Story perspectives

Greece to Return Bulgarian Tsar Samuel Remains to Bulgaria

By Drooid · Sep 29, 2026, 11:22 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Greece will hand over the remains of Bulgarian Tsar Samuel to Bulgaria under a cultural accord.
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and Bulgarian Culture Minister Evtim Miloshev signed the memorandum on Tuesday.
The agreement returns nearly 50 World War I religious relics to Greece and 48 artefacts to Bulgaria.
Prime Ministers Rumen Radev and Kyriakos Mitsotakis will attend the October 3 handover ceremony in Thessaloniki.

History

Historical Context

The Treaty of Bucharest, signed on 10 August 1913 by Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece, ended the Second Balkan War and redrew the region’s borders. Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos and Bulgarian King Ferdinand I negotiated the new frontier, which divided historic sites linked to Tsar Samuel. Their legacy appears in the October 3, 2024 handover of Samuel’s remains, coordinated by Greece’s Lina Mendoni and Bulgaria’s Evtim Miloshev.

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Story summary

Greece will hand over the remains of Bulgarian Tsar Samuel to Bulgaria under a cultural accord.
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and Bulgarian Culture Minister Evtim Miloshev signed the memorandum on Tuesday.
The agreement returns nearly 50 World War I religious relics to Greece and 48 artefacts to Bulgaria.
Prime Ministers Rumen Radev and Kyriakos Mitsotakis will attend the October 3 handover ceremony in Thessaloniki.

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