MONUMENT OF ADAM MICKIEWICZ IN BURGAS

A curious Jewish touch to the history of Burgas was added by Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855). Born in what is now Belarus, Mickiewicz lived in what is now Lithuania, and is considered to be one of the greatest poets of what is now Poland. He is buried in Krakow's Wawel Cathedral, the burial site of Polish kings. 

Mickiewicz fiercely opposed the Russian Empire's invasion of his homeland and vowed to fight the Russians to the end. During the Crimean War in 1855 he went to Stamboul in an attempt to put together a Polish legion to fight against the Russians. He was not very successful with the Poles, but managed to gather a few hundred Jews, the "Hussars of Israel," who were ready to go into battle. The expedition never materialised. Mickiewicz travelled on to what was then Burgas, where he spent just 10 days (8-18 October 1855) in a military tent, probably stricken with malaria. He then returned to the Bosporus where he died. In the Burgas Maritime Park there is a monument to Mickiewicz, though the inscription on it is misleading.