An important attribute to any insurgent uniform are the metal lions adorning the rebels' hats. These insignia are made of dies and cast or extruded in gold Turkish lira, silver, lead, bronze or brass. Authors of the plastic images are local masters, painters and goldsmiths. The symbolism on them identifies the fighters for the freedom of the fatherland. The signs are usually elliptical, and the inscription in a semicircle around the upright lion trampling the Ottoman flag is "FREEDOM OR DEATH"Only one golden lion has reached us, belonging to Georgi Neychev from Panagyurishte, a representative of the city of the National Assembly in Oborishte, which predetermined the outbreak of the uprising.

The Red Church is a remarkable monument of early Christian temple architecture, which existed in the period IV-XIII century. A number of Bulgarian (Stefan Boyadzhiev, Margarita Vaklinova) and foreign scientists (Andre Grabar, Andrey Frolov) studied her history. Today, it is believed that the original cult building, representing the martyrdom, was transformed into a church during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Anastasius (491-518). The first painting of the building, probably the work of a Constantinople master painter, in the spirit of the Balkan painting tradition, dates back to that time. Subsequently, at the end of the 10th or the beginning of the 11th century, the church was painted for the second time, and this layer is characterized by following the system available to the older one, filling it in places with new plots and images. A brown frame surrounds the scenes of all later murals. In 1921, this type of image was first documented in the form of watercolor paintings by Olga Belokopitova, the originals of which are now kept in the Byzantine Library of the Collège de France in Paris. In the exposition of IM-Perushtitsa, in the section dedicated to the medieval history of the land, visitors can get acquainted with copies of the above-mentioned drawings. Preserved murals include images typical of the feudal era. The feudal military leader undertook the painting of churches with images of archangels and military saints - his patrons and patrons of the whole class. To some extent, the preserved color of the paintings preserves the specific color of the images, which gives a clearer idea of the style and artistic level of the painter. The artist has painted on familiar and built models with traditional and rich clothing of the presented characters.

The Bulgarian oath is undoubtedly a key element of the official dedication of our freedom fighters, not only to the activities of local secret committees, but also to the ideas of the revolution in general. The utterance of the covenant words has a great impact on the psyche, because after this moment the initiate is ready to take the path of self-giving to life and death in the name of the Fatherland. By order of Vasil Levski, the oath is made before the Gospel, the Cross, the pistol and the dagger. Through these symbols, the oath promises retribution, both from the earthly court, based on the laws of the committee statute, and from the heavenly one, as the divine is called as a guarantor through the mediation of the Bible.

The painting "The Defense of Perushtitsa" by Prof. Dobri Dobrev is part of the historical memory of the heroic Perushtitsa. The work presents the dramatic events of the last day of the April Uprising in Perushtitsa - April 27, 1876, when in the church "St. Archangel Michael ”23 men, women and children devoted to Christ freed the angelic spirit from their bodies in order to be saved from defilement if the other believers subjected them to perversions.

The Revival Church of St. Archangel Michael is a church that is not announced by chants. It does not celebrate the Holy Liturgy, but only silences in prayer for those whose blood was shed in the late spring of 1876.

In the medieval section of the exhibition hall of IM-Perushtitsa is presented a wonderfully preserved mace (its metal part) with an oval warhead, found in the area of the fortress Peristitsa (VI-XIV century). The fortress, which protected the local road in this part of the Rhodopes since the time of Justinian I, was rebuilt into a real military fortress from the XII century. The first written information about her dates back to that time. Most likely, the artifact shown would have been part of the armament of a soldier from the protective garrison. The mace (consisting of a handle and a metal warhead of various shapes) is a type of offensive weapon, the prototype of which is considered to be widespread among the general population, the so-called wooden crook (sopa). In the Byzantine army, maces gradually became a preferred part of the equipment of heavily armed cavalry (cataphractaries), especially in the period X-XII century. In certain situations, the weapon is also used as a general's staff, acquiring a characteristic symbolic meaning. The length of the rod in maces varies from 60 to 80 cm, less often a meter or more, and the spherical shape is found mainly in metal warheads. It is possible that the impact part is additionally supplied with iron spikes or thorns, causing even more injuries.

A landmark in the museum's exposition is the icon of the holy silversmiths and doctors Kozma and Damyan from the monastery "St. St. Theodore Tyrone and Theodore Stratilat ”over Perushtitsa, which miraculously survived after in April 1876 the bashibozuk hordes of Muslims and gypsies from the area burned the holy monastery before advancing on an insurgent settlement at the foot of the Rhodopes.

This marble architrave from the museum exposition under the glass pyramid is the key to one of the great mysteries around Perushtitsa: what building he crowned, where it was, who destroyed it when and why it was condemned to oblivion with the steadfastness to which it apparently owes so much obliteration. memory of its origin. If the extinct ancient town of Dragovets stretched from today's Perushtina district of Pastusha to Ustina, Krichim and Kurotovo Konare, and the Ottomans called it Kyuchyuk Stanbul (Little Constantinople), it is part of the main beam just above the columns, which carried the weight of the frieze. the cornice above it together with the roof structure of a representative building / temple there.

There is hardly a Bulgarian who has not heard the famous motto "Freedom or Death", present in all our revolutionary flags. This catchphrase has gradually become a role model and a conscious need of our freedom fighters since the second half of the 19th century. The first "People's Voivode" GS Rakovski in his poem "Forest Traveler" (1857) describes the "flag" (flag) to be raised in a band of bandits, with the words:

The hats, made during the preparation for the uprising in 1876, are an essential element of the clothing of freedom fighters. According to Grigor Grigorov, in its entirety, the revolutionary uniform performs as much a utilitarian as it does a symbolic function - among its main goals is the announcement of the transformation of the oppressed into a free man. That is why it is constructed as a symbolic negation of everyday clothing.

The French doctor Pierre Bellon du Man (1517-1565) was a progressive scientist, one of the founders of the natural sciences and comparative anatomy in his country. Participated in many diplomatic missions, one of which took him to the Ottoman Empire, ruled at the time by Sultan Suleiman I (1520-1566). At the beginning of 1547 he arrived in Constantinople, from where he began his tour. Charged with the task of studying the economic condition of the Ottoman state, the doctor visited the islands of Lemnos and Thassos, Mount Athos, and later Thessaloniki. From there, by land, passing through Kavala and Silivria, it heads east - to Asia Minor and Egypt. He published his experiences as far back as 1553 in "Journeys in the Levant: The Observations of Pierre Bellon of Le Mans on Many Unusuals and Remarkable Things in Greece, Turkey, Judea, Egypt, Arabia, and Other Foreign Countries."

Upon entering the exhibition hall of the museum in Perushtitsa, the visitor comes across an interesting object - an impressive cherry ball, placed centrally next to the large painting by Professor Dobri Dobrev "Defense of Perushtitsa" in the section dedicated to the April Uprising. This museum exhibit, representing a replica (copy), was made in the distant 1976, when the Bulgarian state celebrated the 100th anniversary of the uprising. Naturally, however, the question arises whether the replica in question was made in the image and likeness of an authentic cannon and whether such a replica is really preserved to this day in the museum's funds. The answers to these questions are very interesting, but unfortunately little known to the general public