ALEXANDER Battenberg Square and Alexander Battenberg Street in central Sofia are named in honour of the first Bulgarian ruler after the country's liberation from 500 years of Ottoman rule.

Born in Verona in 1857, Alexander Battenberg was the second son of Prince Alexander of Hesse-Darmstadt and nephew of Alexander II of Russia. He graduated from the military school in Dresden and later served in the Russian army during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 - the war which secured Bulgaria's long-lost freedom.

One year after the war, backed by the Russian tsar, Alexander Battenberg was elected hereditary prince of Bulgaria.

Then, the borders of Bulgaria were different from today's. The Treaty of San Stefano, which actually ended the war, created a huge independent state. The European powers were unhappy about it however, fearing that Bulgaria would become a dependant of Russia - making the Russian Empire even stronger.

They called a congress and at it signed the Berlin Treaty, according to which the northern part of Bulgaria became an autonomous principality. Alexander Battenberg was actually elected a knyaz (prince) of that territory, which was called Knyazhestvo Bulgaria -Principality of Bulgaria.

Under the Berlin Treaty, the southern part of modern-day Bulgaria remained a province under Turkish sovereignty, enjoying considerable autonomy and ruled by a governor appointed by the Ottoman Empire with the approval of the European powers.

The province was called Eastern Rumelia and its capital was Plovdiv.

Alexander Battenberg, also known as Alexander I, came to the Bulgarian throne with the ambition of creating a strong state with great influence over Europe. He quickly realised that one of his tasks in achieving this ambition was to restore the unity of the fragmented country. Gradually he became one of the champions of the movement for Bulgarian national unification.

In autumn 1885, after revolutionaries in Eastern Rumelia proclaimed the union of the province with the Principality of Bulgaria, Alexander I accepted the union and annexed the former province to the territories of his Knyazhestvo Bulgaria.

The Ottoman Empire finally agreed to name Alexander governor of Eastern Rumelia. The province became officially independent in 1908.

With the annexation of these new territories, however, Alexander provoked the hatred of a westerly neighbour, Serbia, which also had a claim on the area. Serbia declared war - and it ended with the Bulgarian Army victorious.

While he was successful in his foreign policy aims, Alexander Battenberg had serious difficulties with the state's internal affairs. From the very beginning of his rule he found the constitution adopted after the liberation by the Constituent Assembly in Turnovo unacceptable. The democratic norms of the Turnovo Constitution were in contrast with his concept of a strong, loyal power.

Alexander I continuously tried to have the constitution amended and sought the support of the country's conservatives in this endeavour. However, the liberals were more politically stable at that time and Alexander was finally forced to suspend the Turnovo Constitution in 1881 and gain absolute power for himself over the next three years.

During that period he thought up and implemented many valuable ideas for the development of the country. Among them were European standards which were applied to the development of administration, in economy, culture and defence. But he was accused by many of failing to consider the will of his people, and as a result, he was finally forced by the liberals to restore the constitution.

The young monarch's authoritarian regime was not popular with Russia. And Russia had some powerful support inside Bulgaria.

On 9 August 1886, he was forced by a group of Russophile Bulgarian officers to sign a statement of abdication. An attempt by his supporters to restore him to the throne failed in the face of unyielding opposition from Russian Emperor Alexander III.

After his abdication Alexander Battenberg became an officer in Austria, and Ferdinand succeeded him on the Bulgarian throne.

Alexander died aged 36 and the Bulgarian authorities acquiesced with his desire to be buried in Bulgaria - in the Battenberg Mausoleum on Vassil Levski Boulevard - between the Yalta Club and General Gurko Street in central Sofia.