Hristo Uzunov - Ohrid, North Macedonia
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member PISA-caching
N 41° 06.731 E 020° 48.002
34T E 483210 N 4551229
Hristo Uzunov was the head of the Ohrid branch of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
Waymark Code: WM13P30
Location: North Macedonia
Date Posted: 01/20/2021
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
Views: 3

 

In the Ohrid City Park near the Port of Ohrid there are four monuments with the bust of somehow important people of Ohrid. One of them is commemorating Hristo Uzunov, showing him wearing a bandolier with bullets over his right shoulder. On a metal plaque below his bust is a citation of the famous letter he wrote before committing suicide in 1905. It says:

Христо Узунов
1878 - 1905

Нашата идеја ќе биде постигната, ете зошто ќе умрам спокоен, со чиста совест пред законите на нашата света Организација.

The translation is "Our idea will be achieved, that is why I will die calm, with a clear conscience before the laws of our holy Organization.".

Hristo Uzunov

"Hristo Dimitrov Uzunov (Bulgarian and Macedonian: Христо Димитров Узунов) (22 February 1878, Ohrid – 24 April 1905, Cer, near Kicevo) was a Bulgarian teacher and revolutionary, head of the Ohrid branch of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization and its ideological leader in the Ohrid region. Despite his Bulgarian self-identification, according to the post-WWII Macedonian historiography, he was an ethnic Macedonian.

Revolutionary life

Hristo Uzunov was born in 1878 in Ohrid, then in Ottoman Empire. Both his father and mother were active in the Bulgarian national movement. After the establishment of the Principality of Bulgaria his father settled in Sofia and worked here as a librarian in the National Library. It is believed that Uzunov became a member of the revolutionary movement in 1896, while he studied in Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki. Afterward he worked as Bulgarian Exarchate's teacher. On August 5, 1898, Dimitar Grdanov, a Serbian teacher in Ohrid, and pro-Serbian activist in Macedonia, was murdered by Metody Patchev, after which Patchev and his fellow conspirators Hristo Uzunov, Cyril Parlichev and Ivan Grupchev were arrested. Between January 1902 and March 1903 he was re-imprisoned in the Bitola jail. He actively took part in the Ilinden Uprising in 1903. After the Bulgarian Army officer Toma Davidov was killed by the Turks in March 1903, Uzunov took over the leadership of the revolutionary organization in Ohrid area. On July 23, 1903, in the village of Kuratica, near Ohrid, the flag of Uzunov's cheta was consecrated. The flag was handed over to Uzunov and with it the regional cheta was active during the Ilinden Uprising. Between 1904 and 1905 he focused at resisting the Serbian guerrilla campaigns in Macedonia and tried to resolve of the organization's internal problems.

Death

In 1905 Uzunov with his band (cheta) entered Bitola and after that Kicevo in order to gain control of that region. On 23 April 1905, they entered the village of Tser in the region of Kicevo, together with the cheta of Kicevo voivode Vancho Sarbakov. On the night of April 24, they were surrounded by a great number of Ottoman forces and after using up their ammunition, facing surrender, they decided to commit suicide. Uzunov then wrote a short letter addressed to all 'honourable revolutionaries' and after that he and his men killed themselves. His grave is located in Tser, where he died."

Source and further information: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hristo_Uzunov

Much more information can be found on the Macedonian Wikipedia.

Name of the revolution that the waymark is related to:
Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising of the Macedonians in the Ottoman Empire


Adress of the monument:
Ohrid City Park
Boulevard Macedonian Educators
Ohrid, North Macedonia
6000


What was the role of this site in revolution?:
Hristo Uzunov was the head of the Ohrid branch of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization


Link that comprove that role: [Web Link]

When was this memorial placed?: Not listed

Who placed this monument?: Not listed

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