On December 8, 2022, the Bulgarian Post issued a miniature sheet of 2 stamps as part of the "Bulgarian City Heraldry" series.

The first issue of stamps of the series "Bulgarian City Heraldry" was carried out in 2020, in 2022 the second issue took place.

The author of postage stamps and the ideological inspirer of this series is Nenko Atanasov, an illustrator, doctor of art history, assistant professor and lecturer at the National Academy of Arts of Bulgaria. When preparing the series, the main criteria for choosing city coats of arms were their beauty and the quality of their artistic performance. As a result, miniature sheet stamps feature modern coats of arms of the Bulgarian cities of Sliven and Krumovgrad, framed by heraldic symbols. According to the artist, this series made it possible to combine fine art and heraldry, creating an interesting postal miniature that will now represent Bulgaria around the world. Without a doubt, it was an excellent stylistic decision, and it is especially pleasing that each of the selected coats of arms has an image of a horse.

Coat of arms of the city of Sliven

The coat of arms of the city of Sliven in its modern form was adopted in 1996, its author is the Sliven artist Yevgeny Valev (Евгени Вълев). The coat of arms has the shape of a triangular shield, above which there is a crown in the form of a city stone wall with five teeth. The shield is vertically divided into two unequal parts. On the left large part there is a horseman with a pipe on a green field, on the right, a smaller - tree. The coat of arms of the city of Sliven expresses its originality and the connection of traditions - past and present. The Old Elm is one of the symbols of the city, the tree is over 1000 years old. This is one of the few surviving inhabitants of the once huge Bulgarian forest Magna silva Bulgarika, which stretched from the Rhodopes to the Black Sea.

The trumpeting rider on a rearing horse is also a symbolic symbol, but not of such a distant past. Sliven is the birthplace of Dobri Chintulov (1822 - 1886), a famous folk educator and poet of the Bulgarian Revival period, who inspired the Bulgarian people to fight against Ottoman rule. The rebellious poems of Dobri Chintulov were instantly set to music and received mass distribution. They had a huge impact on the Bulgarian youth of that time and are still well known as classical Bulgarian revolutionary music. A young man riding a horse with a trumpet in his hands is a collective image of Chintul's songs, inspiring to fight and calling for freedom.

Coat of arms of the city of Krumovgrad

The coat of arms of the city of Krumovgrad in its modern form was adopted in 1998, its author is the artist Kirill Gogov (Кирил Гогов). Above the shield with a rounded base is a crown in the form of a city stone wall with three towers. A horse is depicted on a green field, and above it are three golden poplar leaves. The symbolism of the shield refers us to the times of Turkish rule. Once upon a time, high poplars grew along the Krumovica River and horse races were held along this alley, and the city itself was called Koshu Kavak (Koşukavak) for many years, which means “races under poplars” in Turkish. And only in 1934 the city would be renamed Krumovgrad in honor of Krum - the ruler of the First Bulgarian state, who ruled in the 9th century.

The presentation of a series of postage stamps took place in proud Krumovgrad. The solemn ceremony was attended by representatives of municipalities from Sliven and Krumovgrad, representatives of the Bulgarian Post Office, as well as the author of stamps Nenko Atanasov. During the presentation, the stamps were canceled with a special postmark.

Sources: www.bgpost.bg, www.mun.sliven.bg,
www.krumovgrad.bg, wikipedia.org