Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgaria commemorates 100 years of severing of Bulgaria's Western outlands after end of WW1

Town of Bosilegrad, in present-day Serbia
Photo: far.rs

After the First World War /1914-1918/ and the decision of the Neuilly Peace Treaty in 1919, on November 6, 1920, the Serbian army occupied Bulgaria's Western outlands (129 settlements in the regions of Tsaribrod, Bosilegrad, and Strumica) with an area totalling ​​1,545 sq. km and a population of nearly 65,000 people. 

On the day of the occupation, the National Assembly of Bulgaria suspended its sittings as a token of protest and declared 3 days of national mourning. 
The black headscarf became a symbol of this occupation. The Bulgarian women in the occupied territories put on black headscarves ion their heads in sign of national mourning, and the border drawn in this way has been called by the local Bulgarians the "Black Border". 
In the occupied territories, Serbs closed down 7 schools and 45 churches.
Despite the pandemic, Bosilegrad Cultural and Information centre, GLAS Association and the Democratic Union of Bulgarians in Bosilegrad, Serbia, will symbolically mark the Day of the Western Outlands and the centenary of the occupation of these lands with a minute of silence to those who died at the border, the Bosilegrad Cultural and Information Centre has announced. 



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Kornelia Ninova

Former BSP leader Kornelia Ninova founds new party "Unyielding Bulgaria"

The former leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Kornelia Ninova, has founded her own party under the name "Unyielding Bulgaria." The goal of the formation is to offer an alternative to the current ruling model. "We cannot accept the..

published on 4/27/25 3:35 PM

“Caps for the Future” campaign collects plastic for mobile defibrillators for neonatal clinics

The national campaign “Caps for the Future”, which aims to purchase medical equipment for the treatment of children, is being held in Sofia and five other cities . Its initiators expect to collect about 60 tons of plastic on the central square “Knyaz..

published on 4/27/25 2:35 PM
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva

Kristalina Georgieva: Bulgaria should be careful in the months leading up to joining the eurozone

Bulgaria is at a very decisive point on its path to introducing the European currency and must be very careful in the coming months so that the criteria are met, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told BTA. According to..

published on 4/27/25 1:20 PM