Kaloyan

Tsar Kaloyan was one of the most remarkable rulers in Bulgarian history. He consolidated the Bulgarian Kingdom and its international prestige. The wars he led during his reign (1197 – 1207) were for liberation and protection of the Bulgarian territories in the year 1201. He restored Varna to the Bulgarian kingdom and in 1205 he defeated the army of the fourth crusade capturing the emperor of Constantinople, Baldwin of Flanders. Never losing a battle he glorified the Bulgarian armies. In 1204 he was bestowed with a royal crown by the holy see of pope Innocent III. Tsar Kaloyan reinstated the Bulgarian Kingdom as the leading power of the Balkans and re-established its authority in Europe.
(text on the plinth of the statue)