Weapons Collection

The "Weapons" collection of the National Historical Museum includes more than 2000 pieces of Balkan, Eastern, European and American firearms and melee weapons from the XNUMXth, XNUMXth and first half of the XNUMXth centuries, as well as defused ammunition.

The exhibits allow tracing the main stages in the evolution of firearms - flintlock rifles and pistols, front-loading capsule weapons, early examples of breech-loading rifles, different types of revolvers, automatic pistols, magazine rifles and carbines, light and heavy machine guns, machine guns pistols, military and civilian weapons. The most common types of melee weapons in our lands are presented - Ottoman scimitars, Caucasian daggers and checkers, karakulak type knives, Ottoman, Russian and Western European sabers. A large amount of Turkish, Serbian, Greek, English, French, Italian, German, etc. trophies are also available. weapon - testimony to the stormy events that Bulgaria went through in the last century.

The main guiding line in the formation of the collection is the collection, preservation and display of the types of weapons with which the Bulgarian revolutionaries, soldiers and officers fought for the freedom of the fatherland and defended the national interests of Bulgaria in the Serbo-Bulgarian, the two Balkan, the First and the Second World Wars. The highlights are the various modifications of the Krnka, Berdana, Mannlicher and Mauser rifles and carbines, the Smith and Wesson revolvers, the Luger, Staer, Browning, Beretta, and Zbroiovka pistols. ", "Mauser", "Walter", machine guns "Maxim-Spandau", "Schwarzlose", "Bren", "MG-34", "Dektarev", submachine guns "MP-41" and "Shpagin", located on armament in the Bulgarian army and contributed to the battle glory of the Bulgarian warrior. The collection also houses sabers, scabbards, knives, some of which belonged to prominent figures from the Renaissance and our recent history, such as the dagger of Vasil Levski, the parade saber of Mihail Takev and the officer's knife of Gen. Ivan Lukov, displayed in the museum's permanent exhibition.

Османска бойна брадва, XVIII век. Гравирана украса с растителни мотиви.

Ottoman battle axe, XNUMXth century.

Engraved decoration with plant motifs.

Bozdugan, XVIII century.

The striker is connected to the handle by a flexible chain of custom-made links, each with an incised crescent. Origin of the Ottoman Empire.

Кавказка шашка, XIX век. Произход от Османската империя. Немско острие с гравирано изображение на хусар със сабя в ръка.

Caucasian chess, XIX century.

Origin of the Ottoman Empire. German blade engraved with a hussar holding a saber.

Caucasian dagger, XIX century.

Българска морска офицерска сабя, образец 1902 г.

Bulgarian naval officer saber, pattern 1902.

Българска офицерска парадна сабя, образец 1927 г.

Bulgarian officer parade saber, pattern 1927.

With the inscription "For the King and the Fatherland" engraved on the blade and the monogram of Tsar Boris III on the inside.

Револвер „Гасер”, модел 1870 г., калибър 11.3 мм.

Revolver "Gasser", model 1870, caliber 11.3 mm.

A widely distributed weapon in our country during the years of the national liberation struggles. The specific copy belonged to Krastyo Asenov - nephew of Hadji Dimitar, associate of Yane Sandanski and an active fighter for the liberation of Macedonia.

Пушка „Крнка”, образец 1866 г., калибъл 15.24 мм.

"Krnka" rifle, model 1866, caliber 15.24 mm.

The rifles developed by the Czech engineer Sylvester Krnka played a major role in the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation, some of the Bulgarian militiamen also fought with them. After the Liberation, they remained in service in small quantities until the Balkan Wars.

Пушка „Манлихер”, модел М 95, калибър 8 мм.

Mannlicher rifle, model M 95, caliber 8 mm.

"Manliherata" is a faithful companion of the Bulgarian warrior in four wars. NIM stores a large quantity of the various models and modifications of the Mannlicher rifles and carbines. Of particular interest today are the specimens with Bulgarian markings on the cartridge case, which show that the weapon was custom-made especially for Bulgaria.

Пистолет „Маузер”, модел С-96, калибър 7.63 мм.

Mauser pistol, model C-96, caliber 7.63 mm.

One of the earliest models of automatic pistols.

Пистолет „Люгер”, модел 1908 г. калибър 9 мм.

Luger pistol, model 1908, caliber 9 mm.

Also known as the "Parabellum" pistol, it is one of the most recognizable weapons of the 1903th century. In XNUMX, Bulgaria became only the second country after Switzerland to officially adopt this new and promising type of weapon.

Картечeн пистолет „Збройовка”, модел ZK-383, калибър 9 мм.

Submachine gun "Zbroyovka", model ZK-383, caliber 9 mm.

Developed in Czechoslovakia and manufactured in Brno during the German occupation, this submachine gun was in service with the German SS units and the Bulgarian Army during World War II. The markings on the specific specimen - the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the monogram of Tsar Boris III show that it was made to order especially for Bulgaria.