The "Defenders of Stara Zagora" memorial complex is a monument in Stara Zagora, located in the "Defenders of Stara Zagora" park. It is included in the list of the Hundred National Tourist Sites of the Bulgarian Tourist Union. There is a stamp of it in the Regional History Museum of Stara Zagora.
It was opened on July 30, 1977 on the day of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Stara Zagora, where the Bulgarian militiamen from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th squads under the command of Russian officers together with Russian cavalry and artillery engaged the army of Suleiman Pasha on July 31, 1877.
The monument is a concrete structure, 50 m high. It resembles a waved flag, symbolizing the Samara flag of the militiamen. It was built on the site of the militia command post. Next to the monument are concrete structures representing six Bulgarian militiamen and a Russian officer, a symbol of the six militia companies under the command of Russian officers. Under the statues lies an ossuary. It also burns eternal fire in a structure made to represent bayonets. They symbolize the insurmountable barrier that deters the hostile Suleiman hordes and the six militia companies from which the future Bulgarian army was born.[1][2]
Every year on March 3 (Day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire) in the city of Stara Zagora there is a celebration of the holiday. It is marked with a 300-meter tricolor, used by servicemen of the Second Tundzhan Mechanized Brigade. The flag crosses the entire central boulevard of the city and can be seen by every citizen. Finally, the military brigade covers with the tricolor the monument of the Samara flag in the "Defenders of Stara Zagora" memorial complex.