ABSTRACT
The weakness of the Ottoman Empire in the Bulgarian territory provided the Bulgarians with the opportunity and courage to reach their ultimate goal, awakening national consciousness for the creation of an autonomous state during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In the same period, gymnastics, particularly in the form of gymnastics associations, was used as an important tool in the cultivation and propagation of an incipient Bulgarian national identity. Bulgarian reformers and modernists like Todor Yonchev propagated gymnastics as a platform for transforming the masses, especially Bulgarian young men. In 1898, the union of Bulgarian gymnastics associations was founded in order to train Bulgarian youth for the liberation of the country. Also known as the Yunak (hero) Union, the union consisted of different gymnastics associations from Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. Although the Yunak movement proved to have detrimental consequences for the Ottoman Empire, the Ottomans’ lack of authority and influence in the region as well as Russian support for the Bulgarians prevented them from curbing their actions. In conclusion, the Yunak gymnastics movement played an important role in the efforts of gaining a national consciousness; typical not only for independent state, but in fact for a strong Bulgaria.
