Vasil Levski

The "Apostle of Freedom," the national hero who built a secret revolutionary network to resist Ottoman rule.

Life

Monk who renounced his vows

Levski was originally an Eastern Orthodox monk who later left the monastic life to join the national liberation movement, serving in the Bulgarian Legion of volunteers in Serbia.

Secret committees

Returning to Bulgaria, he traveled throughout the country and built a revolutionary network of several hundred secret committees, calling for a nationwide uprising to establish a "pure and sacred republic" in which all people, ethnic groups and religions would be equal.

Martyrdom

In 1872 he was arrested by the Ottoman authorities, and in 1873 he was hanged in Sofia at only 35 years of age.

Legacy

Levski is revered by Bulgarians as their greatest national hero, and in a nationwide poll in 2007 he was voted "the Greatest Bulgarian."

Did you know? The Levski Monument in central Sofia was built near the spot where he was executed.

Key dates

• 1862Left the monastic life for the revolution
• 1869Began building a network of secret committees
• 1872Arrested
• 1873Martyred in Sofia