Portal:Bulgaria
Portal maintenance status: (November 2018)
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Introduction
Bulgaria (/bʌlˈɡɛəriə,
listen); Bulgarian: България, tr. Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Република България, tr. Republika Bǎlgariya, IPA: [rɛˈpublikɐ bɐɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. The capital and largest city is Sofia; other major cities are Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 16th-largest country.
One of the earliest societies in the lands of modern-day Bulgaria was the Neolithic Karanovo culture, which dates back to 6,500 BC. In Antiquity (6th–3rd century BC), the region became a battleground for Thracians, Persians, Celts and Ancient Macedonians until it was conquered by the Roman Empire in 45 AD. The Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire lost some of these territories to an invading Bulgar horde in the late 7th century. The Bulgars then founded the first unified Bulgarian state in 681 AD which dominated most of the Balkans and significantly influenced Slavic cultures by developing the Cyrillic script. The First Bulgarian Empire lasted until the early 11th century when Byzantine emperor Basil II conquered and dismantled it. A successful Bulgarian revolt in 1185 established a Second Bulgarian Empire which reached its apex under Ivan Asen II (1218–1241). After numerous exhausting wars and feudal strife, the Second Bulgarian Empire disintegrated in 1396 and its territories fell under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries.
Selected general articles
The demography of the Republic of Bulgaria is monitored by the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria.
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Bulgaria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Read more...- Bulgaria elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term directly by the people. The National Assembly (Narodno Sabranie) has 240 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies with a 4% threshold. Bulgaria has a multi-party system, in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each to form governments. Read more...
The Principality of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a de facto independent, and de jure vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878.
After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed by Russia and the Ottoman Empire on 3 March 1878. Under this, a large Bulgarian vassal state was agreed to, which was significantly larger: its lands encompassed nearly all ethnic Bulgarians in the Balkans, and included most of Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia, stretching from the Black Sea to the Aegean. However, the United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary were against the establishment of such a large Russian client state in the Balkans, fearing it would shift the balance of power in the Mediterranean. Due to this, the great powers convened and signed the Treaty of Berlin, superseding the Treaty of San Stefano, which never went into effect. This created a much smaller principality, alongside an autonomous Eastern Rumelia within the Ottoman Empire. Read more...- The media of Bulgaria refers to mass media outlets based in Bulgaria. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. The Constitution of Bulgaria guarantees freedom of speech.
As a country in transition, Bulgaria's media system is under transformation.
Bulgaria's media are generally deemed unbiased, although the state still dominates the field through the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), and the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency. Bulgarian media have a record of unbiased reporting, although they are deemed potentially at risk of political influence due to the lack of legislation to protect them. The written media have no legal restrictions and newspaper publishing is entirely liberal. The extensive freedom of the press means that no exact number of publications can be established, although some research put an estimate of around 900 print media outlets for 2006. The largest-circulation daily newspapers include Dneven Trud and 24 Chasa. Read more...
The National Assembly (Bulgarian: Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution. Read more...
Education in Bulgaria is overseen by the Ministry of Education and Science. Since 2012, compulsory education includes two years of preschool education (usually starting at age 5), before children start primary school. Education is compulsory until age of 16. Education at state-owned schools is free of charge, except for the higher education schools, colleges and universities.
In 1998 enrollment in the primary grades was 93 percent of eligible students, and enrollment in the secondary grades was 81 percent of eligible students. The ratio of females to males in primary schools was 0.97, and the ratio in secondary schools was 0.98. Because of Bulgaria’s low birthrate, total primary- and secondary-school enrollment has decreased in the post-communist era, causing reductions in teaching staff and facilities. At the same time, the number of private schools increased by 10 times during the 1990s. Bulgaria’s higher education system was fully reorganized in the mid-1990s. Between 1995 and 2002, the number of university graduates increased from 33,000 to 50,000. In 2002 some 42 institutions of higher learning were in operation, and 215,700 students were enrolled. In 2003 some 4.9 percent of Bulgaria’s national budget was devoted to education. Read more...- Bulgarian folk dances are intimately related to the music of Bulgaria. This distinctive feature of Balkan folk music is the asymmetrical meter, built up around various combinations of 'quick' and 'slow' beats. The music, in Western musical notation, is often described using compound meter notation, where the notational meter accents, i.e., the heard beats, can be of different lengths, usually 1, 2, 3, or 4. Many Bulgarian dances are line dances, in which the dancers dance in a straight or curved line, holding hands. Read more...
The Bulgarian National Bank (Bulgarian: Българска народна банка, Balgarska narodna banka, IPA: [bɤ̯ːɫɡɐrskɐ nɐrɔdnɐ bankɐ]) is the central bank of the Republic of Bulgaria with its headquarters in Sofia. The BNB was established on 25 January 1879.
It is an independent institution responsible for issuing all banknotes and coins in the country, overseeing and regulating the banking sector and keeping the government's currency reserves. The BNB is also the sole owner of the Bulgarian Mint. The governor is Dimitar Radev. The bank has a key role in Bulgarian economy. Since 1.01.2007 the bank is a member of European system of central banks. The governor of BNB is a member of General Assembly of European central bank. It is the 13 oldest central bank in the world. Read more...- The official public holidays in Bulgaria are listed in the table below. Read more...
- The music of Bulgaria refers to all forms of music associated with the country of Bulgaria, including classical, folk, popular music, and other forms.
Classical music, opera, and ballet are represented by composers Emanuil Manolov, Pancho Vladigerov and Georgi Atanasov and singers Ghena Dimitrova, Mariana Paunova, Boris Hristov, Raina Kabaivanska and Nicolai Ghiaurov. Notable names from the contemporary pop scene are Lili Ivanova, Emil Dimitrov, Vasil Naydenov.
The State Television Female Vocal Choir is perhaps the Bulgarian folk choir best known around the world and received a Grammy Award in 1990. Rhodope folk singer Valya Balkanska is known best for her recording of the folk song, Izlel e Delyo Haidutin, which was included on the Golden Disk sent into space with the Voyager spacecraft. Famous Bulgarian artists living abroad are Sylvie Vartan, Kristian Kostov, Philipp Kirkorov, Lucy Diakovska, Mira Aroyo, Mikhael Paskalev, Nora Nova, Vasko Vassilev, members of the Varimezov family such as Tzvetanka Varimezova and Ivan Varimezov, and Ivo Papazov. It is worth mentioning the late, great gaida player Vassil Bebelekov and his wife, Rhodope music singer Maria Bebelekova. She currently lives and teaches in San Jose, California. The Philip Kutev Ensemble, the first of the Bulgarian state-sponsored folk ensembles and founded in 1951, also is featured on the 1990 Grammy-winning album and has had many well-known Bulgarian folk singers, including, at present, Neli Andreeva and Sorina Bogomilova. Read more...
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Bulgaria has started to actively develop its own scientific and technological basis. The Liberation of the country in 1878 ended a nearly 500-year period of Ottoman rule, under which Bulgarian science was virtually nonexistent. Despite the political instability in the period between World wars, scientific research expanded with a steady pace until the early 1990s. In the mid-1990s, it came to an almost complete halt, but since the early 2000s Bulgarian science is slowly regaining its growth. Bulgaria has strong traditions in mathematics, computer sciences, aeronautics, aerospace research and medicine. Read more...
Bulgarian law enforcement organisations are mainly subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. Read more...
The Bulgarian Army (Bulgarian: Българска армия) represents the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Commander-in-Chief is the President of Bulgaria (since January 2017 Rumen Radev). The Ministry of Defence is in charge of political leadership while overall military command remains in the hands of the Defence Staff, headed by the Chief of the Defence (formerly called the Chief of the General Staff). There are three main branches, named literally the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Naval Forces and the term "Bulgarian Army" encompasses them all together.
Throughout history, the Army has played a major role in defending the country's sovereignty. Only several years after its liberation (1878), Bulgaria became a regional military power and was involved in several major wars – Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885), First Balkan War (1912–13), Second Balkan War (1913), First World War (1915–1918) and Second World War (1941–1945), during which the Army gained significant combat experience. During the Cold War the People's Republic of Bulgaria maintained one of the largest militaries in the Warsaw Pact, numbering an estimated 152,000 troops in 1988. Since the Fall of Communism, the political leadership decided to pursue a pro-NATO policy, thus reducing military personnel and weaponry. Bulgaria joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on 29 March 2004 and currently maintains a total 776 deployed troops in three countries. Read more...
The First Bulgarian Empire (Old Bulgarian: ц︢рьство бл︢гарское, ts'rstvo bl'garskoe) was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed in southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 681 when Bulgar tribes led by Asparuh moved to the north-eastern Balkans. There they secured Byzantine recognition of their right to settle south of the Danube by defeating – possibly with the help of local South Slavic tribes – the Byzantine army led by Constantine IV. At the height of its power, Bulgaria spread from the Danube Bend to the Black Sea and from the Dnieper River to the Adriatic Sea.
As the state solidified its position in the Balkans, it entered into a centuries-long interaction, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile, with the Byzantine Empire. Bulgaria emerged as Byzantium's chief antagonist to its north, resulting in several wars. The two powers also enjoyed periods of peace and alliance, most notably during the Second Arab siege of Constantinople, where the Bulgarian army broke the siege and destroyed the Arab army, thus preventing an Arab invasion of Southeastern Europe. Byzantium had a strong cultural influence on Bulgaria, which also led to the eventual adoption of Christianity in 864. After the disintegration of the Avar Khaganate, the country expanded its territory northwest to the Pannonian Plain. Later the Bulgarians confronted the advance of the Pechenegs and Cumans, and achieved a decisive victory over the Magyars, forcing them to establish themselves permanently in Pannonia. Read more...
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Bulgaria may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Bulgaria, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned since 2004, with discrimination based on "gender change" being outlawed since 2015.
Bulgaria, like most countries in Central and Eastern Europe, tends to be socially conservative when it comes to such issues as homosexuality. Read more...- This article lists political parties in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no single party usually manages to gain power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. Read more...
Bulgarian /bʌlˈɡɛəriən/ (
listen), /bʊlˈ-/ (Bulgarian: български bǎlgarski, pronounced [ˈbɤɫɡɐrski]) is an Indo-European language, a member of the Southern branch of the Slavic language family.
Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language (collectively forming the East South Slavic languages), has several characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages: changes include the elimination of case declension, the development of a suffixed definite article (see Balkan language area), and the lack of a verb infinitive, but it retains and has further developed the Proto-Slavic verb system. Various evidential verb forms exist to express unwitnessed, retold, and doubtful action. Read more...
The Bulgarian Stock Exchange – Sofia (Bulgarian: Българска фондова борса - София, Balgarska fondova borsa - Sofia, abbreviated BSE - Sofia) is a stock exchange operating in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It was founded as First Bulgarian Stock Exchange on 10 October 1991 as a joint stock company.
The Sofia Stock Exchange which had been established through a tsar's decree, ceased to operate after the Second World War as Bulgaria became a communist state. Read more...
The History of Bulgaria since 1989 is the period of Bulgarian history that begins after the fall of socialism and the transition to capitalism. Read more...- This is a list of villages in Bulgaria by province.
- List of villages in Blagoevgrad Province
- List of villages in Burgas Province
- List of villages in Dobrich Province
- List of villages in Gabrovo Province
- List of villages in Haskovo Province
- List of villages in Kardzhali Province
- List of villages in Kyustendil Province
- List of villages in Lovech Province
- List of villages and towns in Montana Province
- List of villages in Pazardzhik Province
- List of villages in Pernik Province
- List of villages in Pleven Province
- List of villages in Plovdiv Province
- List of villages in Razgrad Province
- List of villages in Rousse Province
- List of villages in Shumen Province
- List of villages in Silistra Province
- List of villages in Sliven Province
- List of villages in Smolyan Province
- List of villages in Sofia City
- List of villages in Sofia Province
- List of villages in Stara Zagora Province
- List of villages in Targovishte Province
- List of villages in Varna Province
- List of villages in Veliko Tarnovo Province
- List of villages in Vidin Province
- List of villages in Vratsa Province
- List of villages in Yambol Province
This is a complete list of all cities and towns in Bulgaria sorted by population. Province capitals are shown in bold. Primary sources are the National Statistical Institute (NSI) and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
The largest city is Sofia with about 1.2 million inhabitants and the smallest is Melnik with about 300. Smallest towns are not necessarily larger than all villages as many villages are more populous than many towns, compare Lozen, a large village with more than 5,000 inhabitants. Read more...- Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, its compliance with human rights norms, however, is far from perfect. Although the media have a record of unbiased reporting, Bulgaria’s lack of specific legislation protecting the media from state interference is a theoretical weakness. Conditions in Bulgaria’s twelve aging and overcrowded prisons generally are poor. A probate reform in mid-2005 was expected to relieve prison overcrowding.
The police have been accused of abusing prisoners and using illegal investigative methods, and institutional incentives discourage full reporting and investigation of many crimes. The constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but local governments have attempted to enforce special registration requirements on some groups not designated as historically entitled to full protection. Besides the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the faiths so designated are the Jewish, Muslim, and Roman Catholic. Court backlogs and weak court administration make constitutional protection of defendants’ rights problematic in some instances. Read more...
The coat of arms of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Герб на България, [ɡɛrp nɐ bɐɫˈɡarijɐ]) consists of a crowned golden lion rampant over a dark red shield; above the shield is the Bulgarian historical crown. The shield is supported by two crowned golden lions rampant; below the shield there is compartment in the shape of oak twigs and white bands with the national motto "Unity makes strength" inscribed on them. Read more...
Old Great Bulgaria or Great Bulgaria (Byzantine Greek: Παλαιά Μεγάλη Βουλγαρία, Palaiá Megálē Voulgaría), also often known by the Latin names Magna Bulgaria) and Patria Onoguria ("Onogur land"), was a 7th Century state formed by the Onogur Bulgars on the western Pontic Steppe (modern southern Ukraine and south-west Russia). Great Bulgaria was originally centred between the Dniester and lower Volga.
The original capital was Phanagoriaon the Taman peninsula between the Black and Azov seas. In the mid-7th century, Great Bulgaria expanded west to include Avar territory and was centered in Poltava. During the late 7th century, however, an Avar-Slavic alliance in the west, and Khazars in the east, defeated the Bulgars and the Great Bulgaria disintegrated. Successor states included Volga Bulgaria and the First Bulgarian Empire . Read more...
The Balkan states according to Encyclopædia Britannica
The Balkan Peninsula using the Danube–Sava–Soča border.
Political communities that are usually included in the Balkans.
Political communities that are often included in the Balkans.
The Balkans, also known as the Balkan Peninsula, or Southeast Europe, is a geographic area in Europe with various definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria from the Serbian-Bulgarian border to the Black Sea coast.
The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea on the northwest, the Ionian Sea on the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south and southeast, and the Black Sea on the east and northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Mount Musala, 2,925 metres (9,596 ft), in the Rila mountain range. Read more...
Energy in Bulgaria describes energy and electricity production, consumption and trade in Bulgaria.
Although Bulgaria is not very rich in fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, it has very well developed energy sector which is of crucial importance for the Balkans and the whole South Eastern Europe. Nuclear power produces 36% of Bulgaria's power. Bulgaria is a major producer and exporter of electricity in the region and plays an important role in the energy balance on the Balkans. The country's strategic geographical location makes it a major hub for transit and distribution of oil and gas from Russia to Western Europe and other Balkan states. Read more...- This is a list of rivers in Bulgaria.
The longest river that Bulgaria has a bank on is the Danube (2,888 km), which spans most of the country's northern border. The longest one to run through the country (and also the deepest) is the Maritsa (480 km), while the longest river that runs solely in Bulgaria is the Iskar (368 km). Read more... - Foreign relations of the Republic of Bulgaria are the Bulgarian government's external relations with the outside world. Bulgaria has generally good foreign relations with its neighbors and has proved to be a constructive force in the region under socialist and democratic governments alike. Promoting regional stability, Bulgaria hosted a Southeast European Foreign Ministers meeting in July 1996, and an OSCE conference on Black Sea cooperation in November 1995. Bulgaria also participated in the 1996 South Balkan Defense Ministerial in Albania and is active in the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative. Bulgaria's main focus is the Euro-Atlantic integration since 1997 and the efforts of the governments since then led to admission to NATO in 2004 and the European Union in 2007. Its main allies are Greece and Romania, while it maintains good relations with Serbia and the rest of the Balkans. Republic of Macedonia is very important state in Bulgarian foreign and internal policy due to the historical, ethnical and cultural connections. Read more...
The Pirin Mountains (Bulgarian: Пирин) are a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, with Vihren at an altitude of 2,914 m being the highest peak. One hypothessis is the mountain was named after Perun, the highest god of the Slavic pantheon and the god of thunder and lightning. Another version is that the etymology of the range derives from the Thracian word Perinthos, meaning "Rocky Mountain".
The range extends about 80 km from the north-west to the south-east and is about 40 km wide, spanning a territory of 2,585 km2 (998 sq mi). To the north Pirin is separated from Bulgaria's highest mountain range, the Rila Mountains, by the Predel saddle, while to the south it reaches the Slavyanka Mountains. To the west is located the valley of the river Struma and to the east the valley of the river Mesta separates it from the Rhodope Mountains. Pirin is dotted with more than a hundred glacial lakes and is also the home of Europe's southernmost glaciers, Snezhnika and Banski Suhodol. Read more...
Crime in Bulgaria is combated by the Bulgarian police and other agencies. The United States Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security ranks Bulgaria’s crime rating as High. Read more...
The lev (Bulgarian: лев, plural: лева, левове / leva, levove) is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki (стотинки, singular: stotinka, стотинка). In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion", a word which in the modern language became lăv (IPA: /lɤf/) (in Bulgarian: лъв). Stotinka comes from the word "sto" (сто) - a hundred. Read more...- There were rumors and speculations regarding the existence of a property bubble in Bulgaria since at least 2006; however, many interested parties (especially banks) tended to discredit such a possibility. Most of all, since the property bubble has been the driving force in GDP growth in Bulgaria most players in the market, including government have been satisfied with the situation. Read more...
- The official language of Bulgaria is Bulgarian. According to the 2001 census, 84.5% of the country's population speak Bulgarian natively. Read more...
- The Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Конституция на Република България, Konstitutsia na Republika Balgaria) is the supreme and basic law of the Republic of Bulgaria. The current constitution was adopted on 12 July 1991 by the 7th Grand National Assembly of Bulgaria, and defines the country as a unitary parliamentary republic. It has been amended five times (in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2015).
Chronologically, it is the fourth constitution of Bulgaria, the first being the Tarnovo Constitution of 1879. It was immediately preceded by the two Communist-era constitutions–the Dimitrov Constitution (named after Georgi Dimitrov), in force between 1947 and 1971, and the Zhivkov Constitution (named after Todor Zhivkov), in force between 1971 and 1991. Read more...
Transport in Bulgaria is dominated by road transport, despite nearly half of all paved roads belonging to the lowest category of roads. As of December 2015, the country had 774 kilometers of highways.
Buses play a significant role in long distance public transport, coaches are operated by public and private companies. Sofia has three major national bus terminals, the Central, the Western and the Southern Terminals, and a separate terminal for international routes. In the countryside share taxis are in operation between smaller settlements. Read more...- The history of Ottoman Bulgaria spans nearly 500 years, from the conquest by the Ottoman Empire of the smaller kingdoms emerging from the disintegrating Second Bulgarian Empire in the late 14th century, to the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878. As a result of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), the Principality of Bulgaria, a self-governing Ottoman vassal state that was functionally independent, was created. In 1885 the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia came under the control of the Bulgarian Tsar. Bulgaria declared independence in 1908. Read more...
- This list of earthquakes in Bulgaria is organized by date and includes events that caused injuries/fatalities, historic quakes, as well events that are notable for other reasons. Read more...
The Kingdom of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Царство България, Tsarstvo Bǎlgariya), also referred to as the Tsardom of Bulgaria and the Third Bulgarian Tsardom, was a constitutional monarchy in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, which was established on 5 October (O.S. 22 September) 1908 when the Bulgarian state was raised from a principality to a kingdom. Ferdinand I was crowned a Tsar at the Declaration of Independence, mainly because of his military plans and for seeking options for unification of all lands in the Balkan region with an ethnic Bulgarian majority (lands that had been seized from Bulgaria and given to the Ottoman Empire in the Treaty of Berlin).
The state was almost constantly at war throughout its existence, lending to its nickname as "the Balkan Prussia". For several years Bulgaria mobilized an army of more than 1 million people from its population of about 5 million and in the next decade (1910–20) it engaged in three wars – the First and Second Balkan Wars, and the First World War. Following the First World War the Bulgarian army was disbanded and forbidden to exist by the Allied Powers, and all plans for national unification of the Bulgarian lands failed. Less than two decades later Bulgaria once again went to war for national unification as part of the Second World War, and once again found itself on the losing side, until it switched sides to the Allies in 1944. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished, its final Tsar was sent into exile and the Kingdom was replaced by the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Read more...
The provinces of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: области на България Oblasti na Bǎlgarija) are the first level administrative subdivisions of the country.
Since 1999, Bulgaria has been divided into 28 provinces (Bulgarian: области – oblasti; singular: област – oblast; also translated as "regions") which correspond approximately to the 28 districts (in Bulgarian: окръг – okrags, plural: окръзи – okrǎzi), that existed before 1987. Read more...- Bulgaria had the third highest mortality in Europe, at 708 per 100,000 population in 2015. The four European regions with the highest death rates from diseases of the circulatory system were all in Bulgaria.
In the early 2000s, the major natural causes of death were cardiovascular disease (most commonly manifested in strokes), cancer, and respiratory illness. Bulgaria has had a very low incidence rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Although in 2003 the estimated rate of incidence was less than 0.1 percent of the population, in the early 2000s the number of new case reports increased annually. In 2005 some 86 new cases were reported, bringing the official total to about 600, and 58 new cases were reported in the first half of 2006. In 2010, there were 1,160 HIV-positive persons. Read more... - Bulgarian Turks (Bulgarian: български турци, Bǎlgarski Turci, Turkish: Bulgaristan Türkleri) are a Turkish ethnic group from Bulgaria. As of 2011 there are 588,318 Bulgarians of Turkish descent, roughly 8.8% of the population, making them the country's largest ethnic minority. They primarily live in the southern province of Kardzhali and the northeastern provinces of Shumen, Silistra, Razgrad and Targovishte. There is also a diaspora outside Bulgaria in countries such as Turkey, Austria, Netherlands, and Sweden, the most significant of which are the Bulgarian Turks in Turkey.
Bulgarian Turks are the descendants of Turkish settlers who entered the region after the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, as well as Bulgarian converts to Islam who became Turkified during the centuries of Ottoman rule. However, it has also been suggested that some Turks living today in Bulgaria may be direct ethnic descendants of earlier medieval Pecheneg, Oğuz, and Cuman Turkic tribes. According to local tradition, following a resettlement policy Karamanid Turks (mainly from the Konya Vilayet, Nevşehir Vilayet and Niğde Vilayet of the Karaman Province) were settled mainly in the Kardzhali area by the sultans Mehmed the Conqueror, Selim and Mahmud II. The Turkish community became an ethnic minority when the Principality of Bulgaria was established after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. This community is of Turkish ethnic consciousness and differs from the majority Bulgarian ethnicity and the rest of the Bulgarian nation by its own language, religion, culture, customs, and traditions. Read more...
Rila (Bulgarian: Рила, pronounced [ˈriɫɐ]) is a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria and the highest mountain range of Bulgaria and the Balkans, with its highest peak being Musala at 2,925 m. The massif is also the sixth highest mountain in Europe (when each mountain is represented by its highest peak only), coming after the Caucasus, the Alps, Sierra Nevada, the Pyrenees and Mount Etna, and the highest between the Alps and the Caucasus. More than one-third of the mountain is occupied by the Rila National Park, the rest lies within the Rila Monastery Nature Park.
The mountain is believed to have been named after the river of the same name, which comes from the Old Bulgarian verb "рыти" meaning "to grub". Read more...- Cinema of Bulgaria refers to the film industry in Bulgaria.
The beginning of Bulgarian cinema was in January 1915 with the premiere of the first Bulgarian feature film Bulgaran is a Gallant. Read more... - Prior to World War II, agriculture in Bulgaria was the leading sector in the Bulgarian economy. In 1939, agriculture contributed 65 percent of Net material product (NMP), and four out of every five Bulgarians were employed in agriculture. The importance and organization of Bulgarian agriculture changed drastically after the war, however. By 1958, the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) had collectivized a high percentage of Bulgarian farms; in the next three decades, the state used various forms of organization to improve productivity, but none succeeded. Meanwhile, private plots remained productive and often alleviated agricultural shortages during the Todor Zhivkov era. Read more...
- Bulgaria is an industrialized nation with a developed heavy and light manufacturing industry. In 2007 industry accounted for 31.7% of the country's GDP. This makes industry the second largest sector of the economy after services. In 2007 the sector employed 33.6% of the labour force. Read more...
- Tourism in Bulgaria is a significant contributor to the country's economy. Situated at the crossroads of the East and West, Bulgaria has been home to many civilizations - Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Eastern Romans or Byzantines, Slavs, Bulgars, and Ottomans. The country is rich in tourist sights and historical artifacts, scattered through a relatively small and easily accessible territory. Bulgaria is internationally known for its seaside and winter resorts.
Bulgaria attracted ~12 million foreign tourists in 2017, according to the Worldbank. Tourists from five countries - Greece, Romania, Turkey, Germany, and Russia - account for approximately 50% of all visitors. The sector contributed to 15% of GDP and supported 150 000 workplaces in 2014. Read more...
A view from Kom Peak in western Bulgaria.
The Balkan mountain range (Bulgarian and Serbian Cyrillic: Стара планина, Serbian Latin: Stara planina, "Old Mountain"; Bulgarian pronunciation: [ˈstarɐ pɫɐniˈna]; Serbian pronunciation: [stâːraː planǐna]) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea. The highest peaks of the Balkan Mountains are in central Bulgaria. The highest peak is Botev at 2,376 m, which makes the mountain range the third highest in the country, after Rila and Pirin. The mountains are the source of the name of the Balkan Peninsula.
The mountain range forms the watershed between the Black Sea and Aegean Sea catchment areas, with the exception of an area in west, where it is crossed by the spectacular Iskar Gorge. The karst relief determines the large number of caves, including Magura, featuring the most important and extended European post-Palaeolithic cave painting, Ledenika, Saeva dupka, Bacho Kiro, etc. The most notable rock formation are the Belogradchik Rocks in the west. Read more...
The Odrysian Kingdom (/oʊˈdrɪʒən/; Ancient Greek: Βασίλειον Ὀδρυσῶν; Latin: Regnum Odrysium) was a state union of over 40 Thracian tribes and 22 kingdoms that existed between the 5th century BC and the 1st century AD. It consisted mainly of present-day Bulgaria, spreading to parts of Southeastern Romania (Northern Dobruja), parts of Northern Greece and parts of modern-day European Turkey.
It is suggested that the kingdom had no capital. Instead, the kings may have moved between residences. A capital was the city of Odryssa (assumed to be Uscudama, modern Edirne), as inscribed on coins. Another royal residence believed to have been constructed by Cotys I (383-358 BC) is in the village of Starosel, while in 315 BC Seuthopolis was built as a capital. An early capital was Vize. The kingdom broke up and Kabyle was a co-capital by the end of the 4th century BC. Read more...
Tarator is a cold soup made of yogurt, water, minced cucumber, dill, garlic, and sunflower or olive oil (Chips are also sometimes added).
Bulgarian cuisine (Bulgarian: българска кухня, translit. bǎlgarska kuhnja) is a representative of the cuisine of Eastern Europe. It shares characteristics with other Balkans cuisines. Bulgarian cooking traditions are diverse because of geographical factors such as climatic conditions suitable for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruit. Aside from the vast variety of local Bulgarian dishes, Bulgarian cuisine shares a number of dishes with Persian, Turkish, and Greek cuisine.
Bulgarian food often incorporates salads as appetizers and is also noted for the prominence of dairy products, wines and other alcoholic drinks such as rakia. The cuisine also features a variety of soups, such as the cold soup tarator, and pastries, such as the filo dough based banitsa, pita and the various types of börek. Read more...
Did you know...
- ... that Theodore Komnenos Doukas founded the short-lived Empire of Thessalonica and came close to restoring the Byzantine Empire before his defeat and capture by the Bulgarians?
- ... that Bulgaria's first cosmonaut, Georgi Ivanov, safely returned to Earth despite a failing main engine and a damaged backup engine on his Soyuz 33 spacecraft?
- ... that the marble peak Sinanitsa in Pirin is regarded as one of Bulgaria's most beautiful summits?
- ... that Zvezdelina Stankova brought ideas from her Bulgarian mathematical education to California by founding the Berkeley Math Circle?
- ... that while Bulgaria's most famous long-distance trail, Kom–Emine, typically takes 20 to 25 days to complete, the record stands at under 5 days?
- ... that the Old Wall in Sofia, Bulgaria, popularly called the "Roman Wall", is in fact an Islamic religious structure from the 16th or 17th century?
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Selected images
Christo's Mastaba in Hyde Park, London
The walls of Tsarevets fortress in Veliko Tarnovo, the capital of the second empire
Kuker in Lesichovo
Odrysian golden wreath in the National History Museum
Grigor Dimitrov at the 2015 Italian Open
Khan Krum feasts with his nobles after the battle of Pliska. His servant (far right) brings the wine-filled skull cup of Nicephorus I.
Lacerta viridis in Ropotamo, one of Bulgaria's 16 biosphere reserves
Mikoyan MiG-29 jet fighters of the Bulgarian Air Force
The National Assembly in Sofia
In the news
- 7 October 2018 –
- Police announce that investigative journalist Viktoria Marinova was found murdered yesterday in a park in Ruse, Bulgaria. Marinova's latest work was on "GPgate", a scandal involving alleged corruption and abuse of European Union subsidies in Bulgaria. (Thuner Tagblatt) (RFE/RL)
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