Home / Countries / Sofia Cathedral Bombing

Sofia Cathedral Bombing

From the original Art on Stamps archive

BULGARIA 1926St. Nedelya cathedral in Sofia after the bombing April 16 1925 (Mi 195)

St. Nedelya cathedral in Sofia after the bombing April 16 1925 (Mi 195)

April 16 1925 the government and entire military leadership of Bulgaria was gathered in the Sveta Nedelya cathedral in Sofia for a state funeral. The military fraction of the Bulgarian communist party had placed a bomb in the roof of the cathedral to finish off the entire political leadership in one single blow. Approximately 120 people were killed in the explosion, but amazingly no prominent figures were among the dead. The bombing was used by the government as the final excuse to clear away all opposition. Martial law was declared, and thousands of left wing activists were detained or killed without trials. The persecution affected not only followers of the communist and the agrarian parties, but also intellectuals, writers, poets and journalists.Main page