The diary of Alexander von Battenberg, which he kept during his participation in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the war of liberation for Bulgaria, was first published in Bulgarian translation in 1992. As for the original itself, it is held in the Bulgarian Historical Archive at the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library in Sofia. From this point of view, it may be said that both the scholarly community and the wider interested readership in Bulgaria are probably already familiar with this most intriguing historical document — an unquestionable testimony to the young German nobleman’s first contact with Bulgaria and the Bulgarians before he became ruler of the Principality.
Unlike the 1992 publication, the present edition also includes the German text of the Diary, not as a facsimile of the original but as a transcribed manuscript. The scholarly apparatus has been supplemented and updated in both of its language versions, Bulgarian and German. All this should allow a fuller use of the source for the purposes of historical research not only in Bulgaria but abroad as well — whether with a Bulgarian or a Balkan focus. There is likewise no doubt that acquaintance with Alexander Battenberg’s Diary is also of interest to German-speaking readers. The source is, of course, of considerably greater value for the Bulgarian past, but it is at the same time a testimony to the particular historical ties between Bulgaria and Central Europe in the nineteenth century.