Pleven Panorama
Encyclopedia
Panorama
A panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film/video, or a three-dimensional model....
located in Pleven
Pleven
Pleven is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, that depicts the events of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–78, specifically the five-month Siege of Plevna (Pleven Epopee) which made the city internationally famous and which contributed to the Liberation of Bulgaria
Liberation of Bulgaria
In Bulgarian historiography, the term Liberation of Bulgaria is used to denote the events of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 that led to the re-establishment of Bulgarian state with the Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878, after the complete conquest of the Second Bulgarian Empire, which...
after five centuries of Ottoman rule.
The panorama was created by 13 Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n and Bulgarian artists and was constructed in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Pleven Epopee and was officially unveiled on 10 December 1977. The panorama expanded the already existing Skobelev Park
Skobelev Park
Skobelev Park is a museum park in the vicinity of Pleven, Bulgaria. It was built between 1904 and 1907 on the very battlefield of the Siege of Plevna during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, specifically the third assault of General Mikhail Skobelev's detachment between 30 August and 11 September...
, which is located on the site where three of the four major battles which led to the liberation of Bulgaria took place. In the first three years after its opening, 2.5 million people visited the panorama. The monument is one of nearly 200 built by the people of Pleven in tribute to the battle and to the nearly 35,000 lives lost.
Siege of Plevna
The Pleven Panorama depicts the events of the Siege of Plevna which consisted of four major battles over a five-month period (20 July–10 December 1877). The siege was pivotal in the outcome in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 which eventually resulted in the liberation of Bulgaria as well as SerbiaSerbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
from 500 years of Ottoman control. The Panorama primarily focuses on the events of the third battle, which began on 31 August and culminated on 11 September 1877. At the time, Plevna was under Turkish control as Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Osman Pasha had set up fortifications there following his defeat at Nikopol
Battle of Nikopol
The Battle of Nikopol, or Nicopolis, was one of the early battles of the Russo-Turkish War . As the Russian army crossed the Danube River, they approached the fortified city of Nikopol . The Turkish high command sent Osman Pasha with the troops from Vidin to oppose the Russians' crossing of the...
on 16 July. Osman was successful at fending off the Russian attacks on his fortifications during the first two battles.
In the third battle, Russian forces, under the command of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Mikhail Skobelev
Mikhail Skobelev
Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was a Russian general famous for his conquest of Central Asia and heroism during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Dressed in white uniform and mounted on a white horse, and always in the thickest of the fray, he was known and adored by his soldiers as the "White...
, took two Turkish redoubt
Redoubt
A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...
s and a Romanian division took a third, the Grivitsa
Grivitsa
Grivitsa is a village in Pleven Municipality, Pleven Province, central northern Bulgaria. It is primarily known as the site of one of the key battles of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.-Geography:...
redoubt. Osman's troops were able to recapture the two redoubts taken by the Russians, but they were unable to dislodge the Romanians from Grivitsa. The third battle was the bloodiest for the Russian forces, with roughly 20,000 losses, but was also the turning point in the Siege. By 24 October, Russian and Romanian forces had surrounded Plevna. Osman requested permission to retreat, but the Ottoman high command would not allow him to do so. On 9 December Osman and his troops made a brief stand, losing 5,000 men. The next day, Osman surrendered the city to Romanian colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Mihail Cerchez
Mihail Cerchez
Mihail Cristodulo Cerchez was a Romanian general. Rumours that he was of Circassian descent are based strictly on his family name and are counterintuitive to his anti-Turkish stance...
.
Construction and unveiling
Most of the historical landmarks in Pleven are related to the Russo-Turkish war, with around 200 monuments commemorating the bloodiest battles of the war. The Pleven Panorama was constructed in honor of the centennial of the surrender of Turkish forces to Russian and Romanian troops, ending the siege on Plevna. It was conceived and designed by N. Ovetchkin, an author from MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
as a counterpart to the Borodin Panorama in Belgorod, Russia
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
. The panorama is situated in Skobelev Park, named for the general who commanded the Russian forces and led them to victory over the Turks at Plevna, and the site upon which the deciding battle of the five-month siege on the city occurred.
Eleven Russian and two Bulgarian artists painted and constructed the panorama which includes a 115×15-meter main canvas and 12-meter foreground. The goal of Ovetchkin and the artists who created the panorama was to create a feeling of empathy for the battle that was fought on the site as well as a feeling of authenticity of the events that occurred on 11 September 1877. The panorama opened to the public on 10 December 1977, 100 years to the day that Field Marshal Osman Pasha surrendered to Colonel Mihail Cerchez, ending the Pleven Epopee.
Composition
The architectural unit is composed of four rooms: introductory, panoramic, diorame and finale. The six canvases of the introductory room discover the tragic destiny of the people, their dramatic fight and their compassion to the fellow Russian soldiers.The spectator is in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by an attacking Russian regiment, smoking shells, a doctor and a nurse, the attack of the Turkish cavalry, burning fires in the city, and the Russian General Mikhail Skobelev
Mikhail Skobelev
Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was a Russian general famous for his conquest of Central Asia and heroism during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Dressed in white uniform and mounted on a white horse, and always in the thickest of the fray, he was known and adored by his soldiers as the "White...
conducting an attack against the Ottoman fortification.
See also
- PanoramaPanoramaA panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film/video, or a three-dimensional model....
- Panoramic paintingPanoramic paintingPanoramic paintings are massive artworks that reveal a wide, all-encompassing view of a particular subject, often a landscape, military battle, or historical event. They became especially popular in the 19th Century in Europe and the United States, inciting opposition from writers of Romantic poetry...
- International Panorama CouncilInternational Panorama CouncilThe International Panorama Council is a global network involving museum directors, managers, artists, restorers and historians who deal with the historical or the contemporary art and media forms of the Panorama...
- CycloramaCycloramaFor the classical album Cyclorama, see Jonathan Goldstein; For the rock album Cyclorama by Styx, see Cyclorama ; for the theatrical backdrop, see Cyclorama...