| Република България Republika Balgariya [1] Republic of Bulgaria
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| Motto: Съединението прави силата (Bulgarian) "Saedinenieto pravi silata" (transliteration) "Unity makes strength"1 |
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| Anthem: Мила Родино (Bulgarian) Mila Rodino (transliteration) Dear Motherland |
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 Location of Bulgaria (orange)
– on the European continent (camel & white) |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Sofia |
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| Official languages | Bulgarian | |||||
| Demonym | Bulgarian | |||||
| Government | Parliamentary republic | |||||
| - | President | Georgi Parvanov | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Sergey Stanishev | ||||
| Formation | ||||||
| - | Founded | 681[2] | ||||
| - | Last previously independent state2 | 1422 |
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| - | Autonomy within the Ottoman Empire | 1878 |
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| - | Unification with Eastern Rumelia | 1885 | ||||
| - | Officially recognized independence | 1908 | ||||
| EU accession | January 1, 2007 | |||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 110,910 km² (112th) 42,823 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 0. The Flag of Bulgaria (знаме на България zname na Balgariya) is a Tricolour consisting of three equal-sized horizontal bands The coat of arms of Bulgaria (Герб на България Gerb na Bălgariya) consists of a crowned golden lion rampant over a dark red shield A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group Bulgarian (български език IPA: ɛzˈik is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group Transliteration is the practice of Transcribing a Word or text written in one Writing system into another writing system or system of rules for such practice A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's Mila Rodino ( "Мила Родино", translated as "Dear Motherland" or "Dear native land") is the current The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Population 7640000 ( 2007 Age structure 0-14 years 141% (male 539005/female 512762 15-64 years 68 Sofia (София ˈsɔfija is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1395568 in the Capital Municipality An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory Bulgarian (български език IPA: ɛzˈik is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a People or the inhabitants of a place The Bulgarians (българи balgari) are a South Slavic people generally associated with the Republic of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian language For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a form of a Republic which operates under a Parliamentary system of government This page will list the various republican heads of state of Bulgaria, as well as leaders of Bulgaria's communist party during the time when it played the "leading role" Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov (Георги Седефчов Първанов (born 28 June 1957) has been president of Bulgaria since 22 January List of Heads of Government of Bulgaria (1879-Present Principality of Bulgaria (1878-1908 Chairmen of the Council of Ministers Sergey Dmitrievich Stanishev (Сергей Дмитриевич Станишев born May 5, 1966) is the current Prime Minister of Bulgaria and Chairman The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in A Member State of the European Union is any one of the twenty-seven sovereign Nation states that have acceded the European Union (EU since its De facto New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions we list here Surface areas between 100000 km² and 1000000 km² This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by total area. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. In Mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a Fraction of 100 ( per cent meaning "per hundred" 3 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2008 estimate | 7,220,000 (93rd) | ||||
| - | 2001 census | 7,932,984 | ||||
| - | Density | 68. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology List of countries by population in 2005|List of countries by population in 1907This is a list of countries ordered according to Population. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 9/km² (124th) 185/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2008 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $92. List of countries and dependencies by Population density in inhabitants/km² The purchasing power parity ( PPP) theory uses the long-term equilibrium Exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their Purchasing power. 894 billion (63rd) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $12,252 (65th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2008 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $45. There are three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head with Per meaning 'through' or 'by' This article includes three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP at Purchasing power parity (PPP Per capita 086 billion (75th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $5,946 (88th) | ||||
| Gini (2003) | 29. PLEASE NO RANDOM FIGURES THERE ARE NO FIGURES BASED ON NATIONAL STATISTICS IN THIS ARTICLE Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head with Per meaning 'through' or 'by' This article includes three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product Per capita at Nominal values, the The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion most prominently used as a measure of inequality of income distribution or inequality of wealth 2 (low) | |||||
| HDI (2007) | ▲ 0. The Human Development Index ( HDI) is an index combining normalized measures of Life expectancy, Literacy, Educational attainment, and GDP 824 (high) (53rd) | |||||
| Currency | Lev3 (BGN) |
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| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .bg4 | |||||
| Calling code | +359 | |||||
| 1 | Bulgaria’s National Flag. This is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in the United Nations Development Program 's Human Development Report 2007 A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is The lev (лев plural bg лева левове / ''leva levove'' is the Currency of Bulgaria. ISO 4217 is the International standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established Eastern European Time ( EET) is one of the names of UTC+2 Time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. Daylight saving time ( DST Eastern European Summer Time ( EEST) is one of the names of UTC+3 Time zone, 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. A country This is a list of country calling codes defined by ITU-T recommendation E Bulgarian Government (3 October 2005). Politics of Bulgaria take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Republic, whereby the Minister-Chairman Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved on 2007-01-01. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC | |||||
| 2 | Vidin Tsardom. Vidin (Видин is a town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. | |||||
| 3 | plural Leva. The lev (лев plural bg лева левове / ''leva levove'' is the Currency of Bulgaria. | |||||
| 4 | Bulgarians, in common with citizens of other European Union member-states, also use the .eu domain. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in | |||||
| 5 | Cell phone system GSM and NMT 450i | |||||
| 6 | Domestic power supply 220 V/50 Hz, Schuko (CEE 7/4) sockets | |||||
Bulgaria (Bulgarian: България, Balgariya,[1] pronounced IPA: [bɤlˈgarijə]), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Република България, Republika Balgariya, pronounced IPA: [rɛˈpubliˌkə bɤlˈgarijə]) re-incarnates one of the oldest states in Europe,[3] located in Southeastern Europe, bordering five other countries: Romania to the north (mostly along the Danube), Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south. " Schuko " (ˈʃuːkoː is the colloquial name for a system of Domestic AC power plugs and sockets that is defined as " CEE 7/4" or known Bulgarian (български език IPA: ɛzˈik is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country The Republic of Macedonia (Република Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches The Black Sea defines the extent of the country to the east. The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey
Bulgaria comprises the classical regions of Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Moesia (Μοισία Moisía; Мизия Miziya; Moesia Мезија Mezija) was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe Macedonia is a Geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe whose area was re-defined in the early 20th century Old European culture in the region started to produce golden artifacts by the fifth millennium BCE. Not to be confused is the term "Old European" as used by Hans Krahe in connection with hydronymy. The Varna Necropolis (Варненски некропол (also Varna Cemetery) is a burial site in the western industrial zone of Varna (approximately half [4]
The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name, language, and alphabet) of the First Bulgarian Empire (632/681 – 1018), which at times covered most of the Balkans and spread its alphabet, literature and culture among the Slavic and other peoples of Eastern Europe. The First Bulgarian Empire (Първo Българско царство Părvo Bălgarsko Tsarstvo) was a Medieval Bulgarian state founded in AD 632 Centuries later, with the decline of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185 – 1396/1422), the country came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. The Second Bulgarian Empire ( Bulgarian: Второ българско царство Vtorо Balgarskо Tsartsvo) was a Medieval Bulgarian state The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) re-established Bulgaria as a constitutional monarchy in 1878, with the Treaty of San Stefano marking the birth of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 had its origins in a rise in nationalism in the Balkans as well as in the Russian goal of recovering territorial losses it had suffered A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is The Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano was a treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed at the end of the Russo-Turkish War 1877–78. The Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878 provided for a self-governing Bulgarian state which comprised the geographical regions of Moesia After World War II, Bulgaria became a communist state and part of the Eastern Bloc. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Communist state is a term used by many Political scientists to describe a Form of government in which the State operates under a one-party system During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were In 1990, after the Revolutions of 1989, the Communist party gave up its monopoly on power and Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and free-market capitalism. "Fall of Communism" redirects here For the fall of the Soviet Union itself see History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991. The Bulgarian Communist Party (Българска комунистическа партия / Balgarska Komunisticheska Partiya) was the ruling party of the People's Republic Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system A free market is a Market in which property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged completely by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers
Currently Bulgaria functions as a parliamentary democracy under a unitary constitutional republic. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A parliament is a Legislature, especially in those Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system A unitary state is a State whose three Organs of state are governed Constitutionally as one single unit with one Constitutionally created A constitutional Republic is a State where the Head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people and A member of the European Union since 2007 and of NATO since 2004, it has a population of approximately 7. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The North Atlantic Treaty 7 million, with Sofia as its capital and largest city. Sofia (София ˈsɔfija is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1395568 in the Capital Municipality
Geography
Geographically and in terms of climate, Bulgaria features notable diversity with the landscape ranging from the Alpine snow-capped peaks in Rila, Pirin and the Balkan Mountains to the mild and sunny Black Sea coast; from the typically continental Danubian Plain (ancient Moesia) in the north to the strong Mediterranean climatic influence in the valleys of Macedonia and in the lowlands in the southernmost parts of Thrace. Boundaries Although external historical events often changed Bulgaria's national boundaries in its first century of existence natural terrain features defined most boundaries after For the climate of the mountains named the Alps, see Climate of the Alps. for the Tibetan village see Rila Tibet Rila (Рила) is a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria and the highest mountain range The Pirin Mountains (Пирин are a Mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, with Vihren (2914 m high the highest peak situated at The Balkan Mountain range ( Bulgarian and Стара планина Stara planina, "Old Mountain" Continental climate is a Climate that is characterized by Winter Temperatures cold enough to support a fixed period of Snow cover each Year The Danubian Plain (Дунавска равнина transliterated Dunavska ravnina) constitutes the northern part of Bulgaria, situated north of the Balkan Moesia (Μοισία Moisía; Мизия Miziya; Moesia Мезија Mezija) was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the A Mediterranean climate is one that resembles the Climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes over half of the area with this climate type world-wide Macedonia is a Geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe whose area was re-defined in the early 20th century Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe
Phytogeographically, Bulgaria is shared between the Illyrian and Euxinian provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. Phytogeography, also called geobotany is the branch of Biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution of Plant Species, or more generally Vaccinium vitis-idaea 20060824 003jpg|thumb|right| Vaccinium vitis-idaea ]]Alnus-viridis Rhododendron-palustreJPG|thumb|right| Rhododendron tomentosum ]]The Boreal Kingdom or Holarctic Kingdom ( Holarctis) is a Floristic kingdom According to the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency, the territory of Bulgaria can be subdivided into two main ecoregions: the Balkan mixed forests and Rodope montane mixed forests. European Environment Agency (EEA agency of the European Union devoted to establishing a monitoring network for the monitoring of the European environment An ecoregion ( ecological region) sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area smaller than a "realm" or " The Balkan mixed forests constitute a terrestrial Ecoregion of Europe according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the However, small parts of four other ecoregions can be found on Bulgarian territory.
Relief
The Balkan peninsula derives its name from the Balkan or Stara Planina mountain-range, which runs through the centre of Bulgaria and extends into eastern Serbia. The Balkan Mountain range ( Bulgarian and Стара планина Stara planina, "Old Mountain" Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country
Bulgaria comprises portions of the regions known in classical times as Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia. The Seven Rila Lakes (Седем(те Рилски езера Sedem(te Rilski ezera) are a group of Lakes of glacial origin situated in the northwestern Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Moesia (Μοισία Moisía; Мизия Miziya; Moesia Мезија Mezija) was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe Macedonia is a Geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe whose area was re-defined in the early 20th century The mountainous southwest of the country has two alpine ranges — Rila and Pirin — and further east stand the lower but more extensive Rhodope Mountains. for the Tibetan village see Rila Tibet Rila (Рила) is a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria and the highest mountain range The Pirin Mountains (Пирин are a Mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, with Vihren (2914 m high the highest peak situated at The Rhodopes (Родопи Rodopi, usually used with a definite article Родопите Rodopite, sometimes also called Родопа Rodopa or Родопа The Rila range includes the highest peak of the Balkan Peninsula, Musala, at 2,925 meters (9,596 ft); the long range of the Balkan mountains runs west-east through the middle of the country, north of the famous Rose Valley. for the Tibetan village see Rila Tibet Rila (Рила) is a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria and the highest mountain range Musala (Мусала is the highest peak in Bulgaria and the entire Balkan Peninsula, standing at 2925 m (9596 ft The Balkan Mountain range ( Bulgarian and Стара планина Stara planina, "Old Mountain" The Rose Valley (Розова долина Rozova dolina) is a region in Bulgaria located just south of the Balkan Mountains, between them and the Hilly country and plains lie in the southeast, along the Black Sea coast in the east, and along Bulgaria's main river, the Danube in the north. The Bulgarian Black Sea Riviera (Черноморие Chеrnomoriе) covers the entire eastern bound of Bulgaria stretching from the Romanian The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj
Mineral resources
The country possesses relatively rich mineral-resources, including vast reserves of lignite and anthracite coal; non-ferrous ores such as copper, lead, zinc and gold. Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad, is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere Anthracite ( Greek Ανθρακίτης literally "a type of coal" from Anthrax, coal is a hard compact variety of mineral Coal that has a high Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly Zinc (ˈzɪŋk from Zink is a Metallic Chemical element with the symbol Zn and Atomic number 30 Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 It has large deposits of manganese ore in the north-east. Manganese (ˈmæŋgəniːz is a Chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. Smaller deposits exist of iron, silver, chromite, nickel and others. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Chromite is iron magnesium chromium oxide (Fe MgCr2O4 It is an Oxide Mineral belonging to the Spinel group Nickel (ˈnɪkəl is a metallic Chemical element with the symbol Ni and Atomic number 28 Bulgaria has abundant non-metalliferous minerals such as rock-salt, gypsum, kaolin, marble. For sodium chloride in the diet see Salt. Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or Halite, is a Gypsum is a very soft Mineral composed of Calcium sulfate dihydrate with the Chemical formula Ca[[sulfur S]] O 4·2 Kaolinite is a Clay mineral with the chemical composition Al 2 Si 2 O 5( OH)4 Marble is a nonfoliated Metamorphic rock resulting from the Metamorphism of Limestone, composed mostly of Calcite (a crystalline form of
Hydrography
Bulgaria has a dense network of about 540 rivers,[5] but with the notable exception of the Danube, most have short lengths and low water-level. Vacha ( Antonivanovtsi Dam, renamed by edict from 1999 is a Dam situated in south Bulgaria, Devin municipality, 680 m above sea level The Rhodopes (Родопи Rodopi, usually used with a definite article Родопите Rodopite, sometimes also called Родопа Rodopa or Родопа
Most rivers flow through mountainous areas; fewer in the Danubian Plain, Upper Thracian Plain and especially Dobrudzha. The Upper Thracian Plain (Горнотракийска низина Gornotrakiyska nizina) constitutes the northern part of the historical region of Thrace. Two catchment basins exist: the Black Sea (57% of the territory and 42% of the rivers) and the Aegean Sea (43% of the territory and 58% of the rivers) basins. Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. The longest river located solely in Bulgarian territory, the Iskar, has a length of 368 km. The Iskar (Искър Latin: Oescus) is with a length of 368 km, the longest river that runs solely in Bulgaria, and a tributary of the Other major rivers include the Struma and the Maritsa river in the south. Strymon redirects here For the Strymon Gulf see Strymonian Gulf. The Maritsa or Evros (Марица Εβρος Romanized as Hebrus, Meriç is with a length of 480 km the longest river that runs solely in the interior
Rila and Pirin feature around 260 glacial lakes; the country also has several large lakes on the Black Sea coast and more than 2,200 dam lakes. Many mineral springs exist, located mainly in the south-western and central parts of the country along the faults between the mountains.
The Bulgarian word for spa, баня, transliterated as banya, appears in some of the names of more than 50 spa towns and resorts including Sapareva Banya, Hisarya, Sandanski, Bankya, Varshets, Pavel Banya, Devin, Velingrad and many others. The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as Balneotherapy, Spa towns or Spa resorts offering such treatment or the medication See also Mineral spa A spa town, or simply spa, is a town frequented mainly for health reasons to "take the waters" Sapareva Banya (Сапарева баня is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, part of Kyustendil Province. Hisarya ( Bulgarian Cyrillic: Хисаря also known as Hisar, Hissar or Hissarya) is a small resort town in Bulgaria, in Plovdiv Sandanski (Сандански formerly until 1949 Свети Врач Sveti Vrach) is a town and a recreation centre in south-western Bulgaria, Bankya (Банкя is a town and municipality in western Bulgaria. Varshets (Вършец variously transliterated is a Spa town in Montana Province, northwestern Bulgaria. Pavel Banya (Павел Баня is a small town in the Stara Zagora Province, central Bulgaria, near the towns of Kalofer and Kazanlak. Velingrad (Велинград is a town in Bulgaria and one of the most popular Bulgarian balneological resorts
Climate
Bulgaria has a temperate climate, with cool and damp winters, very hot and dry summers, and Mediterranean influence along the Black Sea coast. A Mediterranean climate is one that resembles the Climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes over half of the area with this climate type world-wide The barrier effect of the Balkan Mountains influences climate throughout the country: northern Bulgaria gets slightly cooler and receives more rain than the southern regions. Precipitation in Bulgaria averages about 630 millimetres per year. In Meteorology, precipitation (also known as one class of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric Drier areas include Dobrudzha and the northern coastal strip, while the higher parts of the Rila and Stara Planina mountains receive the highest levels of precipitation. In summer, temperatures in the south of Bulgaria often exceed 40 degrees Celsius, but remain cooler by the coast. A site near Plovdiv has recorded the highest known temperature: 46. 7 degrees Celsius.
Urban geography
Bulgaria's larger cities include:
| Place | City | Population | Place | City | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.  |
Sofia | 1,380,406 | 6.  |
Stara Zagora | 163,193 |
2.  |
Plovdiv | 376,918 | 7.  |
Pleven | 121,700 |
3.  |
Varna | 349,031 | 8.  |
Dobrich | 115,861 |
4.  |
Burgas | 220,985 | 9.  |
Sliven | 106,434 |
5.  |
Ruse | 176,118 | 10.  |
Shumen | 103,016 |
Bulgaria operates a scientific station, the St. Kliment Ohridski Base, on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands off the coast of Antarctica. St Kliment Ohridski Base (База св Климент Охридски Baza Sv Livingston Island ( is an Antarctic island in the South Shetland Islands, Western Antarctica lying between Greenwich and Snow Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about 120 kilometres north of the Antarctic Peninsula.
History
Prehistory and Antiquity
- Further information: Neolithic Europe, Bronze Age Europe, and Thrace}
Prehistoric cultures in the Bulgarian lands include the Neolithic Hamangia culture and Vinča culture (6th to 3rd millennia BC), the eneolithic Varna culture (5th millennium BC; see also Varna Necropolis), and the Bronze Age Ezero culture. This is a list of cities in Bulgaria with over 20000 inhabitants This is a list of Rivers in Bulgaria. The longest river that Bulgaria has a bank on is the Danube (2888 km which spans most of the country's This is a list of Reservoirs and Dams in Bulgaria: Note In Bulgaria a dam is often used to refer the body of water rather than the structure The History of Bulgaria as a separate country began in 632 AD with the establishment of Old Great Bulgaria, which stretched from east of the Sea Neolithic Europe is the time between roughly from 7000 BC (the approximate time of the first farming societies in Greece) to ca The Bronze Age in Europe succeeds the Neolithic in the late 3rd millennium BC (late Beaker culture) and spans the entire Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe The Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari is situated 25 km southwest of the village of Sveshtari, Razgrad Province, which is located 42 km northeast of For the New York prison see The Tombs. A Tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Hamangia was a Middle Neolithic culture in Dobruja ( Romania and Bulgaria) to the right bank of the Danube in Muntenia and The Vinča culture was an early culture of Europe (between the 6th and the 3rd millennium BC stretching around the course of Danube in what today is Serbia The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos ' Copper stone' period or Copper Age period known as the '''Eneolithic''' ('''Æneolithic''' is a The Varna culture belongs to the late Eneolithic of northern Bulgaria. The Varna Necropolis (Варненски некропол (also Varna Cemetery) is a burial site in the western industrial zone of Varna (approximately half The Ezero culture, 3300&mdash2700 BC was a Bronze Age Archaeological culture occupying most of present-day Bulgaria. The Karanovo chronology serves as a gauge for the prehistory of the wider Balkans region. The Karanovo culture is a neolithic culture (Karanovo I-III ca
The Thracians, the earliest known identifiable people to inhabit the present-day territory of Bulgaria, have left traceable marks among all the Balkan region despite its tumultuous history of many conquests. [6][7] The Panagyuriste treasure ranks as one of the most splendid achievements of the Thracian culture. The Panagyurishte gold treasure (Панагюрско златно съкровище is a Thracian treasure excavated in Bulgaria
The Thracians lived divided into numerous separate tribes until King Teres united most of them around 500 BC in the Odrysian kingdom, which peaked under the kings Sitalces and Cotys I (383-359 BC). Teres I (reigned 475-445 BC was the first king of the Odrysian state of Thrace. The Odrysian kingdom was a union of Thracian tribes that endured between the 5th century BC and the 3rd century BC. Sitalces (reigned 431 - 424 BC was one of the great kings of the Thracian Odrysian state Cotys I or Kotys I was born during the reign of Seuthes I. He became king after he killed the previous Thracian king Hebryzelmis. In 188 BC the Romans invaded Thrace, and warfare continued until 45 AD when Rome finally conquered the region. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe The conquerors quickly romanized the population. Romanization may also refer to linguistics see Romanization. Romanization was a gradual process of Cultural assimilation, in which By the time the Slavs arrived, the Thracians had already lost their indigenous identity and had dwindled in number following frequent invasions. "Thracians" also refers to modern inhabitants of Thrace, regardless of ethnicity
The Slavs and Old Great Bulgaria
The Slavs emerged from their original homeland (which scholars most commonly locate in Eastern Europe) in the early 6th century, and spread to most of the eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, thus forming three main branches — the West Slavs, the East Slavs and the South Slavs. Old Great Bulgaria or Great Bulgaria (Стара Велика България Παλαιά Μεγάλη Βουλγαρία in Byzantine chronicles alternative The eastern South Slavs became part of the ancestors of the modern Bulgarians. They assimilated what remained of the Thracians. Modern Bulgarians derive much of their culture, language and self-determination from these early immigrants. The Bulgarians (българи balgari) are a South Slavic people generally associated with the Republic of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian language
In 632, the Bulgars, an ancient civilization/nation that formed numerous kingdoms throughout Eurasia, yet stemming from a largely enigmatic socio-cultural lineage (theorized to be of either Aryan or Turkic descent) originally from Central Asia, formed under the leadership of Khan Kubrat an independent state called Great Bulgaria, situated between the lower course of the Danube to the west, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea to the south, the Kuban River to the east, and the Donets River to the north. The Bulgars (also Bolgars or proto-Bulgarians) were a seminomadic people probably of Turkic descent originally from Central Asia, Kubrat or Kurt (Кубрат Χουβρατις was a Bulgar ruler credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in 632 Old Great Bulgaria or Great Bulgaria (Стара Велика България Παλαιά Μεγάλη Βουλγαρία in Byzantine chronicles alternative The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey The Sea of Azov (Азо́вское мо́ре - Azovskoye more; Азо́вське мо́ре - Azovs'ke more, Azaq deñizi is the world's shallowest sea linked Kuban River (Куба́нь ku'banʲ Adyghe: Псыж Psyzh) is a River in Russia, in the North Caucasus region The river Seversky Donets (Северский Донец Сіверський Донець alternatively Donetz) flows into the Don River Russia
Pressure from the Khazars led to the subjugation of Great Bulgaria in the second half of the seventh century. "Kazar" redirects here for the Marvel Comics character see Ka-Zar; for the village in Azerbaijan see Xəzər. Some of the Bulgars from that territory later migrated to the northeast to form a new state called Volga Bulgaria (around the confluence of the Volga and Kama Rivers), which lasted until the thirteenth century. Volga Bulgaria or Volga-Kama Bolghar, is an historic state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of Kama (река́ Ка́ма is a major river in Russia, the longest left tributary of the Volga and the largest one in discharge in fact it is larger than
First Bulgarian Empire
.svg/200px-Bulgaria_Simeon_I_(893-927).svg.png)
Kubrat’s successor, Khan Asparuh, migrated with some of the Bulgar tribes to the lower courses of the rivers Danube, Dniester and Dniepr (known as Ongal), and conquered Moesia and Scythia Minor (Dobrudzha) from the Byzantine Empire, expanding his new khanate further into the Balkan Peninsula. Kubrat or Kurt (Кубрат Χουβρατις was a Bulgar ruler credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in 632 Asparuh or Isperih ( Bulgarian: Аспарух, Asparuh or Исперих, Isperih) was ruler of a Bulgar tribe The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The Dniester (Дністер translit Dnister; Nistru is a river in Eastern Europe. For the rocket see Dnepr rocket. For other uses see Dnieper (disambiguation. Moesia (Μοισία Moisía; Мизия Miziya; Moesia Мезија Mezija) was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Scythia Minor, "Lesser Scythia" (Μικρά Σκυθία Mikrá Skythia) was in ancient times the region surrounded by the Danube at the north and [9] A peace treaty with Byzantium in 681 and the establishment of the Bulgar capital of Pliska south of the Danube mark the beginning of the First Bulgarian Empire. For the ancient battle see Battle of Pliska Pliska (Плиска is the name of both the first capital of Danubian Bulgaria and a small The First Bulgarian Empire (Първo Българско царство Părvo Bălgarsko Tsarstvo) was a Medieval Bulgarian state founded in AD 632 At the same time one of Asparuh's brothers, Kuber, settled with another Bulgar group in present-day Macedonia. Kuber was Bulgar leader who ruled over Srem as a vassal to the Avar Khagan Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Macedonia is a Geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe whose area was re-defined in the early 20th century
In 718, the Bulgars raised the Arab siege of Constantinople, killing some 40,000 to 60,000 Arab soldiers. The Bulgars (also Bolgars or proto-Bulgarians) were a seminomadic people probably of Turkic descent originally from Central Asia, The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding The Second Arab Siege of Constantinople (717-718 was a combined land and sea effort by the Arabs to take the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS [10]
The influence and territorial expansion of Bulgaria increased further during the rule of Khan Krum,[11] who in 811 won a decisive victory against the Byzantine army led by Nicephorus I in the Battle of Pliska. The Battle of Pliska or Battle of Vărbitsa Pass (Битката при Върбишкия проход was a series of battles between troops gathered from all parts of the [12]
In 864, Bulgaria accepted Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world [13]
Bulgaria became a major European power in the ninth and the tenth centuries, while fighting with the Byzantine Empire for the control of the Balkans. This happened under the rule (852–889) of Boris I. Boris I or sometimes Boris-Mihail (Michael (Борис I (Михаил also known as Bogoris (died 2 May 907 During his reign, the Cyrillic alphabet originated in Preslav and Ohrid,[14] adapted from the Glagolitic alphabet invented by the monks Saints Cyril and Methodius. The Cyrillic alphabet (səˈrɪlɪk also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters is actually a family of Alphabets, subsets of which are used by Preslav (Преслав was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. Ohrid (Охрид) is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. Saints Cyril and Methodius (Κύριλλος και Μεθόδιος Old Church Slavonic: Кѷриллъ и Меѳодїи) were two Byzantine Greek brothers born [15]
The Cyrillic alphabet became the basis for further cultural development. Centuries later, this alphabet, along with the Old Bulgarian language, fostered the intellectual written language (lingua franca) for Eastern Europe, known as Church Slavonic. Church Slavonic (also Church Slavic, Old Bulgarian) is the Liturgical language of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Macedonian Orthodox The greatest territorial extension of the Bulgarian Empire — covering most of the Balkans — occurred under Simeon I, the first Bulgarian Tsar (Emperor), son of Boris I. Simeon (also Symeon) I the Great (Симеон I Велики transliterated Simeon I Veliki; simɛˈɔn ˈpɤrvi vɛˈliki ruled over Bulgaria Tsar csar and tzar redirect here For other uses see Tsar (disambiguation. An emperor (from the Latin " Imperator " is a (male Monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an Empire or another type of [16]
However, Simeon's greatest achievement consisted of Bulgaria developing a rich, unique Christian Slavonic culture, which became an example for the other Slavonic peoples in Eastern Europe and ensured the continued existence of the Bulgarian nation regardless of the centrifugal forces that threatened to tear it into pieces throughout its long and war-ridden history.
Following a decline in the mid-tenth century (worn out by wars with Croatia, by frequent Serbian rebellions sponsored by Byzantine gold, and by disastrous Magyar and Pecheneg invasions,[17]) Bulgaria collapsed in the face of an assault of the Rus' in 969-971. Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between The Pechenegs or Patzinaks ( Turkish: Peçenekler, Hungarian: Besenyő, Greek: Patzinaki/Petsenegi or Πατζινάκοι/Πετσενέγοι/Πατζινακίται Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Русь romanised: Kievskaya Rus', rusʲ also written as Kyivan Rus′ (Ки́ївська Русь or Kievan [18]
The Byzantines then began campaigns to conquer Bulgaria. In 971, they seized the capital Preslav and captured Emperor Boris II. Preslav (Преслав was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. Boris II (Борис II was emperor ( Tsar) of Bulgaria from 969 to 977 (in Byzantine captivity from 971 [19] Resistance continued under Tsar Samuil in the western Bulgarian lands for nearly half a century. The country managed to recover and defeated the Byzantines in several major battles taking the control of the most of the Balkans and in 991 invaded the Serbian state. [20] However, the Byzantines led by Basil II (Basil the Bulgar-Slayer) destroyed the Bulgarian state in 1018 after their victory at Kleidion. Basil II, surnamed the Bulgar-slayer (Βασίλειος Β΄ Βουλγαροκτόνος Basileios II Boulgaroktonos, 958 &ndash December 15 1025 The Battle of Kleidion (bg Битка при с Ключ Битка при Беласица Беласишка битка grc Μάχη του Κλειδίου also Clidium [21]
Byzantine Bulgaria
In the first decade after the establishment of Byzantine rule, no evidence remains of any major attempt at resistance or any uprising of the Bulgarian population or nobility. John Scylitzes or Ioannes Skylitzes ( Greek Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, occasionally Σκυλίτσης, fl Given the existence of such irreconcilable opponents to Byzantium as Krakra, Nikulitsa, Dragash and others, such apparent passivity seems difficult to explain. Krakra of Pernik (Кракра Пернишки Krakra Pernishki), also known as Krakra Voevoda or simply Krakra, was an 11th-century Nikulitsa (Никулица was a Bulgarian noble governor of Servia during the reign of Emperor Samuil. Some historians[22] explain this fact by concessions that Basil II granted the Bulgarian nobility in order to gain their obedience. Basil II, surnamed the Bulgar-slayer (Βασίλειος Β΄ Βουλγαροκτόνος Basileios II Boulgaroktonos, 958 &ndash December 15 1025 In the first place, Basil II guaranteed the indivisibility of Bulgaria in its former geographic borders and did not abolish officially the local rule of the Bulgarian nobility that now became part of Byzantine aristocracy as archons or strategs. Basil II, surnamed the Bulgar-slayer (Βασίλειος Β΄ Βουλγαροκτόνος Basileios II Boulgaroktonos, 958 &ndash December 15 1025 The Byzantine Empire had a complex system of Aristocracy and Bureaucracy, which was inherited from the Roman Empire. Archon (Gr ἄρχων pl ἄρχοντες is a Greek word that means "ruler" frequently used as the title of a specific public office For the board game see Stratego. "Strategus" redirects here Second, special charters (royal decrees) of Basil II recognised the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid and set up its boundaries, dioceses, property and other privileges. Basil II, surnamed the Bulgar-slayer (Βασίλειος Β΄ Βουλγαροκτόνος Basileios II Boulgaroktonos, 958 &ndash December 15 1025 Autocephaly, in Hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches is the status of a hierarchical church whose The Archbishopric of Ohrid was an autonomous Bulgarian Orthodox Church under the tutelage of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople between 1019 and In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglican churches, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a Bishop.
The people of Bulgaria challenged Byzantine rule several times in the 11th and then again later in the early 12th century. The biggest uprising occurred under the leadership of Peter II Delyan, (proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria in Belgrade in 1040). Peter Delyan (reigned 1040&ndash1041 (Bulgarian Петър Делян) was the leader of the Bulgarian uprising against the Byzantine Empire started Belgrade (Београд Beograd is the Capital and largest city of Serbia. In the mid to late 11th century, the Normans, fresh from their recent conquests in southern Italy and Sicily, landed in the Balkans and began advancing against the Byzantine Empire. It took the Byzantines until 1185 before the Normans were driven out but until then they posed a constant threat to Byzantine Bulgaria. In 1091 another invasion came in the form of the Pechenegs. The Pechenegs or Patzinaks ( Turkish: Peçenekler, Hungarian: Besenyő, Greek: Patzinaki/Petsenegi or Πατζινάκοι/Πετσενέγοι/Πατζινακίται However, these too were crushed at Levounion and again in c. The Battle of Levounion was the first decisive Byzantine victory of the Komnenian restoration. 1120 by the Byzantine Empire. After that, the Hungarians made an attempt to increase their influence beyond the Danube river; John Comnenus' campaigns along the Danube eventually drove back the Hungarians as well by c. 1140. It would be another 45 years before Bulgaria would attain independence. Until that time, Bulgarian nobles ruled the province in the name of the Byzantine Empire until a rebellion by Ivan Asen I and Peter IV of Bulgaria led to the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Ivan Asen I (also Ioan Asen I, Ioan Asan, in English John Asen I) (Иван Асен I ruled as emperor ( Tsar) of Bulgaria 1189-1196 Peter IV (in Bulgarian Petăr IV, or commonly but less accurately Petăr II) (Петър IV ruled as emperor ( Tsar) of Bulgaria 1185-1197 The Second Bulgarian Empire ( Bulgarian: Второ българско царство Vtorо Balgarskо Tsartsvo) was a Medieval Bulgarian state
Second Bulgarian Empire
From 1185, the Second Bulgarian Empire once again established Bulgaria as an important power in the Balkans for two more centuries. The Second Bulgarian Empire ( Bulgarian: Второ българско царство Vtorо Balgarskо Tsartsvo) was a Medieval Bulgarian state Power in international relations is defined in several different ways With its capital based in Veliko Turnovo and under the Asen dynasty, this empire fought for dominance in the region against the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire and Hungary, reaching its zenith under Ivan Asen II (1218–1241). Veliko Tarnovo (Велико Търново sometimes transliterated as Veliko Turnovo) is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of The Asen dynasty (Асеневци Asenevtsi) were a dynasty of rulers of a medieval state called in modern histography the Second Bulgarian Empire, between 1187 The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople (original Latin name Imperium Romaniae, " Empire of Romania " is the Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Ivan Asen II (Иван Асен II iˈvan aˈsɛn ˈftɔri also Йоан Асен II Yoan Asen II) in English sometimes known as John Asen II, As a result of the Tatar invasions (beginning in the later 13th century), of internal conflicts and of the constant attacks from the Byzantines and the Hungarians, the power of the country declined until the end of the 13th century. The Mongol invasion of Europe from the east took place over the course of three centuries from the Middle Ages to the Early modern period From 1300, under Emperor Theodore Svetoslav Bulgaria regained its strength, but by the end of the fourteenth century the country had disintegrated into several feudal principalities, which the Ottoman Empire eventually conquered. Theodore Svetoslav ( Bulgarian: Тодор Светослав Todor Svetoslav and also Теодор Светослав Teodor Svetoslav) ruled as emperor The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish A Polish-Hungarian crusade under the rule of Władysław III of Poland to free the Balkans was crushed in 1444 in the battle of Varna. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic This article refers to the 15th century Jagiellon monarch For the 12th century Piast monarch see Władysław III Spindleshanks, and for other monarchs with similar The Battle of Varna took place on November 10, 1444 near Varna in eastern Bulgaria.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, Bulgarian culture flourished. The architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School and the painting of the Tarnovo Artistic School produced some splendid achievements. The Architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School is a definition for the development of Architecture during the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396 The painting of the Tarnovo Artistic School was the mainstream of the Bulgarian fine arts between 13th and 14th centuries named after the capital and the main cultural center Emperor Ivan Alexander won a reputation as a great maecenas and patron of culture. Ivan Alexander (Иван Александър transliterated Ivan Aleksandǎr; iˈvan alɛkˈsandɤr original spelling ІѠАНЪ АЛЄѮАНдРЪ Caius Cilnius Maecenas (70 &ndash 8 BC was a confidant and political advisor to Octavian (who was to become the first Emperor of Rome as Caesar Augustus) as well
Ottoman rule
In the mid 13th century, the Second Bulgarian Empire dominated the Balkan Peninsula. The Second Bulgarian Empire ( Bulgarian: Второ българско царство Vtorо Balgarskо Tsartsvo) was a Medieval Bulgarian state By the end of the following century factional divisions between Bulgarian feudal landlords (boyars) had gravely weakened the cohesion of the Empire which therefore collapsed before the invading Ottoman armies in the 1390s. This article refers to the aristocratic title of boyar. For the Boyar caste of India, see Boyar (caste. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The Bulgarians, most of whom lived in the quadrilateral contained by the lower Danube, the Aegean coast of Thrace, the Black Sea and the valley of the Vardar in the west, now entered upon five hundred years of Ottoman domination. The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey The Vardar or Axios ( Αξιός Axiós or Βαρδάρης Vardárīs; Latin: Axius) is the longest and major River in the
During the second half of the 14th century Bulgaria became an Ottoman vassalage. Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I annexed Bulgaria following his victory against a crusade at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Bayezid I ( Ottoman: بايزيد الأول Turkish: Beyazıt, nicknamed Yıldırım (Ottoman ییلدیرم "the Thunderbolt" The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents [23][24][25] According to some historians the five centuries of Ottoman rule featured violence and oppression. The Ottomans decimated the Bulgarian population, which lost most of its cultural relics. Turkish authorities destroyed most of the medieval Bulgarian fortresses in order to prevent rebellions. Large towns and the areas where Ottoman power predominated remained severely depopulated until the nineteenth century. [26][27]
The new authorities dismantled Bulgarian institutions at anything above the village or communal level, and merged the separate Bulgarian Church into the Orthodox Patriarchate in Constantinople (Istanbul), although a small, semi-independent Bulgarian Church did survive until 1767. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Българска православна църква Bălgarska pravoslavna cărkva) is an Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church History Early history Christianity in Byzantium existed from the time of the Twelve Apostles, but it was in the year 330 that the Roman Emperor Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey The conquerors also assumed virtual ownership of the land, though they vested legal ownership in Allah’s representative on earth, the Sultan. Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for ' The Ottoman Dynasty (or the Imperial House of Osman) ( Turkish: Osmanlı Hanedanı) ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922 beginning with The new system of land-tenure imposed by the Turks functioned to provide the Ottoman army with cavalry troops: the sipahi or landlord had to provide a number of men proportionate to the amount of land he held, while maintained economically by his tenants, or rayahs. Sipahi ( Ottoman Turkish: ota سپاهی also transliterated as Spahi, Sepahi, and Spakh; traditionally rendered as Spahia For the Bulgarian peasant the new system offered greater security than the old Bulgarian Empire had provided and exceptional privileges accrued to peasants living on vakif land — land with its income permanently entailed for the upkeep of a religious or charitable institution. A waqf ( plural, awqāf; vakıf wæqəf is an inalienable religious endowment in Islam, typically devoting a building or plot of land for Muslim [28][29] All tenants, Christian or Muslim, who lived on vakif land had the right to such privileges, but in general the Christian subjects of the Sultan had to endure a number of disabilities; they usually paid more taxes than Moslems, they lacked legal equality with Moslems, they could not carry arms, their clothes could not rival those of Moslems in color, nor could their churches tower as high as mosques. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion A waqf ( plural, awqāf; vakıf wæqəf is an inalienable religious endowment in Islam, typically devoting a building or plot of land for Muslim A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger The new rulers made few attempts to enforce conversion to Islam and relatively few Bulgarians felt attracted to the new ruling faith by the legal privileges its adherents enjoyed. Those who did convert, the Pomaks, retained their native language, dress and customs, and lived primarily in the Rhodope mountains. The Rhodopes (Родопи Rodopi, usually used with a definite article Родопите Rodopite, sometimes also called Родопа Rodopa or Родопа [24][25]
The Ottoman system at its height did much to protect the rayah, but by the 17th century the system had started to decline, and at the end of the 18th had all but collapsed. By the early Sixteenth century most of the Balkan Peninsula ’s Christians were submerged within the Ottomans’ Islamic Theocratic society A rayah, raya, or reaya (the usual modern scholarly spelling (also spelled raiah, re'aya; Ottoman Turkish رعايا; Modern Central government weakened over the decades, and this had allowed a number of local adventurers and freebooters to establish personal ascendancy over separate regions. These local ayans employed armed retainers and having established their authority frequently imposed new and far more arduous tenancies on the peasantry under their control. During the last two decades of the 18th and first decades of the 19th centuries the Balkan Peninsula dissolved into virtual anarchy, a period known in Bulgarian as the kurdjaliistvo after the armed bands or kurdjalii who plagued the area at this time. In many regions thousands of peasants fled from the countryside either to local towns or more probably to the hills or forests; some even fled beyond the Danube to Moldova, Wallachia or Southern Russia. The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova ( Republica Moldova) is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania This article is about the region in what is now Southern Romania Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending [24][30]
In the 18th and especially during the 19th century, conditions improved in certain areas. Some towns such as Gabrovo, Tryavna, Karlovo, Lovech, Skopie prospered. Gabrovo (Габрово is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. Tryavna (Трявна is a town in central Bulgaria, situated in the north slopes of the Balkan range on the Tryavna river valley near Gabrovo. Karlovo (Карлово is a picturesque and a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern Lovech (Ловеч is a town in north-central Bulgaria with a population of about 50000 Skopje (Скопје; Shkup or Shkupi is the Capital and largest city in the Republic of Macedonia, with more than a quarter of the population The Bulgarian peasants actually possessed their land, although it officially belonged to the sultan. Sultan (سلطان is an Islamic title with several historical meanings The nineteenth century also brought improved communications, transportation and trade. The first factory in the Bulgarian lands opened in Sliven in 1834, and the first railway system started running (between Ruse and Varna) in 1865. Sliven (Сливен is a town in southeast Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Sliven Province. Varna (Варна is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv
Throughout the five Ottoman centuries Bulgarian people organized many attempts to re-establish their own state. The National awakening of Bulgaria became one of the key factors in the struggle for liberation. Bulgarian nationalism emerged in the early 19th century under the influence of western ideas such as Liberalism and Nationalism, which trickled into the country after the In the 19th century, there came into existence the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee and the Internal Revolutionary Organisation led by liberal revolutionaries such as Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev, Lyuben Karavelov and many others. The Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee (Български революционен централен комитет or BRCK was a Bulgarian revolutionary The Internal Revolutionary Organisation (Вътрешна революционна организация or IRO was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded Vasil Levski (Васил Левски also transliterated as Vassil Levski) born Vasil Ivanov Kountchev (Васил Иванов Кунчев ( Karlovo Hristo Botev (Христо Ботев also transliterated as Hristo Botyov) ( January 6, 1848 – June 2, 1876) born Lyuben Stoychev Karavelov (Любен Каравелов (c 1834 - 21 January 1879) was a Bulgarian writer and an important figure of the Bulgarian National In 1876, the April uprising broke out: the largest and best-organized Bulgarian rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. The April Uprising (Априлско въстание Aprilsko vastanie) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April This rebellion, however, did not receive the expected support from the Bulgarian masses.
The Kingdom of Bulgaria
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Following the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878 (when Russian soldiers together with a Romanian expeditionary force and volunteer Bulgarian troops defeated the Ottoman armies), the Treaty of San Stefano (3 March 1878), set up an autonomous Bulgarian principality. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 had its origins in a rise in nationalism in the Balkans as well as in the Russian goal of recovering territorial losses it had suffered Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania The Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano was a treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed at the end of the Russo-Turkish War 1877–78. Events 1284 - Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England 1575 - Indian Year 1878 ( MDCCCLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Western Great Powers immediately rejected the treaty: they became aware that a large Slavic country in the Balkans might serve Russian interests. A great power is a Nation or State that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale This led to the Treaty of Berlin (1878) which provided for an autonomous Bulgarian principality comprising Moesia and the region of Sofia. The Treaty of Berlin was the final Act of the Congress of Berlin ( June 13 - July 13, 1878) by which the United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary Moesia (Μοισία Moisía; Мизия Miziya; Moesia Мезија Mezija) was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Sofia (София ˈsɔfija is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1395568 in the Capital Municipality Alexander von Battenberg took the position of Bulgaria's first Prince. Alexander Joseph of Battenberg ( April 5, 1857 - November 17, 1893) the first prince ( Knyaz) of modern Bulgaria, reigning Most of Thrace was included in the autonomous region of Eastern Rumelia, whereas the rest of Thrace and all of Macedonia was returned under the sovereignty of the Ottomans. Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe Eastern Rumelia or Eastern Roumelia (Източна Румелия Iztochna Rumeliya; Ottoman Turkish: Rumeli-i Şarkî; Modern Turkish Macedonia is a Geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe whose area was re-defined in the early 20th century The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish After the Serbo-Bulgarian War and unification with Eastern Rumelia in 1885, the principality was proclaimed a fully independent kingdom on October 5 (September 22 O.S.), 1908, during the reign of Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. The Serbo-Bulgarian War (Сръбско-българска война translit The Unification of Bulgaria (Съединение на България Saedinenie na Balgariya) was the act of Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria Eastern Rumelia or Eastern Roumelia (Източна Румелия Iztochna Rumeliya; Ottoman Turkish: Rumeli-i Şarkî; Modern Turkish Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople Events 66 - Emperor Nero creates the Legion I Italica. 1236 - The Lithuanians Old Style (or OS) and New Style (or NS) are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year Ferdinand I Tsar of Bulgaria (February 26 1861 - September 10 1948 born Prince Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was the Prince Regnant
Ferdinand, a prince from the ducal family of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, became the Bulgarian Prince after Alexander von Battenberg abdicated in 1886 following a coup d'état staged by pro-Russian army-officers. Saxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha served as the name of the two German duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha in Alexander Joseph of Battenberg ( April 5, 1857 - November 17, 1893) the first prince ( Knyaz) of modern Bulgaria, reigning (Although the counter-coup coordinated by Stefan Stambolov succeeded, Prince Alexander decided not to remain the Bulgarian ruler without the approval of Alexander III of Russia. Stefan Nikolov Stambolov (Стефан Николов Стамболов (January 31 1854 – July 6 1895 was a Bulgarian Revolutionary and Statesman, in Alexander III Alexandrovich ( 10 March 1845 – 1 November 1894) (Александр III Александрович reigned as Emperor ) The struggle for liberation of the Bulgarians in the Adrianople, Vilayet and Macedonia continued throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries culminating with the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising organised by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization in 1903. Edirne (anc Hadrianopolis; Greek Adrianople; Slavic/Bulgarian Одрин, see also its other names) is a city in Thrace, the westernmost
The Balkan Wars and World War I
In 1912 and 1913, Bulgaria became involved in the Balkan Wars, first entering into conflict alongside Greece, Serbia and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan Wars were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912–1913 in the course of which the Balkan League ( Bulgaria, Montenegro, Greece The First Balkan War (1912-1913) proved a success for the Bulgarian army, but a conflict over the division of Macedonia arose amongst the victorious allies. The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 pitted the Balkan League ( Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria The Second Balkan War (1913) pitted Bulgaria against Greece and Serbia, joined by Romania and Turkey. The Second Balkan War was fought in 1913 between Bulgaria on one side and its First Balkan War allies Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro After its defeat in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria lost considerable territory conquered in the first war, as well as Southern Dobrudzha and parts of the region of Macedonia. Southern Dobruja ( Южна Добруджа Yuzhna Dobrudzha in Bulgarian, Dobrogea de sud or Cadrilater in Romanian) Macedonia is a Geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe whose area was re-defined in the early 20th century
During World War I, Bulgaria found itself fighting on the losing side as a result of its alliance with the Central Powers. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Central Powers ( German: "Mittelmächte" Hungarian: "Központi hatalmak" Turkish: "İttifak Defeat in 1918 led to new territorial losses (the Western Outlands to Serbia, Western Thrace to Greece and the re-conquered Southern Dobrudzha to Romania). The Western (Bulgarian Outlands (Западни (български покрайнини Zapadni (balgarski pokraynini) is a term used by Bulgarians to describe Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country Area - Demographics The approximate area of Thrace is 8578 km² with a population of 368993 (2006 est Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Southern Dobruja ( Южна Добруджа Yuzhna Dobrudzha in Bulgarian, Dobrogea de sud or Cadrilater in Romanian) Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania The Balkan Wars and World War I led to the influx of over 250,000 Bulgarian refugees from Macedonia, Eastern and Western Thrace and Southern Dobrudzha. Macedonia is a Geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe whose area was re-defined in the early 20th century East Thrace, or Eastern Thrace (Източна Тракия Iztochna Trakiya; Ανατολική Θράκη or Turkish Thrace, is the part of the modern Area - Demographics The approximate area of Thrace is 8578 km² with a population of 368993 (2006 est Southern Dobruja ( Южна Добруджа Yuzhna Dobrudzha in Bulgarian, Dobrogea de sud or Cadrilater in Romanian)
The interwar years
In September 1918, Tsar Ferdinand abdicated in favour of his son Boris III in order to head off revolutionary tendencies. Boris III Tsar of Bulgaria (January 30 1894 &ndash August 28 1943 originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver ( Boris Clement Robert Mary Under the Treaty of Neuilly (November 1919), Bulgaria ceded its Aegean coastline to Greece, recognized the existence of Yugoslavia, ceded nearly all of its Macedonian territory to that new state, and had to give Dobrudzha back to the Romanians. The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, dealing with Bulgaria for its role as one of the Central Powers in World War I, was signed on November 27 See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian The country had to reduce its army to 20,000 men, and to pay reparations exceeding $400 million. Bulgarians generally refer to the results of the treaty as the "Second National Catastrophe".
Elections in March 1920 gave the Agrarians a large majority, and Aleksandar Stamboliyski formed Bulgaria's first peasant government. The Bulgarian Agrarian National Union ( BANU) (Българският земеделски народен съюз БЗНС) is a Political party devoted Aleksandar Stamboliyski (Александър Стамболийски variously transliterated ( March 1, 1879 - June 14, 1923) was the He faced huge social problems, but succeeded in carrying out many reforms, although opposition from the middle and upper classes, the landlords and the officers of the army remained powerful. In March 1923 Stamboliyski signed an agreement with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia recognising the new border and agreeing to suppress Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO), which favoured a war to regain Macedonia from Bulgaria. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croato-Slovene ie Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene: Kraljevina Jugoslavija This triggered a nationalist reaction, and the Bulgarian coup d'état of June 9, 1923 eventually resulted in Stamboliykski's assassination. The Bulgarian coup d'état of 1923, also known as the 9 June coup d'état (Деветоюнски преврат Devetoyunski prevrat) was a Coup d'état Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A right-wing government under Aleksandar Tsankov took power, backed by the army and the VMRO, which waged a White terror against the Agrarians and the Communists. Aleksander Tsolov Tsankov (Александър Цолов Цанков ( 29 June 1879 - 27 July 1959) was a leading Bulgarian In general the term White Terror refers to acts of violence carried out by Reactionary (usually monarchist or conservative) groups as part of a In 1926 the Tsar persuaded Tsankov to resign, a more moderate government under Andrey Lyapchev took office and an amnesty was proclaimed, although the Communists remained banned. Andrey Lyapchev ( Tarpov) (Андрей Ляпчев(Tърпов ( 30 November 1866 - 6 November 1933) was a Bulgarian A popular alliance including the re-organised Agrarians won elections in 1931 under the name Popular Bloc.
In May 1934 another coup took place, removing the Popular Bloc from power and establishing an authoritarian military régime headed by Kimon Georgiev. The Bulgarian coup d'état of 1934, also known as the 19 May coup d'état (Деветнадесетомайски преврат Devetnadesetomayski prevrat) was Kimon Georgiev Stoyanov (Кимон Георгиев Стоянов ( August 11, 1882 — September 28, 1969) was a Bulgarian A year later Tsar Boris managed to remove the military régime from power, restoring a form of parliamentary rule (without the re-establishment of the political parties) and under his own strict control. Boris III Tsar of Bulgaria (January 30 1894 &ndash August 28 1943 originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver ( Boris Clement Robert Mary The Tsar's regime proclaimed neutrality, but gradually Bulgaria gravitated into alliance with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Kingdom of Italy ( Italian: Regno d'Italia) was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom
World War II
After regaining control over Southern Dobrudzha in 1940, Bulgaria became allied with the Axis Powers, although no Bulgarian soldiers participated in the war against the USSR. Southern Dobruja ( Южна Добруджа Yuzhna Dobrudzha in Bulgarian, Dobrogea de sud or Cadrilater in Romanian) The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 During World War II Nazi Germany allowed Bulgaria to occupy parts of Greece and of Yugoslavia. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croato-Slovene ie Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene: Kraljevina Jugoslavija Bulgaria became one of only three countries (along with Finland and Denmark) that saved its entire Jewish population (around 50,000 people) from the Nazi camps by refusing to comply with a 31 August 1943 resolution. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Bulgarian authorities did however send Jews in territories newly-acquired (from Greece and Yugoslavia) to death-camps in response to a direct request from Germany.
In September 1944, the Soviet army entered Bulgaria, enabling the Bulgarian Communists (the Bulgarian Workers Party) to seize power and establish a communist state. The Bulgarian Communist Party (Българска комунистическа партия / Balgarska Komunisticheska Partiya) was the ruling party of the People's Republic In 1944, Bulgaria's forces turned against the country's former ally, Germany. The 450,000-man army in 1944 dwindled to 130,000 by 1945.
The People's Republic of Bulgaria
After World War II, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. A sphere of influence ( SOI) is an area or region over which an organization or state exerts some kind of indirect cultural economic military or political domination It became a People's Republic in 1946 and one of the USSR's staunchest allies. People's Republic (rarely Popular Republic) is a title that is often used by Marxist-Leninist Governments to describe their State. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 In the late 1970s, it began normalizing relations with Greece. The People's Republic ended in 1989 as many Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, as well as the Soviet Union itself, began to collapse. Communist state is a term used by many Political scientists to describe a Form of government in which the State operates under a one-party system Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. Opposition forces removed the Bulgarian Communist leader Todor Zhivkov and his right-hand man Milko Balev from power on 10 November 1989. Todor Hristov Zhivkov (Toдор Xpиcтoв Живков ˈtɔdɔr ˈxristɔf ˈʒifkɔf ( September 7, 1911 &ndash August 5, 1998) was a Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar)
The Republic of Bulgaria
In February 1990, the Communist Party voluntarily gave up its monopoly on power, and in June 1990 the first free elections since 1931 took place, won by the moderate wing of the Communist Party (renamed the Bulgarian Socialist Party — BSP). The Bulgarian Socialist Party (Българска социалистическа партия ( BSP) is a political party in Bulgaria and successor to the In July 1991, the country adopted a new constitution which provided for a relatively weak elected President and for a Prime Minister accountable to the legislature. The Constitution of Bulgaria (Конституция на България Konstitutsiya na Balgariya) is the supreme and basic law of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The anti-Communist Union of Democratic Forces took office, and between 1992 and 1994 carried through the privatization of land and industry, but faced massive unemployment and economic difficulties. The Union of Democratic Forces (Съюз на демократичните сили is a Political party in Bulgaria, founded in December 1989 as a union of eleven Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the Public sector (government to the Private sector (business The reaction against economic reform allowed BSP to take office again in 1995, but by 1996 the BSP government had also encountered difficulties, and in the presidential elections of that year the UDF's Petar Stoyanov was elected. Petar Stefanov Stoyanov (Петър Стефанов Стоянов (born May 25, 1952) was President of Bulgaria from 1997 until 2002 In 1997, the BSP government collapsed and the UDF came to power. Unemployment, however, remained high and the electorate became increasingly dissatisfied with both parties.
Relations with Turkey began to normalise in the 1990s.
On June 17, 2001, Simeon II, the son of Tsar Boris III and the former Head of state (as Tsar of Bulgaria from 1943 to 1946), won a narrow victory in democratic elections. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Royal history Simeon is the son of Tsar Boris III and Tsaritsa Giovanna di Savoia. The king's party — National Movement Simeon II ("NMSII") — won 120 out of 240 seats in Parliament and overturned the two pre-existing political parties. The National Movement for Stability and Progress (Национално движение за стабилност и възход or Nacionalno dviženie za stabilnost i vǎzhod Simeon's popularity declined during his four-year rule as Prime Minister, and the BSP won the elections in 2005, but could not form a single-party government and had to seek a coalition.
Since 1989, Bulgaria has held multi-party elections and privatized its economy, but economic difficulties and a tide of corruption have led over 800,000 Bulgarians, most of them qualified professionals, to emigrate in a "brain drain". An election is a Decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold formal office External trade & Investment Since 1990 the bulk of Bulgarian trade has shifted from former COMECON countries primarily to the European Union, although Russian The term profession is applied to those persons who have specialized and technical skill or knowledge which they apply for a fee to certain tasks that ordinary and unqualified people cannot A brain drain or human capital flight is a large emigration of individuals with technical skills or knowledge, normally due to conflict, lack of opportunity Since a reform package introduced in 1997, the economy has returned to growth. Bulgaria became a member of NATO in 2004 and of the European Union in 2007. The North Atlantic Treaty The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in
Politics
Bulgaria joined NATO on March 29, 2004 and signed the European Union Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005. Politics of Bulgaria take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Republic, whereby the Minister-Chairman The Largo (Ларго definite form Ларгото Largoto) is an architectural ensemble of three Socialist Classicism edifices in central Sofia, the The North Atlantic Treaty Events 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The Treaty of Accession 2005 is an agreement between the member states of European Union and Bulgaria and Romania. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. It became a full member of the European Union on 1 January 2007. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The country had joined the United Nations in 1955, and became a founding member of OSCE in 1995. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security As a Consultative Party to the Antarctic Treaty, Bulgaria takes part in the administration of the territories situated south of 60° south latitude. The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate International relations with respect to [31][32]
Georgi Parvanov, the President of Bulgaria since 22 January 2002, won re-election on 29 October 2006 and began his second term in office in January 2007. Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov (Георги Седефчов Първанов (born 28 June 1957) has been president of Bulgaria since 22 January This page will list the various republican heads of state of Bulgaria, as well as leaders of Bulgaria's communist party during the time when it played the "leading role" Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. (Bulgarian voters directly elect their presidents for a five-year term with the right to one re-election. ) The president serves as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state He also chairs the Consultative Council for National Security. While unable to initiate legislation other than Constitutional amendments, the President can return a bill for further debate, although the parliament can override the President's veto by vote of a majority of all MPs. Legislation (or " Statutory law " is law which has been promulgated (or " Enacted quot by a Legislature or other Governing
Since 17 August 2005 Sergey Stanishev as Prime Minister has chaired the Council of Ministers, the principal body of the executive branch, which presently consists of 20 ministers. Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sergey Dmitrievich Stanishev (Сергей Дмитриевич Станишев born May 5, 1966) is the current Prime Minister of Bulgaria and Chairman The Council of Ministers (Министерски съвет Ministerski savet) is the main authority of the Executive power in the Republic of Bulgaria Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Prime Minister — usually nominated by the largest parliamentary group — receives the mandate of the President to form a cabinet.
The current governmental coalition comprises the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), National Movement Simeon II (NMSII) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (representing mainly the Turkish minority). Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The National Movement for Stability and Progress (Национално движение за стабилност и възход or Nacionalno dviženie za stabilnost i vǎzhod The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (Движение за права и свободи Dvizhenie za prava i svobodi; Hak ve Özgürlükler Hareketi is an ethnic Turkish The Turkish people (Türk Halkı also known as " Turks " ( Türkler) are defined mainly as being speakers of Turkish as a First language
The Bulgarian unicameral parliament, the National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (Народно събрание), consists of 240 deputies, each elected for four-year terms by popular vote. Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A parliament is a Legislature, especially in those The National Assembly of Bulgaria (Народно събрание Narodno sabranie) is the Unicameral Parliament and body of the legislative of the The votes go to parties or to coalition-lists of candidates for each of the 28 administrative divisions. A party or coalition must win a minimum of 4% of the vote in order to enter parliament. A coalition is an alliance among individuals during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own Self-interest. Parliament has the responsibility for enactment of laws, approval of the budget, scheduling of presidential elections, selection and dismissal of the Prime Minister and other ministers, declaration of war, deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements. List of Heads of Government of Bulgaria (1879-Present Principality of Bulgaria (1878-1908 Chairmen of the Council of Ministers
The most recent elections took place in June 2005. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The next scheduled elections should take place in summer 2009. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
The Bulgarian judicial system consists of regional, district and appeal courts, as well as a Supreme Court of Cassation. In addition, Bulgaria has a Supreme Administrative Court and a system of military courts. A qualified majority of two-thirds of the membership of the Supreme Judicial Council elects the Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation and of the Supreme Administrative Court, as well as the Prosecutor General, from among its members; the President of the Republic then appoints those elected. The Supreme Judicial Council has charge of the self-administration and organization of the Judiciary.
The Constitutional Court supervises the review of the constitutionality of laws and statutes brought before it, as well as the compliance of these laws with international treaties that the Government has signed. Parliament elects the twelve members of the Constitutional Court by a two-thirds majority: the members serve for a nine-year term.
The territory of the Republic of Bulgaria subdivides into provinces and municipalities. In all, Bulgaria has 28 provinces, each headed by a provincial governor appointed by the government. In addition, the country includes 263 municipalities.
Military
The military of Bulgaria consists of three services: the Bulgarian Land Forces, the Bulgarian Navy and the Bulgarian Air Force. The Bulgarian Army (Българска армия represents the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Medieval Bulgarian Army was the primary military body of the First and the Second Bulgarian Empire. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Bulgarian Army (Българска армия represents the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Navy has been largely overlooked in the reforms that the Bulgarian armed forces had to go through in order to comply with NATO standards mostly because of the Bulgarian Air Force (Военновъздушни сили ВВС is a branch of the Bulgarian Army, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian The armed forces have as their patron saint Sveti Georgi (St. George), and Bulgarians celebrate his feast day, 6 May nationally as Valour and Army Day. In Christian hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Anglican Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. Despite active participation in all major European wars since the end of the nineteenth century, Bulgarian forces have never lost a flag. [33]
Bulgaria first became a major military power in Europe under Khan Krum and Tsar Simeon I, in a series of wars with the Byzantine Empire for control of the Balkan Peninsula, in the late ninth century. Simeon (also Symeon) I the Great (Симеон I Велики transliterated Simeon I Veliki; simɛˈɔn ˈpɤrvi vɛˈliki ruled over Bulgaria By the use of approximately 12,000 heavy cavalry in tactics resembling those of feudal knights, Simeon I's forces reached as far as the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, in AD 896 . The Cavalry (from French cavalerie) is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as Soldiers or Warriors who fought mounted on Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS A formal peace treaty lasted until 912, when both sides became engaged in a war which ended with several major defeats of the Byzantines, including one of the bloodiest battles in the Middle Ages at Anchialus in AD 917. This article refers to the Battle of Anchialus fought in 917 For other battles with the same name see Battle of Anchialus (disambiguation The Battle Bulgaria again became a significant military power under the rule of the Asen dynasty in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The Asen dynasty (Асеневци Asenevtsi) were a dynasty of rulers of a medieval state called in modern histography the Second Bulgarian Empire, between 1187 During the rule of Tsar Kaloyan (1197-1207) Bulgaria became the first European country to defeat the Crusader knights. Kaloyan the Romanslayer (Калоян Ромеоубиец Ivan I (Иван I also Йоан I Ioan I, in English John I) ruled as emperor ( The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents
Since gaining total independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, Bulgaria has functioned as a minor European power, frequently included in plans and wars of the Great Powers. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish A great power is a Nation or State that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale In 1912, the Bulgarian forces invented the world's first aircraft-dropped bombs and soon after became the first military in the world to utilize aviation bombardment, in the siege of Odrin. The first air-dropped bomb was dropped when Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti of the Italian Army dropped four grenades from his Edirne (anc Hadrianopolis; Greek Adrianople; Slavic/Bulgarian Одрин, see also its other names) is a city in Thrace, the westernmost Thus the Bulgarian Air Force, inheritor of one of the oldest traditions of powered aircraft combat in the world, became an early innovator in aviation military technology and in air-to-surface attack strategies/tactics.
Following a series of reductions beginning in 1989, the active troops of Bulgaria's army number as many as 68,450 today. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Reserve forces include 303,000 soldiers and officers. "PLAN 2004", an effort to modernize Bulgaria's armed forces, aims to better meet the perceived military needs of NATO and the European Union. The North Atlantic Treaty The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in
Bulgarian military personnel have participated in international missions in Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. The Kingdom of Cambodia ( formerly known as Kampuchea (, transliterated: Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea) is a country in South East Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Latin script: Bosna i Hercegovina, Cyrillic script: Босна и Херцеговина is a country on the Balkan Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Starting in 2008, Bulgaria will completely abolish compulsory military service. Bulgaria's naval and air forces became fully professional in 2006, with the land-forces scheduled to follow suit in 2008. This article is about people called professionals For the Movie, see The Professional or Leon. Bulgaria's Special Forces have conducted missions with the SAS, Delta Force, KSK, and the Spetsnaz of Russia. The Special Air Service ( SAS) is a Special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model and inspiration for the special For the computer game see Delta Force (video game. For the movie see The Delta Force (film. The Kommando Spezialkräfte ( Special Forces Command, KSK is part of Germany 's Special Forces. Russian special purpose regiments or Spetsnaz, Specnaz (Войска спец иального наз начения ( спецназ
In April 2006 Bulgaria and the United States signed a defence-cooperation agreement providing for the development of the Bulgarian air bases at Bezmer (near Yambol) and Graf Ignatievo (near Plovdiv), the Novo Selo training-range (near Sliven), and a logistics centre in Aytos as joint US-Bulgarian military facilities. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Bezmer Air Base is situated in the eastern part of the Upper Thracian Lowland in Yambol Oblast (Region 10 km west of Yambol (Ямбол is a city in southeastern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Yambol Province. Graf Ignatievo (Граф Игнатиево is a village in the Maritsa municipality, southern Bulgaria. The Novo Selo Training Range was established in 1962. The range has a surface area of 144 sq Sliven (Сливен is a town in southeast Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Sliven Province. Bulgarian-American Joint Military Facilities were established by a Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by the U Bulgaria's navy comprises mainly Soviet-era ships, and three submarines. With 354 kilometres (220 mi) of coastline, Bulgaria does not regard assault by sea as a major risk. In the course of recent modernization efforts, Bulgaria purchased a new frigate from Belgium, and the navy seems likely to acquire four Gowind corvettes from the French company DCN. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Bulgaria's air forces also use a large amount of Soviet equipment. Plans to acquire transport and attack helicopters are underway, in addition to a major overhaul on old Soviet weapon systems. An attack helicopter, also known as a Helicopter Gunship, is a Military helicopter armed for attacking targets on the ground Military spending accounts for nearly 2. 6% of Bulgaria's GDP. [34]
Provinces and municipalities
Between 1987 and 1999 Bulgaria consisted of nine provinces (oblasti, singular oblast); since 1999, it has consisted of twenty-eight. Since 1999 Bulgaria has been divided into twenty-six provinces (области oblasti singular област oblast; also translated as "region" which The provinces of Bulgaria are divided into municipalities (община obshtina) Blagoevgrad (Благоевград formerly Горна Джумая Gorna Dzhumaya) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Burgas (Бургас sometimes transliterated as Bourgas) is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210260 Dobrich (Добрич Bazargic is a town in northeastern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Dobrich Province. Gabrovo (Габрово is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. Haskovo (Хасково is the name of a town and administrative centre of the province of the same name in southern Bulgaria, not far from the borders with Kardzhali or Kurdzhali (Кърджали Kırcaali is a town in Bulgaria, capital of Kardzhali Province in the Eastern Rhodopes. Kyustendil (Кюстендил historically bg Велбъжд Velbazhd) is a town in the very west of Bulgaria, and the capital of Kyustendil Province Lovech (Ловеч is a town in north-central Bulgaria with a population of about 50000 Montana (Монтана is a city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Montana Province. Pleven (Плевен; historically known as Plevne in Turkish and Plevna in English) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria Pazardzhik (Пазарджик also spelled as Pazardjik or Pazarjik) is a town situated along the banks of the Maritsa river in Bulgaria with Razgrad (Разград is a city in northeastern Bulgaria and the capital of Razgrad Province, built upon the ruins of the Ancient Roman town of Rousse (also transliterated as Ruse or Russe; Русе) is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria with a population of near 175600 Shumen (Шумен is a city in the northeastern part of Bulgaria, capital of Shumen Province. Silistra (Силистра, historically Bulgarian: Дръстър Drastar, ( and Romanian: Dârstor) is a Port city of northeastern Sliven (Сливен is a town in southeast Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Sliven Province. Smolyan (Смолян is a town and ski resort in the very south of Bulgaria, the administrative center of Smolyan Province. Sofia (София ˈsɔfija is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1395568 in the Capital Municipality Stara Zagora (Стара Загора is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and one of the nationally important economic centres Târgovişte is also a city in Romania. Targovishte (Търговище "marketplace" Eski Cuma "old Friday" Varna (Варна is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv Veliko Tarnovo (Велико Търново sometimes transliterated as Veliko Turnovo) is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Vratsa (also transliterated as Vraca or Vratza, in some languages with a W; Враца is a city in northwestern Bulgaria, at the Vidin (Видин is a town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. Yambol (Ямбол is a city in southeastern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Yambol Province. Pernik (Перник is a city in western Bulgaria with a population of 91883 As of 2006. Blagoevgrad Province (област Благоевград oblast Blagoevgrad or Благоевградска област Blagoevgradska oblast) also known Burgas Province or oblast (Област Бургас is located in southeastern Bulgaria, on the southern Black Sea coast Dobrich Province is a Province in northeastern Bulgaria. Municipalities and towns Dobrich Province is subdivided into the following municipalities Gabrovo is a small Province lying at the geographical centre of Bulgaria. Haskovo Province (Hasköy is a province in southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece and Turkey to the southeast Kardzhali (Кърджалийска област Kırcaali İli is a Province of southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece with the Greek prefectures Kyustendil Province (Област Кюстендил Oblast Kyustendil) is a province in western Bulgaria, neighbouring to Republic of Macedonia Lovech is one of the 28 Provinces in Bulgaria. Municipalities Its main city is Lovech, and other municipalities are Montana (Монтана is a Province in northwestern Bulgaria, bordering Serbia and Romania. Pazardzhik is a Province located in southern Bulgaria and covers 4458 km² Pernik Province is a province in western Bulgaria, neighbouring Serbia. Pleven Province or Plevenska Oblast (Плевенска Област is a province located in central northern Bulgaria, bordering the Danube river Plovdiv is an Oblast in central southern Bulgaria (formerly part of Eastern Rumelia) onе of the 28 Bulgarian provinces Razgrad Province (Област Разград is a province in northeastern Bulgaria. Rousse (or Ruse Province (Русенска област is a province in northern Bulgaria, neighbouring Romania via the Danube. Shumen (Шумен is a Province in northeastern Bulgaria. Its main city is Shumen, and other municipalities are Hitrino, Kaolinovo Silistra Province is a province of Bulgaria, named for its main city Silistra. Sliven is a Province in central Bulgaria. Its main city is Sliven, while other municipalities are Kotel, Nova Zagora, and Tvarditsa Smolyan Province (Област Смолян Oblast Smolyan) is a province in southern Bulgaria. Sofia Province is a Province ( Oblast) of Bulgaria. It borders three sides of the city of Sofia (which is in a separate Stara Zagora is a Province of south central Bulgaria. Its main city is Stara Zagora, second biggest city is Kazanlak. Targovishte (Търговищка област is a Province in central Bulgaria. Varna Province (Област Варна Oblast Varna) is a Province in northeastern Bulgaria, onе of the 28 Bulgarian provinces Veliko Tarnovo is a Province in the middle of the northern part of Bulgaria. Vidin Province is the northwesternmost province of Bulgaria. It borders Serbia and Romania. Vratsa is a Province of north western Bulgaria, Neighbouring Romania. Yambol is a town with Province in south eastern Bulgaria, neighbouring Turkey to the south The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The Republic of Macedonia (Република Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Oblast (во́бласць oblast о́бласт oblast о́бласть област/ oblast; oblasť област о́бласть is a type of Administrative division All take their names from their respective capital cities:
The provinces subdivide into 264 municipalities. Blagoevgrad Province (област Благоевград oblast Blagoevgrad or Благоевградска област Blagoevgradska oblast) also known Burgas Province or oblast (Област Бургас is located in southeastern Bulgaria, on the southern Black Sea coast Dobrich Province is a Province in northeastern Bulgaria. Municipalities and towns Dobrich Province is subdivided into the following municipalities Gabrovo is a small Province lying at the geographical centre of Bulgaria. Haskovo Province (Hasköy is a province in southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece and Turkey to the southeast Kardzhali (Кърджалийска област Kırcaali İli is a Province of southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece with the Greek prefectures Kyustendil Province (Област Кюстендил Oblast Kyustendil) is a province in western Bulgaria, neighbouring to Republic of Macedonia Lovech is one of the 28 Provinces in Bulgaria. Municipalities Its main city is Lovech, and other municipalities are Montana (Монтана is a Province in northwestern Bulgaria, bordering Serbia and Romania. Pazardzhik is a Province located in southern Bulgaria and covers 4458 km² Pernik Province is a province in western Bulgaria, neighbouring Serbia. Pleven Province or Plevenska Oblast (Плевенска Област is a province located in central northern Bulgaria, bordering the Danube river Plovdiv is an Oblast in central southern Bulgaria (formerly part of Eastern Rumelia) onе of the 28 Bulgarian provinces Razgrad Province (Област Разград is a province in northeastern Bulgaria. Rousse (or Ruse Province (Русенска област is a province in northern Bulgaria, neighbouring Romania via the Danube. Shumen (Шумен is a Province in northeastern Bulgaria. Its main city is Shumen, and other municipalities are Hitrino, Kaolinovo Silistra Province is a province of Bulgaria, named for its main city Silistra. Sliven is a Province in central Bulgaria. Its main city is Sliven, while other municipalities are Kotel, Nova Zagora, and Tvarditsa Smolyan Province (Област Смолян Oblast Smolyan) is a province in southern Bulgaria. The Sofia City Province ( Bulgarian: София-град is situated in western Bulgaria, in the largest valley in the country the Sofia valley. Sofia Province is a Province ( Oblast) of Bulgaria. It borders three sides of the city of Sofia (which is in a separate Stara Zagora is a Province of south central Bulgaria. Its main city is Stara Zagora, second biggest city is Kazanlak. Targovishte (Търговищка област is a Province in central Bulgaria. Varna Province (Област Варна Oblast Varna) is a Province in northeastern Bulgaria, onе of the 28 Bulgarian provinces Veliko Tarnovo is a Province in the middle of the northern part of Bulgaria. Vidin Province is the northwesternmost province of Bulgaria. It borders Serbia and Romania. Vratsa is a Province of north western Bulgaria, Neighbouring Romania. Yambol is a town with Province in south eastern Bulgaria, neighbouring Turkey to the south The provinces of Bulgaria are divided into municipalities (община obshtina)
Economy
Bulgaria became a member of the European Union in 2007; the World Bank classifies it as an "upper-middle-income economy" [35]. External trade & Investment Since 1990 the bulk of Bulgarian trade has shifted from former COMECON countries primarily to the European Union, although Russian The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e Bulgaria has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The country is still the second poorest member state of the EU after Romania[36], but standards of living have started to rise.
Bulgaria has tamed its inflation since the deep economic crisis in 1996-1997, but latest figures show an increase in the inflation-rate to 12. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common 5% for 2007. Unemployment declined from more than 17% in the mid 1990s to nearly 10% in 2007, but the unemployment-rate in some rural areas continues in high double-digits. Bulgaria is experiencing soaring inflation and this means that Bulgaria's adoption of the Euro will likely to be delayed well until the year 2013-2014. [37]
Bulgaria's economy contracted dramatically after 1987 with the dissolution of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON), with which the Bulgarian economy had integrated closely. Sofia (София ˈsɔfija is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1395568 in the Capital Municipality The standard-of-living fell by about 40%, but it regained pre-1990 levels in June 2004. United Nations sanctions against Yugoslavia and Iraq took a heavy toll on the Bulgarian economy. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Савезна Република Југославија / Savezna Republika Jugoslavija) or FRY was a federal state For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The first signs of recovery emerged in 1994 when the GDP grew and inflation fell. In economics inflation or price inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services over a period of time During the government of Zhan Videnov's cabinet in 1996, the economy collapsed due to lack of international economic support and an unstable banking system. Zhan Vasilev Videnov (Жан Василев Виденов (born March 22, 1959) was the Prime Minister of Bulgaria from January 25 Since 1997, the country has been on the path to recovery, with GDP growing at a 4%–5% rate, increasing FDI, macroeconomic stability and European Union membership. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in
The former NMSII government elected in 2001 pledged to maintain the fundamental economic policy-objectives adopted by its predecessor in 1997, specifically: retaining the Currency Board, implementing sound financial policies, accelerating privatisation, and pursuing structural reforms. Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the Public sector (government to the Private sector (business Economic forecasts for 2005 and 2006 predicted continued growth for the economy. Economists predicted annual year-on-year GDP growth for 2005 and 2006 of 5. 3% and 6. 0% respectively. Forecasters expected industrial output in 2005 to rise by 11. 9% from the previous year, and by 15. 2% in 2006. Unemployment for 2005 was projected at 11. 5%, 9% for 2006 and 7. 25% for 2007. [38] As of 2006 the GDP structure is: agriculture 8. 0%; industry 26. 1%; services 65. 9%.
Agriculture
Agricultural output has decreased overall since 1989, but production has grown in recent years, and together with related industries like food-processing it still plays a key role in the Bulgarian economy. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw Ingredients into Food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by Arable farming predominates over stock-breeding. The country has a lack of modern equipment. Alongside aeroplanes and other equipment, Bulgarian agriculture has over 150,000 tractors and 10,000 combine harvesters. Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft. A tractor is a Vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high Tractive effort at slow speeds for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used The combine harvester, or simply combine, also known as a thresher is a machine that combines the
Production of the most important crops (according to the FAO) in 2006 (in '000 tons) amounted to: wheat 3301. Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. 9; sunflower 1196. The sunflower ( Helianthus annuus) is an Annual plant in the family Asteraceae and native to the Americas, with a large flowering 6; maize 1587. Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica 8; grapes 266. For the Tokyo University supercomputer see Gravity Pipe. GRAPE, or GRA phics P rogramming E nvironment is 2; tobacco 42. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. 0; tomatoes 213. The tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum, syn Lycopersicon lycopersicum) is a herbaceous usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family 0; barley 546. Barley ( Hordeum vulgare) is an annual Cereal Grain, which serves as a major animal Feed crop, with smaller amounts used for 3; potatoes 386. The potato is a Starchy Tuberous crop Vegetable from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae 1; peppers 156. Capsicum is a Genus of Plants from the nightshade family ( Solanaceae) native to the Americas, where it was cultivated for thousands 7; cucumbers 61. The cucumber ( Cucumis sativus) is a widely cultivated plant in the Gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same 5; cherries 18. This article is about the Cherry berry also classified as fruit for the ornamental tree See Cherry Blossom. 2; watermelons 136. Watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ( Thunb) Matsum & Nakai family Cucurbitaceae) refers to both Fruit and Plant of a vine-like (climber 0; cabbage 72. The cabbage ( Brassica oleracea var capitata) is a leafy garden plant of the Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae used as a 7; apples 26. The apple is the pomaceous Fruit of the apple tree Species Malus domestica in the Rose family Rosaceae. 1; plums 18. A plum or gage is a stone fruit Tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. 0; strawberries 8. Garden strawberries are a common variety of strawberry cultivated worldwide 8.
Industry
Industry plays a key role in the Bulgarian economy. Although Bulgaria lacks large reserves of oil and gas, it produces significant quantities of electricity. Bulgaria formerly ranked as the most important exporter of electricity in the region due to the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, which has a total capacity of 2,000 MW, but after the closure of its 4 blocks, exports of electricity declined sharply and the country lost its leading position as an energy-supplier for the Balkans. The Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is a Nuclear power plant in Bulgaria situated 200 km north of Sofia and 5 km east of Kozloduy, a Construction has started on a second plant, the Belene Nuclear Power Plant with a projected capacity of 2,000 MW. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Belene Nuclear Power Plant (Атомна електроцентрала „Белене“ is a Nuclear power plant currently under construction 3 km from Belene Plans exist for a $1. 4bn project for construction of an additional 670 MW for the 500 MW Maritza Iztok 1 Thermal Power Plant[39] (see Energy in Bulgaria). The Maritsa Iztok Complex is the largest energy complex in South Eastern Europe. Although Bulgaria is not very rich in natural fuels such as Coal, Oil and Gas, it has very well developed energy sector which is of crucial importance for
Ferrous metallurgy has major importance. Metallurgy is a domain of Materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their Much of the production of steel and pig iron takes place in Kremikovtsi and Pernik, with a third metallurgical base in Debelt. Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 Pig iron is the intermediate product of Smelting Iron ore with coke, usually with Limestone as a flux Kremikovtsi (Кремиковци is an industrial municipality of Sofia, Bulgaria. Pernik (Перник is a city in western Bulgaria with a population of 91883 As of 2006. Debelt is a village in Sredets municipality in Burgas Province in southeastern Bulgaria, about 25 kilometers from Burgas. In production of steel and steel products per capita the country heads the Balkans. Recently the fate of Kremikovtsi steel factories has come under debate, because of serious pollution of the capital, Sofia.
The largest refineries for lead and zinc operate in Plovdiv (the biggest refinery between Italy and the Ural mountains), Kardzhali and Novi Iskar; for copper in Pirdop and Eliseina; for aluminium in Shumen. Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly Zinc (ˈzɪŋk from Zink is a Metallic Chemical element with the symbol Zn and Atomic number 30 Kardzhali or Kurdzhali (Кърджали Kırcaali is a town in Bulgaria, capital of Kardzhali Province in the Eastern Rhodopes. Novi Iskar (Нови Искър 'New Iskar ' is a town in western Bulgaria, located in Sofia City Province and the Capital Municipality Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Pirdop (Пирдоп is a town located in South-West Bulgaria of Sofia Province in the southeastern part of the Zlatitsa - Pirdop Valley at 670 m above Eliseina ( Bulgarian: Елисейна is a village in the Vratsa Province, northwestern Bulgaria. WikipediaNaming Shumen (Шумен is a city in the northeastern part of Bulgaria, capital of Shumen Province. In production of many metals per capita, Bulgaria ranks first in South Eastern Europe.
About 14% of the total industrial production relates to machine-building, and 24% of the people work in this field. Its importance has decreased since 1989.
Electronics and electric equipment-production have developed to a high degree. Electronics refers to the flow of charge (moving Electrons through Nonmetal conductors (mainly Semiconductors, whereas electrical The largest centres include Sofia, Plovdiv and the surrounding area, Botevgrad, Stara Zagora, Varna, Pravets and many other cities. Sofia (София ˈsɔfija is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1395568 in the Capital Municipality Botevgrad (Ботевград pre-1934 Orhanie (Орхание pre-1866 Samundzhievo (Самунджиево is a town in western Bulgaria. Stara Zagora (Стара Загора is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and one of the nationally important economic centres Varna (Варна is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv Pravets ( Bulgarian: Правец also transliterated as Pravetz or Pravec) is a town in central western Bulgaria, located approximately These plants produce household appliances, computers, CDs, telephones, medical and scientific equipment. Refrigerator1svg|left|100px]]A major appliance, or domestic appliance, is usually defined as a large Machine which accomplishes some routine housekeeping task which A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio Basic principle A traditional landline telephone system also known as "plain old telephone service" (POTS, commonly handles both signaling and audio information Medical equipment is designed to aid in the diagnosis monitoring or treatment of medical conditions
Many factories producing transportation equipment currently do not operate at full capacity. Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Plants produce trains (Burgas, Dryanovo), trams (Sofia), trolleys (Dupnitsa), buses (Botevgrad), trucks (Shumen), motor trucks (Plovdiv, Lom, Sofia, Lovech). A train is a connected series of vehicles that move along a track ( Permanent way) to transport freight or passengers from one place to another Burgas (Бургас sometimes transliterated as Bourgas) is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210260 The town of Dryanovo (Дряново is situated at the northern foot of the Balkan Mountains in Gabrovo Province, Bulgaria, amphitheatrically along the A tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a Train Sofia (София ˈsɔfija is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1395568 in the Capital Municipality A tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a Train Dupnitsa (Дупница sometimes transliterated Dupnitza or Dupnica) is a town in western Bulgaria. Botevgrad (Ботевград pre-1934 Orhanie (Орхание pre-1866 Samundzhievo (Самунджиево is a town in western Bulgaria. This article is about the semi-truck For the North American use of the word see Pickup truck. Shumen (Шумен is a city in the northeastern part of Bulgaria, capital of Shumen Province. This article is about the semi-truck For the North American use of the word see Pickup truck. Lovech has an automotive assembly plant. Ruse serves as the main centre for agricultural machinery. Most Bulgarian shipbuilding takes place in Varna, Burgas and Ruse. Varna (Варна is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv Burgas (Бургас sometimes transliterated as Bourgas) is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210260 Bulgarian arms production mainly operates in central Bulgaria (Kazanlak, Sopot, Karlovo). Kazanlak (Казанлък is a Bulgarian town located in the middle of the plain of the same name at the foot of the Balkan mountain range, Sopot (Zoppot Kashubian: Sopòt) is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland Karlovo (Карлово is a picturesque and a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern
Foreigners seeking additional homes have recently boosted the Bulgarian properties market. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Bulgarian property market is experiencing a large boost since the mid 1990s Buyers come from across Europe, but mostly from the United Kingdom, encouraged by relatively cheap property-prices and the country's easy accessibility via air-travel. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located [40]
Science, technology and telecommunications
Some multinational companies have set up regional offices and headquarters in Bulgaria, most notably Hewlett-Packard, which built its Global Service Centre for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in Sofia. Europe the Middle East and Africa, usually abbreviated to EMEA, is a regional designation used for government marketing and business purposes
Telecommunications has become one of the growing industries in the country. Three GSM mobile-telephone operators — Globul, Mobiltel and Vivatel — provide almost 100% coverage each. GSM ( Global System for Mobile communications: originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most popular standard for Mobile phones in the GLOBUL (network code 284-05 is the second-largest Bulgarian GSM / UMTS operator. Mobiltel ("Мобилтел" /network code 284-01/ commonly known as M-tel (М-тел is the first and largest GSM Mobile phone operator in vivatel is a mobile operator in Bulgaria It started operating in November 2005, receiving a GSM operator license in June 2004 and an UMTS license They have a network of service-centers throughout the country. Bulgarians made use of some 10 million cellular phones[41] as of 2006. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Mobikom provides the only NMT 450 mobile-phone service. NMT ( Nordisk MobilTelefoni or Nordiska MobilTelefoni-gruppen, Nordic Mobile Telephony in English is the first fully-automatic Cellular phone Bulgarians in towns can access the Internet, and recently most villages have acquired fast connectivity and VoIP; BTK offers DSL connection in larger cities. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Voice-over-Internet protocol ( VoIP, vɔɪp is a protocol optimized for the transmission of voice through the Internet Bulgaria had about 298,781[42] Internet hosts as of 2007. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
Bulgaria supplied many scientific and research instruments for the Soviet space-program, and also sent two men into space: Georgi Ivanov on Soyuz 33 (1979) and Alexander Alexandrov on Soyuz TM-5 (1985). The Soviet space program consisted of initiatives within the Soviet Union by competing design groups Georgi Ivanov (Георги Иванов (born Georgi Kakalov, born July 2, 1940) was the first Bulgarian in space The Soyuz 33 mission was intended to dock with Salyut 6 but failed to do so due to an engine malfunction Alexander Alexandrov (or Aleksandr Aleksandrov depending on transcription may refer to Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov, Russian mathematician and physicist Soyuz TM-5 was the fifth expedition to the Russian Space Station Mir. Bulgaria became one of the first European countries to develop serial production of personal computers (Pravetz series 8) in the beginning of the 1980s, and has experience in pharmaceutical research and development. A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated The Pravetz series 8 computers were Bulgarian made clones of the Apple II.
Asen Yordanov (1896-1967), the founder of aeronautical engineering in Bulgaria, worked as an aviator, engineer and inventor; he also contributed to the development of aviation in the United States. Assen "Jerry" Jordanoff (Асен Христов Йорданов (born Asen Hristov Yordanov, September 2 1896, Sofia Bulgaria Aerospace engineering is the branch of Engineering behind the design construction and science of Aircraft and Spacecraft. Aviation refers to activities involving man-made flying devices ( Aircraft) including the people organizations and regulatory bodies involved with them The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He played a significant role in U. S. aircraft development and took part in many other projects. For all other uses see Project (disambiguation. A project, as defined in the field of Project management, consists of a temporary
The Bulgarian-American inventor and scientist Peter Petroff became best known for his work in NASA. Bulgarian Americans are Citizens of the United States with significant Bulgarian heritage Peter Petroff ( October 21, 1919 &ndash February 7, 2003) was a Bulgarian-American Inventor, Engineer, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program Petroff also invented the first digital watch (1970). A watch is a timepiece that is made to be worn on a person The term now usually refers to a wristwatch, which is worn on the wrist with a strap or Bracelet. [43]
U. S. chemist Carl Djerassi, who developed the first oral contraceptive pill (OCP), has Bulgarian ancestry. Carl Djerassi (born October 29, 1923 in Vienna, Austria) is a chemist, Novelist, and Playwright best known
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the leading scientific institution in the country, employs most of Bulgaria's researchers working in its numerous branches. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS in Bulgarian: Българска академия на науките Balgarska akademiya na naukite, abbreviated
Bulgaria hosts two major astronomical observatories: the Rozhen Observatory, the largest in Southeastern Europe, and the Belogradchik Observatory with three telescopes; as well as several "public astronomical observatories" with planetariums, focused on educationnal and outreach activities. An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events Rozhen Observatory is a Bulgarian Astronomical observatory, located 90 km south of the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The Astronomical Observatory of Belogradchik or Belogradchik Observatory is an astronomical Observatory owned and operated by Bulgarian Academy A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects and the collection of Electromagnetic radiation. A planetarium is a Theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about Astronomy and the night sky or for training in Celestial navigation Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency Outreach is an effort by individuals in an Organization or group to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations groups specific Audiences
Transport
Bulgaria occupies a unique and strategically important geographic location. Railways See also Bulgarian State Railways total: 4294 km (2005 Railway links with adjacent countries E79-sandanski-tunnel-gruevjpg|right|thumb|300px|European route E79 in Bulgaria, south of Sandanski and going south towards Greece]] European route E79 Blagoevgrad (Благоевград formerly Горна Джумая Gorna Dzhumaya) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Since ancient times, the country has served as a major crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa. Five of the ten Trans-European corridors run through its territory. The ten Pan-European transport corridors were defined at the second Pan-European transport Conference in Crete, March 1994, as routes in Central and Eastern Europe Bulgaria's roads have a total length of 102,016 km (63,390 mi), 93,855 km (58,319 mi) of them paved and 441 km (274 mi) of them motorways. Several motorways are planned, under construction or partially built: Trakiya motorway, Hemus motorway, Cherno More motorway, Struma motorway, Maritza motorway and Lyulin motorway. The Trakiya motorway (Aвтомагистрала „Тракия“ Avtomagistrala "Trakiya") or Thrace motorway, designated A1, is a The Hemus motorway or Haemus motorway (автомагистрала „Хемус“ designated A2, is a Motorway currently under construction The Cherno More motorway or the Black Sea motorway (автомагистрала „Черно море“ is a Bulgarian motorway planned to link The Struma Motorway is a planned motorway which will lead from the Daskalovo junction 5 km away from Sofia to the Bulgarian border Kulata with Greece The Maritza motorway (Автомагистрала Марица is part of Pan-European corridor number 10 which connects Central Europe with Asia The Lyulin motorway will provide a link between the Sofia ringroad and with the junction of Daskalovo near Pernik. Other planned motorways await finalisation of their routes. They include a link between the capital Sofia and Vidin, a link between the Struma and Trakiya motorways south of Rila Mountain, a link between Rousse and Veliko Tarnovo, and the Sofia ringroad. Sofia (София ˈsɔfija is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1395568 in the Capital Municipality Vidin (Видин is a town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. for the Tibetan village see Rila Tibet Rila (Рила) is a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria and the highest mountain range Rousse (also transliterated as Ruse or Russe; Русе) is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria with a population of near 175600 Veliko Tarnovo (Велико Търново sometimes transliterated as Veliko Turnovo) is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of The Sofia ringroad (Софийски околовръстен път Sofiyski okolovrasten pat) is an important thoroughfare surrounding Sofia, the capital of Many roads have recently undergone reconstruction. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Bulgaria has 6,500 km (4,000 mi) of railway track, more than 60% electrified. A €360,000,000 project exists for the modernisation and electrification of the Plovdiv-Kapitan Andreevo railway. Kapitan Andreevo (Капитан Андреево is a village in Svilengrad municipality Haskovo Province, southern Bulgaria.
Air transportation has developed relatively comprehensively. Bulgaria has five official international airports — at Sofia, Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv and Gorna Oryahovitsa. Sofia (София ˈsɔfija is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1395568 in the Capital Municipality Burgas (Бургас sometimes transliterated as Bourgas) is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210260 Varna (Варна is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv Gorna Oryahovitsa (Горна Оряховица is a town in northern Bulgaria, situated in Veliko Tarnovo Province, between the towns of Veliko Tarnovo Massive investment plans exist for the first three. Important domestic airports include those of Vidin, Pleven, Silistra, Targovishte, Stara Zagora, Kardzhali, Haskovo and Sliven. Vidin (Видин is a town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. Pleven (Плевен; historically known as Plevne in Turkish and Plevna in English) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria Silistra (Силистра, historically Bulgarian: Дръстър Drastar, ( and Romanian: Dârstor) is a Port city of northeastern Târgovişte is also a city in Romania. Targovishte (Търговище "marketplace" Eski Cuma "old Friday" Stara Zagora (Стара Загора is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and one of the nationally important economic centres Kardzhali or Kurdzhali (Кърджали Kırcaali is a town in Bulgaria, capital of Kardzhali Province in the Eastern Rhodopes. Haskovo (Хасково is the name of a town and administrative centre of the province of the same name in southern Bulgaria, not far from the borders with Sliven (Сливен is a town in southeast Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Sliven Province. After the fall of communism in 1989, most of them are not used as the importance of domestic flights declined. There are many military airports and agricultural airfields. 128 of the 213 airports in Bulgaria are paved. An airport is a location where Aircraft such as airplanes, Helicopters and blimps take off and land The ports of Varna and Burgas are by far the most important and have the largest turnover. Varna (Варна is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv Burgas (Бургас sometimes transliterated as Bourgas) is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210260 Other than Burgas, Sozopol, Nesebar and Pomorie are big fishing ports. Sozopol (Созопол Sozopolis Antheia Apollonia is a ancient town and seaside resort located 15 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Nesebar (ˈneseʙɑːr Bulgarian: Несебър Nesebăr, Thracian: Menebria Greek: Μεσημβρια Mesimvria, previously Pomorie (Поморие formerly known as Αγχίαλος Anchialos in Greek, Anchialus in Latin, Tuthom in Bulgar and The largest ports on the Danube River are Rousse and Lom which serves the capital. Rousse (also transliterated as Ruse or Russe; Русе) is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria with a population of near 175600 Lom_Freedom_Squarejpg|thumb|300px|right|Freedom Square - another view]] Lom (Лом is a town in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Montana The cities and many smaller towns have well-organised public transport systems, using buses, trolleys (in about 20 cities) and trams (in Sofia). The Sofia Metro in the capital has three planned lines with total length of about 48 km (30 mi) and 52 stations, but much currently remains uncompleted. The Sofia Metropolitan (Софийско метро Sofiysko metro) is the underground urban railway network servicing the Bulgarian capital Sofia. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
Demographics
According to the 2001 census,[44] Bulgaria's population consists mainly of ethnic Bulgarian (83. Population 7640000 ( 2007 Age structure 0-14 years 141% (male 539005/female 512762 15-64 years 68 A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population The Bulgarians (българи balgari) are a South Slavic people generally associated with the Republic of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian language 9%), with two sizable minorities, Turks (9. The Turkish people (Türk Halkı also known as " Turks " ( Türkler) are defined mainly as being speakers of Turkish as a First language 4%) and Roma (4. Roma people constitute the second largest minority and third largest Ethnic group (after Bulgarians and Turks) in Bulgaria. 7%). Of the remaining 2. 0%, 0. 9% comprises some 40 smaller minorities, most prominently in numbers the Russians, Armenians, Vlachs, Jews, Crimean Tatars and Sarakatsani (historically known also as Karakachans). The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries Armenians (арменци armentsi) are the fourth largest minority in Bulgaria, numbering 10832 according to the 2001 census while Armenian Vlachs is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe The history of the Jews in Bulgaria dates to at least as early as the 2nd century CE After 1241, the year of the earliest recorded Tatar invasion of Bulgaria, the Second Bulgarian Empire maintained constant political contacts with the Tatars The Sarakatsani (Σαρακατσάνοι are a group of Greek transhumant shepherds in Greece. 1. 1% of the population did not declare their ethnicity in the latest census in 2001.
96. 3% of the population speak Bulgarian as their mother tongue. Bulgarian (български език IPA: ɛzˈik is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) is the language a human being learns from birth Bulgarian, a member of the Slavic language group, remains the only official language, but numbers of speakers of other languages (such as Turkish and Romany) correspond closely to ethnic proportions. The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) a group of closely related Languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages.
The country has a Roma population estimated at between 200,000 and 450,000. The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins [45]
Most Bulgarians (82. 6%) belong, at least nominally, to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the national Eastern Orthodox Church. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Българска православна църква Bălgarska pravoslavna cărkva) is an Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Other religious denominations include Islam (12. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. 2%), various Protestant denominations (0. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. 8%) and Roman Catholicism (0. 5%); with other denominations, atheists and undeclared totalling approximately 4. 1%.
In recent years, Bulgaria has had one of the slowest population growth-rates in the world. Negative population growth has occurred since the early 1990s,[46] due to economic collapse and high emigration. In 1989 the population comprised 9,009,018 people, in 2001 7,950,000 and in 2008 7,640,000. Now Bulgaria faces a severe demographic crisis. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Bulgaria has a fertility-rate of 1. 4 children per woman as of 2007, with a predicted rate of 1. 7 by the end of 2050. The fertility-rate will need to reach 2. 2 to restore natural growth in population.
Culture
- See also: List of famous Bulgarians, Bulgarian customs, Music of Bulgaria, Bulgarian artists, Bulgarian dances, and Bulgarian cuisine
A country often described as lying at the crossroads linking the East and West, Bulgaria functioned as the hub of Slavic Europe during much of the Middle Ages, exerting considerable literary and cultural influence over the Eastern Orthodox Slavic world by means of the Preslav and Ohrid Literary Schools. Bulgarian Culture is a mix mostly of Thracian, Slavic and Bulgar cultures but there are Byzantine, Turkish Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Varna (Варна is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv This is a Partial list of famous Bulgarians Bulgarian monarchs Kubrat Batbayan Asparukh of Martenitsa, all of March Nestinari Kukeri Koleda ( Christmas) Koledari Bulgarian music is part of the Balkan tradition which stretches across Southeastern Europe, and has its own distinctive sound Nineteenth century See also Art genre Zahari Zograf Stanislav Dospevski Ivan Mrkvicka (1856-1938 Genre Bulgarian folk dances are intimately related to the Music of Bulgaria. Bulgarian cuisine (българска кухня bulgarska kuhnya) is a representative of the cuisine of Southeastern Europe. The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various Cultures social structures and philosophical systems of " the East " Western culture (sometimes equated with Western Civilization) are terms which are used to refer to Cultures of European origin Slavic Europe is a region of Europe where Slavic people live This area corresponds more or less to East-Central, Eastern Europe and Southeastern The Preslav Literary School (Pliska Literary School was the first literary school in the medieval Bulgarian Empire. The Ohrid Literary School was one of the two major medieval Bulgarian cultural centres along with the Preslav Literary School ( Pliska Literary School) Bulgaria also gave the world the Cyrillic alphabet, the second most-widely used alphabet in the world, which originated in these two schools in the tenth century AD. The Cyrillic alphabet (səˈrɪlɪk also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters is actually a family of Alphabets, subsets of which are used by An alphabet is a standardized set of letters basic written symbols each of which roughly represents a Phoneme, a Spoken language, either
A number of ancient civilizations, most notably the Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Slavs, and Bulgars, have left their mark on the culture, history and heritage of Bulgaria. "Thracians" also refers to modern inhabitants of Thrace, regardless of ethnicity The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The Bulgars (also Bolgars or proto-Bulgarians) were a seminomadic people probably of Turkic descent originally from Central Asia, The country has nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
- The early medieval large rock relief Madara Rider. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex The Madara Rider or Madara Horseman (Мадарски конник Madarski konnik) is an Early medieval large rock Relief carved
- two Thracian tombs (one in Sveshtari and one in Kazanlak)
- three monuments of medieval Bulgarian culture (the Boyana Church, the Rila Monastery and the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo)
- two examples of natural beauty: the Pirin National Park and the Srebarna Nature Reserve
- the ancient city of Nesebar, a unique combination of European cultural interaction, as well as, historically, one of the most important centres of sea-borne trade in the Black Sea
Note also the Varna Necropolis, a 3500-3200 BC burial-site, purportedly containing the oldest examples of worked gold in the world. The Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari is situated 25 km southwest of the village of Sveshtari, Razgrad Province, which is located 42 km northeast of The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak is a vaulted brickwork "beehive" (tholos tomb near the town of Kazanlak in central Bulgaria. The Boyana Church (Боянска църква Boyanska tsarkva) is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated on the outskirts of Sofia The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery (Рилски манастир Rilski manastir) is the largest and most famous Eastern The Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo (Ивановски скални църкви Ivanovski skalni tsarkvi) are a group of Monolithic churches Chapels Pirin National Park is a World Heritage national park that encompasses the larger part of the Pirin Mountains in the southwest of Bulgaria. The Srebarna Nature Reserve ( Природен резерват Сребърна Priroden rezervat Srebarna) is a Nature reserve in northeastern Bulgaria Nesebar (ˈneseʙɑːr Bulgarian: Несебър Nesebăr, Thracian: Menebria Greek: Μεσημβρια Mesimvria, previously The Varna Necropolis (Варненски некропол (also Varna Cemetery) is a burial site in the western industrial zone of Varna (approximately half
Bulgaria's contribution to humanity continued throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with individuals such as John Atanasoff — a United States citizen of Bulgarian descent, regarded as the father of the digital computer. John Vincent Atanasoff ( Bulgarian: Джон Винсент Атанасов Dzhon Vinsent Atanasov) ( October 4, 1903 &ndash June 15 A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. A number of noted opera-singers (Nicolai Ghiaurov, Boris Christoff, Raina Kabaivanska, Ghena Dimitrova), Anna Veleva, the world-famous harpist Anna-Maria Ravnopolska-Dean and successful artists (Christo Yavashev, Pascin, Vladimir Dimitrov) popularized the culture of Bulgaria abroad. Nicolai Ghiaurov (or Nikolai Gjaurov, Николай Гяуров ( September 13, 1929 &ndash June 2 2004) was a Bulgarian Boris Christoff ( Bulgarian: bg Борис Христов ( May 18, 1914, Plovdiv, Bulgaria &ndash June 28, 1993 Raina Kabaivanska (Райна Кабаиванска ( December 15, 1934) is a Bulgarian opera singer one of the leading lirico-spinto Sopranos Ghena Dimitrova (Гена Димитрова ( May 6, 1941 &ndash June 11, 2005) was a Bulgarian Operatic Soprano Anna Veleva is a Bulgarian Soprano. She has appeared at major opera houses recital and concert halls in the United States Europe and Japan Anna-Maria Ravnopolska-Dean ( Анна-Мария Равнополска-Дийн (born 3 August 1960) is a recognized Bulgarian Harpist and Christo (born as Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, Bulgarian: Христо Явашев and Jeanne-Claude (born as Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon Julius Mordecai Pincas ( March 31, 1885 – June 5, 1930) known as Pascin, Jules Pascin, or the "Prince of
One of the best internationally-known artists, Valya Balkanska sang the song Izlel e Delyu Haydutin, part of the Voyager Golden Record selection of music included in the two Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. Valya Mladenova Balkanska (Валя Младенова Балканска (born 8 January 1942) is a Bulgarian Folk music singer from the The Voyager Golden Record is a Phonograph record included in the two Voyager Spacecraft launched in 1977 The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir also known as Mystery of Bulgarian voices has also attained a considerable degree of fame. The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir is an internationally renowned World Music ensemble that blends traditional six-part A cappella repertoire with
A unique custom called nestinarstvo distinguishes the Strandja region. Nestinarstvo (нестинарство αναστενάρια anastenária) is a ritual originally performed in several Bulgarian - and Greek -speaking Strandzha (Странджа also transliterated as Strandja and Stranja; Turkish: Yıldız Dağları or Istranca) is a mountain Customs include dancing into fire or over live embers.
Tourism
In the northern-hemisphere winter, Samokov, Borovets, Bansko and Pamporovo become well-attended ski-resorts. Bulgaria, a country with a historical and cultural heritage and attractive natural landscapes is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Europe. Nesebar (ˈneseʙɑːr Bulgarian: Несебър Nesebăr, Thracian: Menebria Greek: Μεσημβρια Mesimvria, previously Samokov (Самоков is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. Borovets (Боровец known as Chamkoriya (Чамкория until the middle of the 20th century is a popular Bulgarian mountain resort situated in Sofia Bansko (Банско is a town and ski resort in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of Pirin at an altitude of 925 m above sea level Pamporovo (Пампорово is a popular ski resort in Smolyan Province, southern Bulgaria, one of the best-known in Southeastern Europe. Summer resorts exist on the Black Sea at Sozopol, Nessebur, Golden Sands, Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas, Albena, Saints Constantine and Helena and many others. Sozopol (Созопол Sozopolis Antheia Apollonia is a ancient town and seaside resort located 15 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Nesebar (ˈneseʙɑːr Bulgarian: Несебър Nesebăr, Thracian: Menebria Greek: Μεσημβρια Mesimvria, previously Golden Sands ( Bulgarian: Златни пясъци Zlatni pyasatsi; Czech: Zlaté Písky; Finnish: Kultahietikko; Sunny Beach (Слънчев бряг Slanchev bryag; Zonnestrand Sonnenstrand Солнечный берег Solnechniy bereg) is a major seaside resort on Sveti Vlas (Свети Влас " Saint Blaise " Larissa Monasterion is a town and seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, located Albena (Албена is a major Black Sea resort in northeastern Bulgaria, situated 12 km from Balchik and 30 km from Varna. Saints Constantine and Helena (Св св Константин и Елена is a Resort town on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast within a landscaped park 10 km north Spa resorts such as Bankya, Hisarya, Sandanski, Velingrad, Varshets and many others attract visitors throughout the year. A destination spa is a short term residential/lodging facility with the primary purpose of guiding individual spa-goers to develop healthy habits Bankya (Банкя is a town and municipality in western Bulgaria. Hisarya ( Bulgarian Cyrillic: Хисаря also known as Hisar, Hissar or Hissarya) is a small resort town in Bulgaria, in Plovdiv Sandanski (Сандански formerly until 1949 Свети Врач Sveti Vrach) is a town and a recreation centre in south-western Bulgaria, Velingrad (Велинград is a town in Bulgaria and one of the most popular Bulgarian balneological resorts Varshets (Вършец variously transliterated is a Spa town in Montana Province, northwestern Bulgaria. Bulgaria has started to become an attractive tourist destination because of the quality of the resorts and prices below those found in Western Europe.
Bulgaria has enjoyed a substantial growth in income from international tourism over the past decade. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Beach-resorts attract tourists from Germany, Russia, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The ski-resorts are a favourite destination for British and Irish tourists. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe.
Bulgaria now attracts close to 7 million visitors yearly. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Tourism in Bulgaria makes a major contribution towards the country's annual economic growth of 6% to 6. 5%.
Sports
Football has become by far the most popular sport in Bulgaria. Vasil Levski National Stadium (Национален стадион „Васил Левски“ named after Bulgarian National hero Vasil Levski, Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Many Bulgarian fans closely follow the top Bulgarian league, the Bulgarian "A" Professional Football Group; as well as the leagues of other European countries. The Bulgarian A Professional Football Group ("А" Професионална футболна група or A PFG (А ПФГ is the top division of Bulgarian The Bulgaria national football team achieved its greatest success with a fourth-place finish at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. The Bulgaria national football team is the national football team of Bulgaria and is controlled by the Bulgarian Football Union. The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in the United States from June 17 to July 17 1994 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Dimitar Berbatov currently ranks as the most popular Bulgarian footballer. Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov (Димитър Иванов Бербатов (born 30 January 1981 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria) He is captain of the 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Hristo Stoichkov has arguably become the best-known Bulgarian footballer of all time. Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov alternatively spelt Stoitchkov (Христо Стоичков Стоичков (born February 8, 1966, in Plovdiv His career peaked between 1992 and 1995, while he played for FC Barcelona, winning the Ballon d'Or in 1994. Fútbol Club Barcelona ( Catalan fudˈbɔɫ ˌklup bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish ˈfutβol ˌkluβ baɾθeˈlona known familiarly as Barça (Spanish ˈbaɾsa Catalan The "fr '''Ballon d'Or'''" ( French for " Golden Ball " often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award is an association football Additionally, he featured in the FIFA 100 rankings. The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé 's choice of the "greatest living footballers" Two Bulgarians have won the European top scorers' Golden Boot award: Stoichkov and Petar Jekov. Petar Petrov Zhekov (Петър Петров Жеков born October 10, 1944) is a former Bulgarian football player, who won the silver Georgi Asparuhov-Gundi (1943-1971), also became extremely popular at home and abroad, having had offers from clubs in Italy and Portugal, and having won the Bulgarian football player №1 award for the twentieth century. Georgi R Asparuhov (Георги Аспарухов (sometimes spelled Asparoukhov) nicknamed Gundi ( May 4, 1943 &ndash June 30 [47]
PFC CSKA Sofia (champion of Bulgaria 30 times, National cup holder 23 times, European Cup semi-finalist 2 times, Cup Winners' Cup semi-finalist), PFC Levski Sofia (25 times champion of Bulgaria and (as of 2007) 26 times National Cup holder), PFC Slavia Sofia (officially the oldest football- and sports-club in Bulgaria, 8 times football champion of Bulgaria and 12 times holder of the National Cup, Cup Winners' Cup semi-finalist) have become the most successful Bulgarian football-clubs. PFC CSKA Sofia (ПФК ЦСКА София is a Bulgarian football club from Sofia. PFC Levski Sofia, also known simply as Levski is a Bulgarian football club from Sofia. Other popular clubs include PFC Lokomotiv Sofia, PFC Litex Lovech, PFC Cherno More Varna and PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv. PFC Lokomotiv Sofia is a Bulgarian football club from the capital city of Sofia, founded on 28 October 1929 as ZHSK PFC Litex Lovech (ПФК Литекс (Ловеч is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Lovech. PFC Cherno More is a Bulgarian football club in Varna. They play their home games in the Bulgarian Premier League at the local Stadium Ticha PFC Lokomotiv 1936 Plovdiv (ПФК Локомотив 1936 Пловдив is a Bulgarian football club from the city of Plovdiv. PFC Levski Sofia became the first Bulgarian team to participate in the modern UEFA Champions League group stage, having achieved this by qualifying for the 2006/2007 competition. See also List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League winners The UEFA Champions League, which evolved from the European Champion Clubs' Cup is a seasonal club
Apart from football, Bulgaria boasts great achievements in a great variety of other sports. Maria Gigova and Maria Petrova have each held a record of three world-titles in rhythmic gymnastics. Maria Gigova (Мария Гигова (born April 24, 1947) is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. Maria Petrova (Мария Петрова (born November 13, 1975 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which single competitors or pairs trios or even more (generally five manipulate one or two apparatus rope, hoop, ball Other famous gymnasts include Simona Peycheva and Neshka Robeva (a highly successful coach as well). Simona Peycheva (Симона Пейчева (born May 14, 1985 in Sofia, Bulgaria) is an Individual Rhythmic Gymnast considered Neshka Robeva (Нешка Робева (born May 26, 1946) is a Bulgarian former Rhythmic Gymnast and coach Yordan Yovtchev ranks as the most famous Bulgarian competitor in Artistic Gymnastics. Jordan Jovtchev (Йордан Йовчев (born February 24, 1973 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian gymnast. Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of Gymnastics. Competitive gymnasts perform short routines (ranging from approximately 30 to 90 Seconds on different apparatus Bulgarians also dominate in weightlifting, with around 1,000 gold medals in different competitions, although cases of doping have occurred among Bulgarian weightlifters, which led to the expulsion of the entire Bulgarian team from the 2000 Summer Olympics, and their voluntary withdrawal from the 1988 Summer Olympics. Weightlifting, also called Olympic weightlifting or Olympic-style weightlifting, is a sport in which participants attempt a maximum weight single lift of a barbell "I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event staged in 1988 in [48] Boyan Radev ,Stefan Botev, Nickolai Peshalov, Demir Demirev and Yoto Yotov figure among the most distinguished weightlifters. Boyan Radev (Боян Радев born February 25, 1942) is a former Greco Roman wrestler from Bulgaria. Stefan Khristov Botev (Стефан Христов Ботев born February 14, 1968 in Harmanli) was an Olympic weightlifter Nikolay Pechalov (Николай Пешалов Nikolaj Pešalov born on May 30, 1970 in Pazardjik Bulgaria) is Olympic and World champion Demir Demirev (born 31 August 1984) is a Bulgarian weightlifter. Yoto Vasilev Yotov (Йото Василев Йотов born May 22, 1969) is a Bulgarian Croatian weightlifter. In wrestling, Serafim Barzakov, Armen Nazarian, Plamen Slavov, Kiril Sirakov and Sergey Moreyko rank as world-class wrestlers. Wrestling is the act of physical engagement between two people in which each wrestler strives to get an advantage over or control of the opponent Armen Nazarian (Արմեն Նազարյան Армен Назарян born March 9, 1974 in Masis, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union Dan Kolov became a wrestling legend in the early 20th century after leaving for United States. Dan Kolov (1892 - 1940 born Doncho Kolеv Danev (Дончо Колев Данев was a famous Bulgarian wrestler.
Bulgarians have made many significant achievements in athletics. Stefka Kostadinova, who still holds the women's high jump world record, jumped 209 centimetres at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome to clinch the coveted title. Stefka Kostadinova (Стефка Костадинова (born March 25, 1965 in Plovdiv) is a Bulgarian former athlete specialising The high jump is an Athletics (track and field event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of any devices The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Olympic Stadium in Presently, Bulgaria takes pride in its sprinters, especially Ivet Lalova and Tezdzhan Naimova. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Ivet Lalova (Ивет Лалова born May 18, 1984) is a Bulgarian Track and field athlete who specializes in the 100 metre Tezdzhan Naimova (Тезджан Наимова first name also rendered as Тезжан Tezzhan, born 1 May 1987) is a Bulgarian sprinter
Volleyball recently experienced a big resurgence. Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 active players (5 normal players and one 'libero' are separated by a net that is usually four feet 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The Bulgarian national volleyball team, one of the strongest teams in Europe, currently ranks fourth in the FIVB ranklist. The Bulgaria men's national volleyball team, controlled by the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, is one of the leading Volleyball teams in Europe and 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB is the international governing body for the sport of Volleyball. At the 2006 Volleyball World Championship this team won the bronze medal. The 2006 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship was held in Japan from 17 November, 2006 to 3 December, 2006.
Chess has achieved great popularity. Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. One of the top chess-masters and a former world champion, Veselin Topalov, plays for Bulgaria. Veselin Topalov (vɛsɛ'lin to'pɑlof Веселин Топалов (born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Chess grandmaster At the end of 2005, both men's and women's world chess-champions came from Bulgaria, as well as the junior world champion.
Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski have won the ISU world figure skating championships twice in a row (2006 and 2007) for ice-dance. Albena Denkova (Албена Денкова (born December 3 1974 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian ice dancer. Maxim Staviski (Максим Стависки (born November 16, 1977, in Rostov-on-Don, Soviet Union (now Russia)
Bulgaria also has strengths in shooting sports. The shooting sports include those competitive sports involving tests of proficiency (accuracy and speed using various types of Guns such as Firearms and Airguns Maria Grozdeva and Tanyu Kiriakov have won Olympic gold medals, and Ekaterina Dafovska won the Olympic gold in biathlon in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. Maria Grozdeva (Мария Гроздева (born June 23, 1972) is a Bulgarian sport shooter, concentrating on both 25 metre pistol Tanyu Kiryakov (Таню Киряков born March 2, 1963 in Ruse) is a Bulgarian pistol shooter the only shooter to have won Olympic Ekaterina Dafovska (Екатерина Дафовска (born 28 November 1975 in Chepelare) is a Bulgarian biathlete. Biathlon (not to be confused with Duathlon) is a term used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines
Petar Stoychev set a new swimming world record for crossing the English Channel in 2007. Petar Stoychev (Петър Стойчев (born 24 October 1976 in Momchilgrad) is a Bulgarian open water swimmer and is most famous for claiming
The country has strong traditions in amateur boxing and in martial-arts competitions. Amateur boxing is practiced at the collegiate level at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sponsored by amateur Boxing associations Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for Combat. Bulgaria has achieved major success with its judo and karate teams in European and World championships. meaning "gentle way" is a modern Japanese martial art ( Gendai budō) and Combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late ( or is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands from indigenous fighting methods and Chinese Kenpō. Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov, best known as Kotoōshū Katsunori, has become well-known worldwide for his sumo prowess. Kotoōshū Katsunori (琴欧洲 勝紀 (born February 19 1983 as Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov, Калоян Стефанов Махлянов in Veliko Tarnovo is a competitive Contact sport where two Wrestlers ( rikishi) attempt to force one another out of a circular ring ( Dohyo) or to touch the ground
Religion
Most citizens of Bulgaria have associations — at least nominally — with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Bulgaria has been a traditionally Christian state since the adoption of Christianity in 865 with the dominant confession being Eastern Orthodoxy of the The St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Храм-паметник „Свети Александър Невски“ Hram-pametnik „Sveti Aleksandar Nevski“) is a The Church of Christ Pantocrator is located on the peninsula of Nesebar, Bulgaria. Nesebar (ˈneseʙɑːr Bulgarian: Несебър Nesebăr, Thracian: Menebria Greek: Μεσημβρια Mesimvria, previously The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Българска православна църква Bălgarska pravoslavna cărkva) is an Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church Founded in 870 AD under the Patriarchate of Constantinople (from which it obtained its first primate, its clergy and theological texts), the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has had autocephalous status since 927. History Early history Christianity in Byzantium existed from the time of the Twelve Apostles, but it was in the year 330 that the Roman Emperor Primate (from the Latin Primus, "first" is a title or rank bestowed on some Bishops in certain Christian churches Autocephaly, in Hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches is the status of a hierarchical church whose The Orthodox Church re-established the Bulgarian Patriarchate in Sofia in the 1950s after the promulgation of the Bulgarian Exarchate in 1870. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Българска православна църква Bălgarska pravoslavna cărkva) is an Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church The Bulgarian Exarchate (Българска екзархия Bylgarska ekzarkhia) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its Autocephaly The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, as the independent national church of Bulgaria (like the other national branches of Eastern Orthodoxy in their respective countries) plays a role as an inseparable element of Bulgarian national consciousness. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Church became subordinate within the Patriarchate of Constantinople, twice during the periods of Byzantine (1018 – 1185) and Ottoman (1396 – 1878) domination but has been revived every time as a symbol of Bulgarian statehood without breaking away from the Orthodox dogma. History Early history Christianity in Byzantium existed from the time of the Twelve Apostles, but it was in the year 330 that the Roman Emperor In 2001, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church had 6,552,000 members in Bulgaria (82. 6% of the population). However, many people raised during the 45 years of communist rule are not religious, even though they may formally be members of the Church. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based
Despite the dominant position of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Bulgarian cultural life, a number of Bulgarian citizens belong to other religious denominations, most notably Islam, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The Muslim population of Bulgaria, including Turks, Muslim Bulgarians, Pomaks, Roma, and Crimean Roman Catholicism is the third largest religious congregation in Bulgaria, after Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam. Protestantism in Bulgaria: Protestantism is the fourth largest religious congregation in Bulgaria after Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam and Roman Catholicism
Islam came to Bulgaria at the end of the fourteenth century after the conquest of the country by the Ottomans. The Muslim population of Bulgaria, including Turks, Muslim Bulgarians, Pomaks, Roma, and Crimean The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish It gradually gained ground throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries through the introduction of Turkish colonists and the conversion of native Bulgarians. The Turkic peoples are Eurasian peoples residing in northern central and western Eurasia who speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family In the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, missionaries from Rome converted Bulgarian Paulicians in the districts of Plovdiv and Svishtov to Roman Catholicism. Paulicians (Պավլիկյաններ were a Gnostic and Manichaean Christian group which flourished between 650 and 872 in Anatolia, Svishtov (Свищов known as Ziştovi during Ottoman rule is a town in northern Bulgaria located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Today their descendants form the bulk of Bulgarian Catholics, whose number stood at 44,000 in 2001. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
Missionaries from the United States introduced Protestantism into Bulgarian territory in 1857. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Missionary work continued throughout the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. In 2001 Bulgaria had some 42,000 Protestants. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.
According to the most recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005,[49] 40% of Bulgarian citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 40% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", 13% that "they do not believe there is a God, spirit, nor life force", and 6% did not answer.
- See also: Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Islam in Bulgaria, Roman Catholicism in Bulgaria, and Protestantism in Bulgaria
See also
Notes
- ^ a b This article uses the official Bulgarian transliteration system when romanizing Bulgarian Cyrillic. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Българска православна църква Bălgarska pravoslavna cărkva) is an Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church The Muslim population of Bulgaria, including Turks, Muslim Bulgarians, Pomaks, Roma, and Crimean Roman Catholicism is the third largest religious congregation in Bulgaria, after Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam. Protestantism in Bulgaria: Protestantism is the fourth largest religious congregation in Bulgaria after Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam and Roman Catholicism This is a list of Bulgarian monarchs from the earliest historical records to 1946 when the monarchy in the country was abolished The Cyrillic alphabet (səˈrɪlɪk also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters is actually a family of Alphabets, subsets of which are used by For details, see Romanization of Bulgarian. Romanization of Bulgarian is the Transliteration of text in the Bulgarian language from the Cyrillic alphabet into the Latin alphabet.
- ^ About Bulgaria
- ^ Introduction to Bulgaria, Frommer's
- ^ The Thracian tomb in Kazanluk
- ^ Donchev, D. (2004). Geography of Bulgaria (in Bulgarian). Sofia: ciela, p. 68. ISBN 954-649-717-7.
- ^ http://www.links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-840X(193102)1%3A45%3A1%3C41%3ADADBUD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H
- ^ http://www.legmed.ro/files/revista/2004-4/02-Cardos-%20MtDNA.pdf
- ^ Bojidar Dimitrov: Bulgaria Illustrated History. BORIANA Publishing House 2002, ISBN 9545000449
- ^ Runciman, p. 26
- ^ Theophanes the Confessor: Chronicle, [unspecified edition], page 397
- ^ Runciman, p. Saint Theophanes Confessor (c 758/760 &ndash March 12, 817/818 was a Byzantine aristocratic Ascetic monk and Chronicler He is venerated 52
- ^ Theophanes the Confessor, Chronicle, [unspecified edition] , р. 492
- ^ Georgius Monachus Continuatus, loc. cit. [work not previously referenced], Logomete
- ^ Vita S. démentis
- ^ Barford, P. M. (2001). The Early Slavs. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press
- ^ Fine, The Early Medieval Balkans, pp. 144-148.
- ^ Theophanes Continuatus, pp. 462—3, 480
- ^ Cedrenus: II, p. 383
- ^ Leo Diaconus, pp. 158-9
- ^ Шишић, p. 331
- ^ Skylitzes, p. 457
- ^ Zlatarski, vol. II, pp. 1-41
- ^ Lord Kinross, The Ottoman Centuries, Morrow QuillPaperback Edition, 1979
- ^ a b c R. John Patrick Balfour 3rd Baron Kinross, (1904-1976 was a writer noted for his biography of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other works in Islamic Historiography J. Crampton, A Concise History of Bulgaria, 1997, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-567-19-X
- ^ a b D. Hupchick, The Balkans, 2002
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, volume 4, pp. 780-781
- ^ Bulgaria Illustrated History, Bojidar Dimitrov, PhD. , Author, BORIANA Publishing House 2002, ISBN 9545000449
- ^ "Many local Christians appear to have been happy to pass under the rule of an expanding polity with relatively light taxes. " C. V. Findley, The Turks in World History, pp. 109, 2005, Oxford University Press
- ^ "Ottoman incursions into the Balkans were not unwelcome to local populations whom the new regime freed from the onerous obligations imposed by their feudal lords. " C. Finkel, The History of the Ottoman Empire:Osman's Dream, pp. 40, 2006, Basic Books
- ^ Dennis P. Hupchick: The Balkans: from Constantinople to Communism, 2002
- ^ The Antarctic Treaty system: An introduction. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).
- ^ Signatories to the Antarctic Treaty. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).
- ^ History of Bulgaria
- ^ Bulgaria Military 2007 - Flags, Maps, Economy, Geography, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics
- ^ Data - Country Groups
- ^ http://www.photius.com/rankings/economy/gdp_per_capita_2008_0.html GDP per capita for 2008.
- ^ http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/bulgaria-to-adopt-the-euro-in-2013-2014-unicredit-says/id_29264/catid_67
- ^ Bulgaria's economy grew by 6.2 percent on year in 1Q - International Herald Tribune
- ^ :Alstom.CZ - Power Environment Sector:
- ^ BBC NEWS | Programmes | Working Lunch | A very Bulgarian building boom
- ^ Bulgaria Communications 2007 - Flags, Maps, Economy, Geography, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics
- ^ http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/bulgaria/bulgaria_communications.html Statistics of Bulgarian communications
- ^ www.allbusiness.com - "Peter Petroff, Digital Watch Inventor, Dies at Age 83". Compare the [http://www.engology.com/eng5nakamatsu.htm claim of Yoshiro Nakamatsu to have invented a digital watch in 1953. born June 26, 1928, also known as Dr NakaMats, is a Japanese inventor claiming to hold the world record for number of inventions with over 3000 including
- ^ National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria, retrieved July 31, 2006
- ^ Migration Information Source - The Roma of Eastern Europe: Still Searching for Inclusion
- ^ Will EU Entry Shrink Bulgaria's Population Even More? | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 26.12.2006
- ^ "Gundi pips Stoichkov to Top Footballer of the century" (article in Bulgarian)
- ^ Jere Longman: SYDNEY 2000: WEIGHT LIFTING; Drug Scandal Goes On: Bulgarian Team Is Ousted From Games The New York Times, September 23, 2000
- ^ Social values, science and technology (pdf). Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1122 - Concordat of Worms. 1459 - Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle of the English 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Eurobarometer. Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973 European Commission (June 2005). The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. Retrieved on 2007-01-01. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC
Further reading
- Crampton, R. J. A Concise History of Bulgaria (2005) Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521616379
- Detrez, Raymond Historical Dictionary of Bulgaria (2006) Second Edition lxiv + 638 pp. Maps, bibliography, appendix, chronology ISBN 978-0-8108-4901-3
- Lampe, John R. , and Marvin R. Jackson Balkan Economic History, 1550-1950: From Imperial Borderlands to Developing Nations (1982)
- Lampe, John R. The Bulgarian Economy in the Twentieth Century (1986) London: Croom Helm ISBN 0709916442
Pre 1939
- Hall, Richard C. Bulgaria's Road to the First World War (1996) New York: Columbia University Press ISBN 088033357X
- MacDermott, Mercia A History of Bulgaria, 1393-1885 (1962)
- Perry, Duncan M. Stefan Stambolov and the Emergence of Modern Bulgaria, 1870-1895 (1993) Durham: Duke University Press ISBN 0822313138
- Runciman, Steven (1930). Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH ( 7 July, 1903 &ndash 1 November, 2000) better known as Sir Steven Runciman, was A History of the First Bulgarian Empire (in English). G. Bell & Sons, London.
- Zlatarski, Vasil N. (1934). Prof. Dr. (Russian). Medieval History of the Bulgarian State. Royal Printing House, Sofia. Retrieved on 2007-08-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. (Васил Н. Златарски, История на българската държава през средните векове, Част II, II изд. , Наука и изкуство, София 1970)
World War II
- Bar-Zohar, Michael Beyond Hitler's Grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews
- Groueff, Stephane Crown of Thorns: The Reign of King Boris III of Bulgaria, 1918–1943
- Todorov, Tzvetan The fragility of goodness: why Bulgaria’s Jews survived the Holocaust: a collection of texts with commentary (2001) Princeton: Princeton University Press ISBN 0691088322
Communist era
- Todorov, Tzvetan Voices from the Gulag: Life and Death in Communist Bulgaria
- Dimitrova, Alexenia The Iron Fist - Inside the Bulgarian secret archives
Contemporary
- Bell, John D. Dr Michael Bar-Zohar (מיכאל בר-זוהר born 30 January 1938) is an Israeli Historian, Novelist and politician Stephane Groueff, a Writer, Journalist and a political refugee was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1922 Tzvetan Todorov (Цветан Тодоров (born on March 1 1939 in Sofia) is a Franco - Bulgarian Philosopher. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. , ed. Bulgaria in Transition: Politics, Economics, Society, and Culture after Communism. Westview. (1998) ISBN 978-0813390109
Guide-books
- Paul Greenway Lonely Planet World Guide: Bulgaria
- Pettifer, James Blue Guide: Bulgaria
- Timothy Rice Music of Bulgaria
- Jonathan Bousfield The Rough Guide To Bulgaria
External links
- Bulgaria at the Open Directory Project
- Official governmental site
- Bulgaria entry at The World Factbook
- All cities and villages
The Open Directory Project ( ODP) also known as dmoz (from directory
Dictionary
Bulgaria
-proper noun
- A country in Southeastern Europe. Official name: Republic of Bulgaria.
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