Raina Knyaginya

Raina Popgeorgieva Futekova, known as Raina Knyaginya (Princess Raina) was a Bulgarian teacher and revolutionary, who embroidered the flag of the April Uprising. She was born on January 18, 1856 in Panagyurishte. The school board, impressed by her natural talent and intelligence, decided to make her a teacher, and offered to send her to the high school at Stara Zagova. Four years later, she came back to her hometown and became head mistress of the local school. In 1876, she was called one day to the house of a teacher, where she found a gathering of citizens. Among them was the great Benkovski who turned to Raina and asked her to embroider the famous flag. For a month in feverish haste, she secretly plied her needle, tracing on a green field the device "Liberty or Death." The fateful day arrived and as Raina, fully armed, rode beside Benkovski, bearing the banner, the ranks of the insurgents swelled and they fearlessly shouted, "Long live the Bulgarian Princess! Long live the Voivoda." But organization won in the end. Men, women and children were massacred and the houses were burned. Raina escaped the wholesale massacre, but in a few days was arrested. Due to the concerted action of the European diplomatic representatives, she was released, but sentenced to a life long exile. Raina chose to go to Russia, but the news of liberty came and she returned to Bulgaria where she worked as a teacher. Raina the Princess died on July 29, 1917 in Sofia. Currently, her house in Panagyurishte (picture in the left) has been turned into a museum and in 1950 declared a cultural monument of natural importance. It was thoroughly restored over the period 1979-1981, and the former workshop on the ground floor was turned into an exhibition hall, showing various items and documents, related to her life and to the uprising, including the flag of Rayna the Princess.