volunteer squads of Stefan Kalfa, Ivan Botushanov, Hristo Chernopeev and Peyu Shishmanov stand next to the regiment.
The reception of our troops by the local Bulgarians was hearty and soulful.
The mournful faces of the women, dressed in the colorful Rhodope costumes, greeted us amiably. Men and even young children offered their services to help.
Both were wondering how and with what to entertain the Bulgarian soldier.
Lieutenant Konstantin Lukash,
platoon commander in the 21st Srednogorsk Infantry Regiment.
He also worked for the General Intendancy
The Bulgarians were forced to retreat to the left bank of the Arda River - only 6-7 kilometers south of Ustovo and Raykovo.
Early in the morning of October 19, the battles began, which brought triumph to Colonel Serafimov and disgrace to his superiors.
Considering the unequal strength, the command of the Rhodope detachment in Asenovgrad, headed by Colonel Dimitar Geshev, ordered a retreat. He thought that it was best for the Srednogorians to withdraw from the liberated settlements, to strengthen themselves in a position near Rozhen, where the border between Bulgaria and the empire passes, and there to meet the Turkish attack.
Geshev signs an order to retreat.
The decisive resistance would be given only at the old border from the heights between Rozhen and Mount Karamandzha (today's Murgavets).
This decision of the brigade command was bravely and firmly opposed by the commander of the 21st regiment, Vladimir Serafimov, who resolutely undertook to endure everything, but not to leave the nucleus of flourishing Bulgarian-Christian villages in the heart of the Rhodope Mountains in the hands of the enemy...
From the diary of the regiment dated October 20, 1912.
The refusal to carry out the order of the higher authorities, even during wartime, is an unprecedented case in the history of the Bulgarian army!
I made a decision to hold the enemy at elevation 1311, because I was sure that if I gave up the height, the position of the 21st Sdnjegorsk regiment would become extremely dangerous, and the Bulgarian population in Ustovo, Raykovo, Smolyan, Chokmanovo, Smilyan and the other settlements along the direction would be destroyed .
From the diary of the regiment dated October 20, 1912.
The colonel shows an audacity which every military statute severely punishes. Because it is disobedience to a superior's order, and in time of war. But Serafimov makes the fateful decision.
Was this decision of his entirely influenced by his memory of the ashes of his native village?
The memory of the Terrible!
Historians later described the events that took place in Colonel Serafimov's home village as the second Batas massacre.
Corporal Stefan Stanchev describes his steadfastness before his superior:
Geshev was calling on the phone, so our soldiers could hear him:
"Serafimov! You will give the order to retreat to the old border!"
Serafimov answered him:
"Give in?
No! Never!
I will not cede to the enemy the villages where yesterday I was welcomed as a liberator!
No! Not a look back!
To the newly freed slave, slavery I will not return again!
I believe in the unbreakable power of my regiment!
You have to go through my corpse, and then!..."
While the remaining units of the Rhodope detachment retreated, Colonel Serafimov's soldiers remained fighting against an opponent who was many times superior to them, and in torrential rain and cold.
Serafimov looked imposing and noble. He was like a father to the soldiers and young officers as he treated them in a fatherly manner. His mustache was thick and white. He was of average height. He kept advising the officers to be careful with power and the population.
Todor Demirev from Chepelare, a Central Greek
The colonel constantly walks around his soldiers to give them courage.
We did not come to die, we came to conquer!
Years later, eyewitnesses recalled that the Turks managed to kill two of the colonel's horses, but this did not stop him from fighting alongside his soldiers. All this also has a purely psychological effect on the enemies, who begin to call the colonel among themselves shaytan (translated from Turkish means devil).
He led the battles from the front line.
On one day, they also killed two horses with which he went around the positions, and when he appeared, riding a third, the opposing Turkish units began to shout "devil".
Valdi Totev tells,
grandson of Serafimov
To stop the audacity of the Bulgarians, the Turkish command deployed seven regiments and three batteries of Yaver Pasha's corps between Smolyan and Rudozem and put into action the plan for war in the Rhodopes, drawn up by the army chief of staff Izet Pasha in 1909. This plan relied heavily on of the local Muslim nucleus, created before the war, mostly by Mohammedan Bulgarians who served in the Padishah's army. For their effective inclusion in military operations, 10,000 Martini rifles were delivered.
When war was declared, the Minister of War, Nazim Pasha, who is also the commander-in-chief of the army, ordered:
The attack to be carried out simultaneously from all sides. To be self-sacrificing, accompanied by terror to the point of ferocity, so that on the very first day there will be panic in the Bulgarian lands. As soon as the border is crossed, flying detachments should be formed and sent - cavalry and bashibozuk from the border Mohammedan population and from the Muslims in southern Bulgaria, to burn and cut down everything in their path!
On October 20, Colonel Serafimov led his regiment in an attack and reached the line Fatovo village - Alamidere village. He decided to concentrate his main forces on Mount Kavgajik (elevation 1311), which holds the approach to the road from Rajkovo to Palas.
The situation is critical - it is raining, which sporadically turns into snow. Having just taken up a position, Colonel Serafimov's soldiers are wet, hungry, tired, they did not enjoy the freedom they gave to the Middle Rhodope settlements. Yaver Pasha's camps are advancing. The power ratio is one to three. The 21st Srednogorsk Regiment has 5,000 units in its composition, and the Turkish units - 15,000.
Setting fire is prohibited because the enemy is in close proximity.
In the battle order of October 20, 1912, Colonel Serafimov expressed his firmness and determination to win, excluding the possibility of retreat:
Company and company commanders and all superiors, with their personal example to inspire courage in subordinates, the Bulgarian "Hurrah!" to be carried in a thunderous voice during the action, and the regiment to be aware that there is no going back before it has fulfilled its duty to the king and the fatherland!
Glory and immortality are upon us!
The critical battle takes place right here on October 21st.
From the memories of a soldier from the regiment:
Then Serafimov gathered us in these meadows, and just by looking at us, we understood - this is where we will die.
Soldiers are tired from hard marches in one direction or another.
After a sleepless night under the open sky, the squads of the 21st Srednogorsk Regiment began the fateful battle for the entire Rhodope detachment and for the Bulgarian villages in Smolyansk. They have against them the main forces of the opponent, who surpasses them many times. Five Turkish attacks were repulsed with many casualties for the enemy, but he continued to press on.
A participant in the battle described the situation as follows:
Asker in front, shame behind, rain above.
The vanguards clash before noon near Fatovo. A fierce battle rocked the ridge between Alamidere and Pallas. The Ottomans are constantly receiving fresh forces, while ours are languishing.
Failure seems inevitable.
In the evening, Colonel Serafimov sent Lieutenant Colonel Vrachev's squad, reinforced with a mountain battery, to bypass the right flank. The Bulgarian attack was surprising and literally swept away the enemy.
Non-commissioned officer Todor Stoychev writes:
At the moment when we heard that our detachment was attacking the Turks and the shouts of "Hurray", Colonel Serafimov on horseback was in the very chain of my platoon, a few paces from me. He raised his hand high, crossed himself and said:
God bless you!
This flanking attack decided the outcome of the fight.
The orchestra, whose conductor was the later famous maestro Georgi Atanasov, played the attack signal. Mounted on his white horse, Serafimov took out his sword, crossed himself and commanded:
Forward!
God with us!
Under the sounds of "Shumi Maritsa" he leads the squads in an attack. A powerful "Hurray" and "Forward on a knife" shakes the Rhodopes!
Volunteers from neighboring villages come to help.
Along the whole front resounds "Hurrah!" to the sounds of "Shumi Maritsa".
A Bulgarian regiment turns an entire Ottoman corps into a panicked flight!
In the entire military history of the Bulgarian state, there is no case when Bulgarian squads attacked with a knife and were repulsed. The people, who have nothing left to lose, turn Yaver Pasha's troops to flight. Their heroism and self-sacrifice are comparable only to those of Shipka.
Despite the superiority in numbers and armament, under the pressure of the Bulgarian troops, the Turks retreated in disorder.
This complete victory guaranteed not only the liberation of the Rhodopes!
The victory of the Srednogortsi saved the Bulgarian Christians in the Central Rhodopes from certain slaughter and crossed the danger of an Ottoman invasion towards Chepelare and Asenovgrad.
In the event that Colonel Serafimov had chosen to obey the order to retreat, atrocities and atrocities in the region would have been inevitable!
On November 8, the 21st Srednogorsk Regiment liberated Xanthi, then Gyumurjina and Dedeagach. Participated in the final defeat of Yaver Pasha's corps, which capitulated at Fere, Greece.
Colonel Vladimir Serafimov liberates the Central Rhodopes. Everywhere they were warmly welcomed by the Bulgarian population. This is also the case in the villages of Karlukovo, Petkovo, Davudovo, Gorno Derekoi.
All the men had thrown off their fezzes and had put on their heads instead of hats white aglos.
Lazar Daskalov,
Chetnik in Stefan Kalfa's company
On November 14, 1912, the captured Yaver Pasha together with his 10,000 soldiers showed officer valor and recognized the qualities of the Bulgarian army:
It is a hurricane that can be repeated with one swing of the commander's saber. The combat training is remarkable.
I was surprised by the awareness and intelligence of the Bulgarian soldier.
In the military literature, battles from 19th to 21st October 1912 are described as the Battle of Palas, but are popularly known as the Rhodope Shipka. This is what they were called in 1939 by the Smolyan mufti Hadjisalekhov at the swearing-in of a group of local Bulgarian Muslims.
In 1934, the village of Alamidere was renamed Colonel Serafimovo.
Later, Colonel Vladimir Serafimov was offered a promotion, but he refused.
When I saved the Rhodopes and was at the height of my glory, I had not been made a general.
Let me remain a colonel, as people know and love me, unlike all those generals the people have never heard of.
Due to failure to comply with the order to withdraw given to him in the Rhodopes, he was never promoted to the rank of general.
On June 26, 1932, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the memorial battles on Mount Kavgajik, which was named Srednogorets in honor of the 21st regiment, in the junior high school in Ustovo, the officer from the village of Orehovo, Nikola Popnoev, founded an initiative committee to erect a monument in honor of the fallen heroes in the October days of 1912.
The invitation to Vladimir Serafimov states:
With your presence at this celebration dear to the people of Rhodope, you will do us a great honor and show, like a valiant military leader, how to cherish the memory of those who you so selflessly led in those memorable battles, and who presented as a gift before the altar of the fatherland the most precious – your life!
The colonel is welcomed in the Rhodopes as a hero-liberator!
He's decked out in flowers from head to toe!
It is carried in arms with stormy shouts:
To live!
and
Glory!
At elevation 1311, the colonel stops in front of the flag of the 21st Sdnjegorsk Regiment and kisses it for a long time, crying as a sign of personal appreciation for the memory of his boys!
The hero, white with glory and grief, weeps for the 75 remaining eternal guards of the Rhodope Shipka. He cries, because they are not alive to see with what love and adoration the people of Rhodope speak about their work, which resurrected the Rhodope from the ashes of five centuries of slavery!
The foundation stone of the monument was laid during a great national celebration - on July 31, 1932, in the presence of Colonel Vladimir Serafimov. Construction began on June 19, 1933. The author of the project was architect Mikhail Nozharov, and the contractor was the master stonemason from the village of Momchilovtsi, Hadji Nedelcho Kanev.
The funds for the construction of the monument were collected from the settlements in the Arda River valley, from Chepelare, Asenovgrad, Plovdiv and Kardzhali. All the funds received were recorded in the Golden Book, on the first page of which there is the handwritten signature of Tsar Boris III:
A people that remembers its past and honors the sacred feats of its sons - heroes, is a people with a future!
Here is what Lieutenant Colonel Nikola Popnoev Kisyov, a comrade and comrade of Colonel Vladimir Serafimov, a platoon commander in the ranks of the Twenty-first Srednogorsk Infantry Regiment, remembers, shared during the construction of the monument erected on Mount Kavgadzhik, in memory of those events that took place on the same place on October 19, 20 and 21, 1912:
An old man, but with the cheerfulness of a youth…
Carried in his arms to the powerful “Hurray” of thousands of throats, he was left in front of the battle flag.
Who is this lucky man? – whispers in the crowd…
The gray-haired old man kisses the sacred emblem of duty to the Fatherland for a long time…
Tears flow down his still fresh face.
His eyes sparkled, with his hat off he walked past the lined-up company, saluting it as he had once saluted his heroic 21st Combat Regiment at the same place.
Returning to Sofia, the colonel told his wife Elena:
It's like I'm living a second life, seeing how people honor this epic.
This was Colonel Vladimir Serafimov's last trip to this region. He did not live to see the monument unveiled - he died on April 7, 1934.
The monument was opened on August 12, his 74th birthday. The act of its consecration states:
Here, at this place on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of October 1912, 21 Srednogorsk regiments defeated the Turkish hordes of Yaver Pasha, three times more numerous than the Bulgarian troops, liberated this region from Turkish slavery and incorporated it into the fatherland.
May this monument, erected on the initiative of the Rhodope people and with the generous donations of many patriotic Bulgarian citizens and institutions, arouse amazement for the boundless love of the deceased for Mother Bulgaria, who served with dignity and fulfilled their duty to the Tsar, Family, and Homeland.
Eternal memory to the fallen heroes!
Glory to the living fighters!
Twelve thousand people are present on this memorable day.
A few months later, the village of Alamidere was renamed Colonel Serafimovo.
The grandson Yordan Totev says that they posthumously offered to promote Serafimov again, but his wife refused:
He didn't want to be a general, now I won't decide for him!
Today I am here – on Srednogorets Peak.
What does it feel like?
What does it feel like to step on a place soaked in blood and boundless patriotism?
I am grateful! A heart filled with gratitude for the sacrifice of these boys!
Today, a monument, a chapel and an ossuary are being erected here, which will become the eternal home of the 75 soldiers who died on the battlefield. A death that grants the priceless freedom of the Rhodopes.
Freedom so long desired and dreamed of!
***
Now my heart can rest easy – my dream of writing a trilogy about Colonel Vladimir Genov Serafimov, telling about his life, his native home and the Rhodope Shipka, is completely complete!
And you, dear friends, have the unique opportunity to embrace my dream, to experience it in a very unique way, by rereading my publications here in "Photo Moments". All this is for you!
Enjoy!
Colonel Vladimir Genov Serafimov – The Liberator of the Rhodopes
House-museum of Colonel Vladimir Serafimov (Seraphim's House) in the Svezhen Architectural and Historical Reserve
That's how I made another dream come true!
And now – on to the next one!
How to get to the town of Smolyan?
Smolyan is a city in Southern Bulgaria, located in the Perelik-Prespa section of the Western Rhodopes at a high average altitude of 1035 meters, making it the highest located regional city in Bulgaria.
It is located about ten kilometers from one of the largest winter resorts in Bulgaria - Pamporovo and Mechi Chal.
The city was formed on June 18, 1960, as a result of the unification of the cities of Smolyan and Ustovo, as well as the villages of Raykovo and Ezerovo.
It is the administrative center of Smolyan Municipality and Smolyan District.
Smolyan is also one of the longest cities in Bulgaria - nearly 25 kilometers, which is due to its linear development along the Cherna and Byala rivers.
Smolyan is located:
244 kilometers (about 3 hours and 36 minutes by car) from the capital
98 kilometers (about 2 hours and 03 minutes by car) from the city of Plovdiv
428 kilometers (about 5 hours and 56 minutes by car) from the city of Varna
321 kilometers (about 4 hours and 04 minutes by car) from the city of Burgas
The monument on Srednogorets Peak is located 16 kilometers southeast of the town of Smolyan (about 28 minutes by car).
How do you get to the ossuary monument on Srednogorets Peak, also known as the Rhodope Shipka?
The ossuary monument on Srednogorets peak, known as the Rhodope Shipka, was erected in memory of those who died in the battles of the Twenty-first Srednogorets Infantry Regiment, led by Colonel Vladimir Genov Serafimov and led to the Liberation of the Middle Rhodopes from Ottoman rule during the Balkan War.
The ossuary monument is located near the Republican Road III-868 near the village of Polkovnik Serafimovo.
The ossuary monument on Srednogorets peak is located:
268 kilometers (about 4 hours and 10 minutes by car) from the capital
111 kilometers (about 2 hours and 24 minutes by car) from the city of Plovdiv
450 kilometers (about 6 hours and 22 minutes by car) from the city of Varna
335 kilometers (about 4 hours and 30 minutes by car) from the city of Burgas
You park right by the road - next to the wooden gazebo.
A marked trail has been built from the monument through the "Lovna" hut in a northerly direction. In about an hour you can reach the village of Vlahovo in the valley of the Cherna River, from where you can continue to the village and the "Podvis" fortress.
And finally, my dear friends,
you shouldn't miss checking out
the special photo album with moments –
discovered, experienced, filmed and shared with you!
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