Arabakonak ( bg, Арабаконак) or Botevgrad Pass is a
mountain pass
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...
through the
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...
connecting
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
with
Botevgrad
Botevgrad ( bg, Ботевград ) is a town in western Bulgaria. It is located in Sofia Province and is close to Pravets. Botevgrad lies 47 km from Sofia.
History and name
The village was called Samundzhievo (Самунджиево) until ...
and
Northern Bulgaria
Northern Bulgaria ( bg, Северна България, Severna Bylgarija), also called Moesia ( bg, Мизия, ''Mizija'') is the northern half of Bulgaria, located to the north of the main ridge of the Balkan Mountains which conventionally s ...
. It has been the site of several important events of the
history of Bulgaria
The history of Bulgaria can be traced from the first settlements on the lands of Bulgaria, modern Bulgaria to its formation as a nation-state, and includes the history of the Bulgarians, Bulgarian people and their origin. The earliest evidence of ...
.
On 22 September 1872,
Dimitar Obshti
Dimitar Obshti ( bg, Димитър Общи) was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary, who fought for the liberation of Bulgaria, Serbia and Crete from the Ottoman Empire, as well as for the ''Risorgimento'' of Italy.
Biography
Obshti was bor ...
robbed an
Ottoman postal convoy in the pass, an event that would lead to the capture and execution of
Vasil Levski
Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed t ...
.
During the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ( tr, 93 Harbi, lit=War of ’93, named for the year 1293 in the Islamic calendar; russian: Русско-турецкая война, Russko-turetskaya voyna, "Russian–Turkish war") was a conflict between th ...
, the pass was contested between the Russians and the Ottomans until December 1877.
On 14 April 1925, a group of
anarchists
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
organized an unsuccessful assassination attempt on
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
Boris III of Bulgaria
Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until hi ...
.
Mountain passes of Bulgaria
Landforms of Sofia Province
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