The story of First Shot bridge

On 20 April 1876, by the old calendar, Georgi Tikhanek fired a shot on this bridge, and with it began the April Uprising for the liberation of Bulgaria. That is why it is also known as the bridge of the First Rifle. The arched stone bridge, which joins the two banks of the Byala River, is older than that moment: it was built in 1813 at the expense of hadzhi Nayden Kalachev, who gave it his name.

Look at the two stone slabs rising on either side. One records the year and the name of the donor; the other tells how, a century later, in 1913, his great-grandson Petar G. Kalachev renewed the bridge. Right beside it stands a bas-relief made in 1928 by the architect Anastas Dudulov, in memory of the proclamation of the April Uprising.

Carved into it are the names of the men in Georgi Tikhanek's band, together with words honouring the events of 1876.