The monument commemorates the hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian soldiers who died in wars defending their homeland Bulgaria. Ceremonies involving the President of Bulgaria and foreign state leaders are often performed here. The monument was designed and opened on September 22, 1981 for the 1300th anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian state. The Monument to the Unknown Warrior features an eternal flame, turf from Stara Zagora and Shipka Pass, sites of two of the most important battles of the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation, a lion statue, and an inscription from writer Ivan Vazov.