Svilengrad marks 114 years since its liberation today, October 5. Mayor Anastas Karchev, an architect, congratulated residents on the day.

The town was freed on October 5, 1912, when the Bulgarian army won the first battle of the Balkan War, taking Sheynovets peak, and Svilengrad returned to Bulgaria.

In his message, the mayor recalled that in 1913 the town was burned down and ravaged, but its people rebuilt it from the ashes through hard work and determination, just as earlier generations had done. He called the residents who never give up and find the strength to carry on after every hardship "the spirit of Svilengrad."

The mayor wished residents health, well-being and success, and said he hoped their homes would be filled with love and peace, and that the town's children would grow up proud of where they come from.

He called on residents to keep building a modern, dignified and thriving town with an eye on the future, and to honour Svilengrad's history by writing its next pages.