Captain Grandpa Nikola

Капитан дядо Никола, с истинско име Никола Филиповски, е един от ранните дейци на българското националноосвободително движение. През 1854 г. организира въстание в Северозападна България срещу Османската империя и остава в историята като смел водач, посветил живота си на свободата на народа. Паметникът му в Габрово отдава почит на един от по-малко познатите, но значими герои на освободителните борби.

I am Captain Grandpa Nikola. My real name is Nikola Filipovski. I was born around 1800, most likely somewhere in the Dobruja villages between Silistra and Tutrakan. I left my homeland at an early age and settled in Romania, where I became involved in the political life of the Bulgarian émigré community. In August 1856, I organized an uprising in the regions of Tarnovo and Gabrovo, which, however, was suppressed by the Ottoman authorities. I continued to fight until my last breath. Few people know that my exact date of birth and my early years are shrouded in mystery—various biographies cite different places as my birthplace, including Ruse, Silistra, Sliven, and Tarnovo. But I have always been where my people needed a leader. My monument in Gabrovo serves as a reminder of the forgotten heroes of the liberation struggles.