Bulgaria
Republic of Bulgaria Република България Republika Bălgariya [1] | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Съединението прави силата (Bulgarian) "Săedinenieto pravi silata" (transliteration) "Unity Makes Strength"1 | |
| Anthem: Мила Родино (Bulgarian) Mila Rodino (transliteration) Dear Motherland | |
![Location of Bulgaria (orange) – in Europe (tan & white) – in the European Union (tan) [Legend]](/wiki/File:EU_location_BUL.png) Location of Bulgaria (orange) – in Europe (tan & white) | |
| Capital and largest city | Sofia |
| Official languages | Bulgarian |
| Government | Parliamentary republic |
| Georgi Parvanov | |
| Sergey Stanishev | |
| Formation | |
• Founded | 681 |
• Last previously independent state2 | 1396 |
• Independence from Ottoman Empire | 1878 |
• Recognized | 1908 |
• Water (%) | 0.3 |
| Population | |
• 2007 estimate | 7,322,858 (93rd) |
• 1989 census | 9,990,050 |
| GDP (PPP) | 2007 estimate |
• Total | $82,533 billion (63th) |
• Per capita | $10,844 (65th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2006 estimate |
• Total | $26,719 billion (75th) |
• Per capita | $4,086 (80th) |
| Gini (2003) | 29.2 low |
| HDI (2004) |  0.816Error: Invalid HDI value (54th) |
| Currency | Lev3 (BGN) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Calling code | 359 |
| ISO 3166 code | BG |
| Internet TLD | .bg4 |
| |
Bulgaria (Bulgarian: България, Bălgariya,[1] pronounced IPA: [bɤlˈgarijə]), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Република България, Republika Bălgariya, pronounced IPA: [rɛˈpubliˌkə bɤlˈgarijə]) is a country in Southeastern Europe.
It borders five 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, as well as the Black Sea, which comprises its entire eastern border.
Bulgaria is situated in a region once inhabited by the ancient Thracians and later by Greeks and Romans, and is successor of a powerful European medieval empire which at times covered most of the Balkans and spread its culture and literature among the Slavic peoples.
After almost five centuries of Ottoman rule, Bulgaria was reestablished as a constitutional monarchy in 1878. Part of the Eastern Bloc after World War II, today Bulgaria is a democratic, unitary, constitutional republic, a member of the European Union and NATO.
Geography
Geographically and climatically, Bulgaria is noted for its diversity, with the landscape ranging from the Alpine snow-capped peaks in Rila, Pirin and the Balkan Mountains to the mild and sunny weather of the Black Sea coast, from the typically continental Danubian Plain (ancient Moesia) in the north to the strong Mediterranean influence in the valleys of Macedonia and the lowlands in the southernmost parts of Thrace. Bulgaria comprises portions of the classical regions of Thrace, Moesia, and Macedonia. The southwest of the country is mountainous with two alpine ranges - Rila and Pirin and further east are the lower but more extensive Rhodope Mountains. Rila mountain includes the highest peak of the Balkan Peninsula, peak 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. Hilly country and plains are found in the southeast, along the Black Sea coast in the east, and along Bulgaria's main river, the Danube in the north. Other major rivers include the Struma and the Maritsa river in the south. There are around 260 glacial lakes situated in Rila and Pirin, several large lakes on the Black Sea coast and more than 2,200 dam lakes. Mineral springs are in great abundance located mainly in the south-western and central parts of the country along the faults between the mountains.
The Bulgarian climate is temperate, with cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers, and Mediterranean along the Black Sea coast. The barrier effect of the Balkan Mountains is felt throughout the country: Northern Bulgaria is slightly cooler and receives more rain than the southern regions. Average precipitation in Bulgaria is about 630 millimetres per year. The driest areas are Dobrudzha and the northern coastal strip, while the higher parts of the mountains Rila and Stara Planina receive the highest levels of precipitation. In summer temperatures in the south of Bulgaria often exceed 40c, but remain cooler by the coast.
The country is relatively rich in mineral resources, including vast reserves of lignite and anthracite coal; non-ferrous ores such as copper, lead, zinc and gold. There are large deposits of manganese ore to north-east. There are smaller deposits of iron, silver, chromite, nickel and others. Bulgaria is rich in non-metalliferrous minerals such as rock-salt, gypsum, kaolin, marble.
The Balkan peninsula derives its name from the Balkan or Stara Planina mountain range which runs through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia.
The largest cities in the country are Sofia (1,246,791), Plovdiv (376,918), Varna (345,522), Burgas (259,985), Rousse (177,538), Stara Zagora (163,193), Pleven (121,700), Dobrich (115,861), Sliven (106,434).
Bulgaria has a scientific base on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica.
History
Bulgaria is a country with an ancient history dating back to prehistoric times, the Thracian, Greek and Roman worlds of antiquity, and the powerful medieval Old Great Bulgaria founded in 632 AD and Bulgarian Empire founded in 681 AD.
Thracians inhabited what is now Bulgaria in antiquity. They were divided in numerous tribes until King Teres united most of them around 500 BC in the Odrysian kingdom, which peaked under the kings Sitalkes and Cotys I (383-359 BC). In 341 BC, it was destroyed by the Macedonian state but rose from its ashes at the end of the fourth century BC under Seuthes III. In 188 BC, the Romans invaded Thrace and the wars with them continued to 45 CE, when Thrace became a Roman province.
The Thracians did not have writing and now their legacy survives mainly in the numerous treasures and tombs they left. It is believed that the oldest golden treasure, the Varna treasure which is 6,500 years old, is Thracian-made. One of the most talented ancient commanders, Spartacus, was a Thracian born in the middle Struma region.
In 632, the Bulgars led by Khan Kubrat formed an independent state called Great Bulgaria, bounded by the Danube delta to the west, the Black Sea to the south, the Caucasus to the southeast, and Volga River to the east. Byzantium recognized the new state by treaty in 635.
Pressure by the Khazars led to the loss of the eastern part of Great Bulgaria in the second half of the seventh century. 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 River and Kama River.
Kubrat’s successor, Khan Asparuh kept the Bulgar territories in 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 Great Bulgaria on the Balkan Peninsula. The peace treaty with Byzantium in 681 and the establishment of the new capital of Pliska south of the Danube is considered the beginning of the First Bulgarian Empire. At the same time one of his brothers, Kuber, settled with another Bulgar group in what is now Macedonia.
In 717, the Bulgarians helped relieve the Arab siege of Constantinople, killing some 40,000-60,000 soldiers. Their Khan, Tervel, was called "The Saviour of Europe" by his contemporaries.
In 864, Bulgaria accepted the Orthodox Faith and became a major European power in the ninth and the tenth century, while fighting with the Byzantine Empire for the control of the Balkans. The greatest territorial extension was reached under Simeon I the first Tsar,[2] covering most of the Balkans.
Following a decline in the mid tenth century, worn out by the wars with Croatia and frequent Serbian rebellions sponsored by Byzantine gold, Bulgaria was crushed by an assault of the Rus' in 969. The Byzantines then began campaigns to conquer Bulgaria. In 971, they seized the capital Preslav and captured Emperor Boris II. Resistance continued under Tsar Samuil in the western Bulgarian lands for nearly half a century until the state was completely destroyed by the Byzantines led by Basil II in 1018. In 1185, the Second Bulgarian Empire once again established Bulgaria as an important power in Europe for two more centuries. With it's capital based in Veliko Turnovo and under the Asenevtsi Dynasty this empire fought for dominance in the region against the Byzantine Empire, the Crusader states and Hungary, reaching its zenith under Ivan Asen II (1218–1241).
By the end of the fourteenth century, the country had disintegrated into several feudal principalities and was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Empire. 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.
The five centuries of Ottoman rule were characterized by great violence and oppression. The Bulgarian population was decimated and most of its cultural relics were lost. Large towns and the areas where Ottoman power was strong were severely depopulated until the nineteenth century.[3]
Following the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78 and the Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878, an autonomous Bulgarian principality was proclaimed. The treaty was immediately rejected by the Great Powers for fear that a large Slavic country on the Balkans would serve Russian interests. This led to the Treaty of Berlin (1878) which provided for an autonomous Bulgarian principality comprising Moesia and the region of Sofia. The first Bulgarian prince was Alexander von Battenberg. 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. 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.
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'etat staged by pro-Russian army officers. (Although the counter coup d'etat coordinated by Stefan Stambolov was successful, Battenberg could not remain Bulgarian prince without the approval of Alexander III of Russia.) 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.
In 1912 and 1913, Bulgaria became involved in the Balkan Wars, entering into conflict with Greece and Serbia against the Ottoman Empire and then against its former Balkan allies in a desperate effort to achieve national unity. After being defeated in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria lost most of the territory conquered in the first war, as well as Southern Dobruja. During World War I, Bulgaria found itself fighting on the losing side after its alliance with the Central Powers. The defeat led to new territorial losses (the Western Outlands to Serbia, Western Thrace to Greece and the reconquered Southern Dobruja to Romania. 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 Dobruja. These numbers increased in the 1930s following Serbian state-sponsored aggression against its native Bulgarian population.
After regaining control over Southern Dobruja in 1940, Bulgaria allied with the Axis Powers in World War II, although no Bulgarian soldiers participated in the war against the USSR. During World War II, Nazi Germany allowed Bulgaria to occupy parts of Greece and Yugoslavia, including territories long coveted by the Bulgarians. Bulgaria was one of three countries (with Finland and Denmark) that saved its entire Jewish population (around 50,000) from the Nazi camps by refusing to comply with a 31 August 1943 resolution. But Jews in territories newly acquired from Greece and Yugoslavia were sent to death camps by the Bulgarian authorities on German request. In September 1944, the Soviet army entered Bulgaria which later enabled the Bulgarian Communists to seize power and establish a Communist dictatorship. In 1944, Bulgaria's forces were turned against its former German ally (a 450,000 strong army in 1944, reduced to 130,000 in 1945). More than 30,000 Bulgarian soldiers and officers were killed in the war.
After World War II, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence, became a People's Republic in 1946 and one of the USSR's staunchest allies. In the late 1970s, it began normalizing relations with Greece, and in the 1990s with Turkey. The People's Republic ended in 1989 as many Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, as well as the Soviet Union itself, began to collapse. The Bulgarian Communist leader Todor Zhivkov was removed from power on 10 November 1989.
Bulgaria has held multiparty elections and privatized its economy, but economic difficulties and a tide of corruption led over 800,000 Bulgarians, most of them qualified professionals, to emigrate.
Politics
Bulgaria joined NATO on March 29, 2004 and signed the Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005. It became a full member of the European Union on 1 January 2007. The country has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, and is a founding member of OSCE. As a Consultative Party to the Antarctic Treaty, Bulgaria takes part in the governing of the territories situated south of 60° south latitude.
Georgi Parvanov, the President of Bulgaria since 22 January 2002, was re-elected on 29 October 2006 and began his second term in office in January 2007. Bulgarian presidents are directly elected 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. He is also the head of the Consultative Council for National Security and, 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.
The Council of Ministers is chaired by the PM (Sergey Stanishev since 18 August 2005); it is the principal body of the Executive Branch and presently consists of 20 ministers. The Prime Minister is usually nominated by the largest parliamentary group, and is given a mandate by the President to form a cabinet.
The current governmental coalition is made up of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), National Movement Simeon II (NMS) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (representing mainly the Turkish minority).
The Bulgarian unicameral parliament, the National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (Народно събрание), consists of 240 deputies who are elected for four-year terms by popular vote. The votes are for party or coalition lists of candidates for each of the 28 administrative divisions. A party or coalition must garner a minimum of 4% of the vote in order to enter parliament. Parliament is responsible 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.
The last elections took place on June 2005. The next elections are planned for summer 2009.
The Bulgarian judicial system consists of regional, district and appeal courts, as well as a Supreme Court of Cassation. In addition, there is a Supreme Administrative Court and a system of military courts. The Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation, Supreme Administrative Court and the Prosecutor General are elected by a qualified majority of two-thirds from all the members of the Supreme Judicial Council and are appointed by the President of the Republic. The Supreme Judicial Council is in charge of the self-administration and organisation of the Judiciary.
The Constitutional Court is in charge of reviewing 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 a nine-year term.
The territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is divided into provinces and municipalities. In all Bulgaria has 28 provinces, each headed by a provincial governor appointed by the government. In addition, there are 263 municipalities.
Military
The Bulgarian Army represents the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria. They are divided into three services: the Bulgarian land forces, Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian Air Forces. The patron Saint of the Army is Sveti Georgi (St. George) and his day, 6 May, is also celebrated as Valour and Army Day. The Bulgarian Army has never lost a single flag,[citation needed][4] although it actively participated in all major wars in Europe since the end of the nineteenth century
Bulgaria first became a great military power in Europe under Khan Krum and Tzar Simeon I. From the beginning of 893 CE, he fought a series of wars with the Byzantine Empire for control over the Balkan Peninsula. Tzar Simeon I scored a series of stunning blows on the Empire, mainly because of the large contingents of heavy cavalry. Heavy cavalry were typically horseman covered in scale and sometimes plate armour. Their tactics closely resembled those of feudal knights. They were also used to charge and trample their enemies to death underneath the hooves of the horses. Using about 12,000 heavy cavalry in total, Tzar Simeon I was able to bring the Byzantine Empire to its knees and only stopped at the impregnable capital, Constantinople. After the death of Tzar Simeon I, Bulgaria's military power began to decline.
Today, the number of active troops in the Army are 68,450, after series of reductions since 1989. The plan to modernize the forces of Bulgaria, called PLAN 2004, is to get the army up to contemporary military technology so as to be better able to serve the NATO and European Union requirements. The military reserve includes 303,000 soldiers and officers. The Bulgarian Army's professional personnel has been involved in international missions in Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. From 2008, the compulsory military service is to be abolished. The Navy and Air Force became fully professional in 2006 and the land forces are to become fully professional in 2008. Special Forces are already top of the line and considered as one of the best in Europe and the world[citation needed]. They have conducted practice missions with the SAS, Delta, GSG-9, and the Spetsnaz of Russia.
In the framework of their strategic partnership, Bulgaria and the United States signed in April 2006 a Defense 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 Navy is dated and comprised mainly of Soviet-era ships and 2 submarines. Since assault by sea is not considered a risk for Bulgaria's 354 km coastline, the Navy has been mainly overlooked in the modernization of the military. However, one new frigate was bought from Belgium, and the navy is finalizing a deal with French company DCN for the acquisition of four Gowind corvettes.
The Air Force also comprises Soviet equipment. A major overhaul is to be done on all Soviet planes weapons systems and GPS. Also, the Bulgarian Air Force is currently acquiring attack and transport helicopters. The Air Force had a plan for modernization with Israeli based Elbit defense company but it was canceled.
The military expenditures account for almost 2.6% of the GDP.
Provinces
Between 1987 and 1999, Bulgaria consisted of nine provinces (oblasti, singular oblast); since 1999, it has consisted of twenty-eight. All are named after their capital city:
The provinces are subdivided into 287 municipalities.
Economy
Bulgaria's economy contracted dramatically after 1989 with the loss of the market of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) member states, to which the Bulgarian economy had been closely tied. 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 first signs of recovery emerged in 1994 when the GDP grew and inflation fell. 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. 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 former government, elected in 2001, pledged to maintain the fundamental economic policy objectives adopted by its predecessor in 1997, i.e., retaining the Currency Board, practising sound financial policies, accelerating privatisation, and pursuing structural reforms. Economic forecasts for 2005 and 2006 predict continued growth in the economy. The annual year-on-year GDP growth for 2005 and 2006 is expected to total 5.3% and 6.0%, respectively. Industrial output for 2005 was forecast to rise by 11.9% from the previous year, and for 2006 by 15.2%. Unemployment for 2005 was projected at 11.5% and for 2006 about 9%. As of 2006 the GDP structure is: agriculture 8.0%; industry 26,1%; services 65.9%.
Agriculture
Agricultural output has decreased since 1989 but production is growing in recent years. Farming is more important than stock-breeding. The prevalence of mechanisation is higher than most other Eastern European countries but there is lack of modern equipment. Alongside aeroplanes and other equipment, there are over 150,000 tractors and 10,000 combine harvesters. Production of the most important crops is: wheat 4,120,000 t; sunflower 1,080,000 t; maize 2,120,000 t; grapes 500,000 t; tobacco 79,000 t; tomatoes 530,000 t; barley 1,180,000 t; potatoes 650,000 t; peppers 213,000 t; cucumbers 110,000 t; cherries 75,000 t; watermelons 420,000 t; cabbage 340,000 t; apples 150,000 t; plums 150,000 t; strawberries 52,000 t.[citation needed]
Industry
Industry is very important to the economy. Although Bulgaria is not very rich in reserves of coal, oil, and gas, it is a major producer of electricity and the most important exporter in the region due to the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant with a total capacity of 3,760 MW. A second plant, the Belene Nuclear Power Plant with a capacity of 2,000 MW is under construction. There is a $1,400,000,000 project for construction of an additional 670 MW for the 500 MW Maritza Iztok 1 Thermal Power Plant[5] (see Energy in Bulgaria).
Ferrous metallurgy is very important. The production of steel and pig iron is concentrated in Kremikovtsi and Pernik. There is also a third metallurgical base in Debelt. In production of steel and steel products per capita the country is first in the Balkans.
The largest refineries for lead and zinc are 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. In production of many metals per capita, Bulgaria is first in South Eastern Europe and among the first in Europe and the world.
About 14% of the total industrial production is related to machine building and 24% of the people are employed in this field. Its importance decreased since 1989 but is growing again.
Electronics and electric equipment production is very well developed. The largest centres are Sofia, Plovdiv and surrounding area, Botevgrad, Stara Zagora, Varna, Pravets and many others. These plants produce household appliances, computers, CDs, telephones, medical and scientific equipment.
Many factories producing transportation equipment do not work at full capacity. There are plants producing trains (Burgas, Dryanovo), trams (Sofia), trolleys (Dupnitsa), buses (Botevgrad), trucks (Shumen), motocars (automotive assembly plant in Lovech). The main centre of agricultural machinery is Ruse. Shipbuilding is concentrated in Varna, Burgas and Ruse. Arms production is mainly developed in central Bulgaria (Kazanlak, Sopot, Karlovo).
The property market has been boosted recently by foreigners seeking additional homes. Buyers come from right across Europe but most are British, encouraged by relatively cheap property and because the country is more accessible through cheap air travel [6].
Science, technology and telecommunications
Bulgaria offers excellent conditions for high-tech and telecommunication industries and services with its strategic location, highly-qualified workforce, macroeconomic stability, growing domestic market and good education. This is why some multinational companies choose Bulgaria to build their regional offices and headquarters even before Bulgaria joined the EU. The most notable is Hewlett-Packard, which built its Global Service Centre for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in Sofia.
Telecommunications is perhaps the fastest growing industry in the country. There are three mobile operators — Globul, Mtel and Vivatel — which provide almost 100% coverage. They have hundreds of service centres throughout the country which are constantly growing and improving. More than 6,245,000 Bulgarians[7] own mobile cellular phones. Every town and many villages have a fast Internet connection. There are around 185,000[8] Internet hosts.
The country has some precedents for its current science industry. The inventor of the earliest known electronic computer John Atanasoff is of Bulgarian descent. Bulgaria was a major supplier of scientific and research instruments for the Soviet space programmes, was one of the first states to develop serial computer production, and has experience in pharmaceutical research and development. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the leading scientific institution in the country with most of the researchers working for its numerous branches.
There are two major astronomical observatories: the Rozhen Observatory, which is the biggest in South Eastern Europe and the Belogradchik Observatory with three telescopes.
Transport
Bulgaria occupies a unique and strategically important geographic location. Since ancient times, the country has been a major crossroad between Europe, Asia and Africa. Five of the ten Trans-European corridors run through its territory.
The total length of the roads is 102,016 km of which 93,855 km are paved and 416 km are motorways. Several motorways are planned, under construction or partially built: Trakiya motorway, Hemus motorway, Cherno More motorway, Struma motorway, Maritza motorway and Lyulin motorway. Other motorways are planned but their final track is yet to be decided. 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. Many roads have been recently reconstructed.
The length of railways is 6,500 km of which more than 60% are electrified. There is a €360,000,000 project for the modernization and electrification of the Plovdiv-Kapitan Andreevo railway.
Air transportation is relatively well developed. There are formally six international airports at Sofia, Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv, Rousse and Gorna Oryahovitsa. Massive investment is planned for the first three. There are important domestic airports in Vidin, Pleven, Silistra, Targovishte, Stara Zagora, Kardzhali, Haskovo and Sliven. 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.
The ports of Varna and Burgas are by far the most important and have the largest turnover. Other than Burgas, Sozopol, Nesebar and Pomorie are big fishing ports. The largest ports on the Danube River are Rousse and Lom which serves the capital.
There is well organised public transport in the cities and in many smaller towns. There are buses, trolleys (in about 20 cities) and trams (in Sofia). The Sofia Metro in the capital is to have three lines with total length of about 48 km and 52 stations, but only a section is currently completed.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census,[9] Bulgaria's population is mainly ethnic Bulgarian (83.9%), with two sizable minorities, Turks (9.4%) and Roma (4.7%). Of the remaining 2.0%, 0.9% are distributed among some 40 smaller minorities, the most numerous of which are the Russians, Armenians, Vlachs, Jews, Crimean Tatars and Karakachans. 1.1% did not declare their ethnicity.
Bulgarian is the mother tongue of 84.8% of the population; it is a member of the Slavic languages. Bulgarian is the only official language, but other languages such as Turkish and Romany, are spoken corresponding closely to ethnic breakdown.
Most Bulgarians (82.6%) are, at least nominally, members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the national Eastern Orthodox church. Other religious denominations include Islam (12.2%), various Protestant denominations (0.8%), Roman Catholicism (0.5%), with other denominations, atheists and undeclared numbering ca. 4.1%.
In the recent years Bulgaria has had one of the slowest population growth rates in the world. Growth has been negative since the early 1990s [10], due to the economic collapse and high emigration. In 1988 the population was 8,859,000 people, and in 2001 7,950,000. Now Bulgaria suffers a heavy demographic crisis.
Culture
A country often described to lie at the crossroads linking the East and West, Bulgaria was the centre 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. Bulgaria is also the birthplace of the Cyrillic alphabet, the second most widely used alphabet in the world, which was developed in these two schools in the tenth century. Bulgaria is well-known for its rich folklore, distinctive traditional music, rituals and tales, but the country's contribution to humanity also continued in the nineteenth and twentieth century, when individuals such as John Atanasoff - born in USA with Bulgarian origin, regarded as the father of the digital computer, a number of noted opera singers (Nicolai Ghiaurov, Boris Christoff, Raina Kabaivanska, Ghena Dimitrova) and successful artists (Christo Javacheff, Pascin, Vladimir Dimitrov) popularized the culture of Bulgaria abroad.
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. The country has nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Of these, two are Thracian tombs (one in Sveshtari and one in Kazanlak), three are monuments of medieval Bulgarian culture (the Boyana Church, the Rila Monastery and the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo), while the Pirin National Park and the Srebarna Nature Reserve represent the country's natural beauty, and the ancient city of Nesebar is a unique combination of European cultural interaction, as well as, historically, one of the most important centres of naval trade in the Black Sea. In addition, the Varna Necropolis, a 3200-3000 BC burial site, contains what are believed to be the oldest examples of worked gold in the world.
Tourism
In winter, Samokov, Borovets, Bansko and Pamporovo are popular ski resorts. There are summer resorts on the Black Sea at Sozopol, Nessebur, Golden Sands, Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas, Albena, St. St. Constantine & Helena and many others. Spa resorts such as Bankya, Hisarya, Sandanski, Velingrad, Varshets and many others are popular all over the year. Bulgaria is becoming an attractive 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. Beach resorts are popular with tourists from Germany, Russia, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. The ski resorts are a favourite destination for British and Irish tourists.
Bulgaria has over 2.7 million visitors yearly and the number is increasing.[citation needed] The tourism in Bulgaria is one of the major helping improving tools for Bulgaria's economy and growing GDP of 6%-6.5% every year.
Sports
Football is by far the most popular sport in the country. Many Bulgarian fans follow closely the top Bulgarian league, the Bulgarian A Professional Football Group, as well as the leagues of other European countries, such as those of Spain, England, Italy and Germany. The greatest success of the Bulgaria national football team was a fourth place finish at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. Certainly, the best known Bulgarian footballer is Hristo Stoichkov. He is widely regarded as one of the world's finest football players at the peak of his career between 1992 and 1995, while playing for FC Barcelona winning the Ballon d'Or in 1994. Additionally, he was named in the FIFA 100 ranking. Georgi Asparuhov-Gundi (1943-1971), was himself extremely popular at home and abroad having had offers from clubs in Italy and Portugal. He died tragically in a car accident at the peak of his career. He was awarded Bulgarian football player №1 for the 20th century. PFC CSKA Sofia (champion of Bulgaria 30 times) and PFC Levski Sofia (25 times champion of Bulgaria and 25 times holder of the National Cup as of 2006) are the most successful Bulgarian football clubs. Other popular clubs include PFC Lokomotiv Sofia, PFC Litex Lovech, PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv and PFC Botev Plovdiv. PFC Levski Sofia is the first Bulgarian team to have participated in the modern UEFA Champions League (after 1989) having achieved this by qualifying for the 2006/2007 competition.
Aside from football, Bulgaria boasts great achievements in a great variety of other sports. Maria Gigova and Maria Petrova each have a record of three world titles in rhythmic gymnastics. Some other famous gymnasts include Simona Peycheva, Neshka Robeva (a highly successful coach as well) and Yordan Yovtchev. Bulgarians are also dominant in weightlifting, with around 1,000 gold medals in different competitions, and wrestling; Stefan Botev, Nickolai Peshalov, Demir Demirev and Yoto Yotov are among the most distinguished weightlifters and Serafim Barzakov, Armen Nazarian and Sergey Moreyko are world-class wrestlers.
Bulgarians also take great pride in the country's 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. Presently, Bulgaria is proud of its sprinters, namely Ivet Lalova and Tezdzhan Naimova.
Volleyball recently marked a big resurgence. The Bulgarian national volleyball team is one of the strongest teams in Europe, currently ranked fifth in the FIVB ranklist. At the 2006 Volleyball World Championship, they won the bronze medal. Chess is also very popular. One of the top chess-masters in the world, Veselin Topalov, is Bulgarian. At the end of 2005, both men's and women's world chess champions were Bulgarian as well as the junior world champion.
At the 1998 Winter Olympics, Ekaterina Dafovska won the Olympic title from 15 km competition in biathlon and Irina Nikulchina took a bronze medal at the same Olympic Games. Another pride for the Bulgarian nation in winter sports is Evgenia Radanova, who won bronze and silver medals in the following two Olympic Games. Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski are another example of Bulgarian champions on the ice — this time speaking of ice dancing and figure skating. The couple is the reigning world champions, holding the title for both 2006 and 2007. The couple also won the ISU Grand Prix Final in St. Petersburg in December 2006.
Bulgaria's state agency for Youth and Sport is the governing body for sport in Bulgaria. The current minister in charge of it is Vesela Lecheva. As of November 11 2005, Stefka Kostadinova is the President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee.
Religion
Most citizens of Bulgaria are associated — at least nominally — to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. It was founded in 870 AD under the Patriarchate of Constantinople from which it obtained its first primate, its clergy and theological texts. It has been autocephalous since 927. The Bulgarian Patriarchate was established in Sofia after the creation of the Bulgarian Exarchate, in 1870. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is the independent national church of Bulgaria like the other national branches of Eastern Orthodoxy and is considered an inseparable element of Bulgarian national consciousness. 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. 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.
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. Islam came to Bulgaria at the end of the fourteenth century after the conquest of the country by the Ottomans. It gradually gained ground throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by the introduction of Turkish colonists and the conversion of native Bulgarians. At the time of Liberation (1878) no less than 40% of the population was Muslim, but emigration was a key factor in reducing this percentage. In 2001, there were 967,000 Muslims in Bulgaria, accounting for 12.2% of the total population.
In the sixteenth and the seventeenth century, missionaries from Rome converted Bulgarian Paulicians in the districts of Plovdiv and Svishtov to Roman Catholicism. Today, their descendants form the bulk of Bulgarian Catholics whose number stands at 44,000 in 2001. Protestantism was introduced in Bulgaria by missionaries from the United States in 1857. Missionary work continued throughout the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. In 2001, there were some 42,000 Protestants in Bulgaria.
According to the most recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005,[11] only 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.
National and natural parks
Bulgaria has 3 national parks, 10 natural parks, 90 reserves, 429 reservation areas and 350 natural landmarks. The best known and most popular of these are listed below. In the European Union, Bulgaria is at second place (after Spain) by the number of the UNESCO Biosphere reserves, 16. The first nature reserve in the country was Silkosia in the Strandzha mountain, declared in 1931; followed by Parangalitsa, Rila in 1933.
- Parks in Bulgaria
- Rila National Park
- Pirin National Park
- Central Balkan National Park
- Rhodope Mountains
- Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains)
- Strandzha Natural Park
- Vitosha Natural Park
- Vratza Balkan Natural Park
Facts
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. |
- Founded in 681, Bulgaria is Europe's oldest state with internationally recognized independence (635 AD). [citation needed]
- The country produces half of the rose oil in the world.
- In many agricultural productions per capita, the country is among the top 10 in the world (tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, sunflower seed, lavender, strawberries and others)
- The first air-dropped bomb in military history was developed by the Bulgarian Air Force during the First Balkan War, and used on 16 October 1912 by Lieuts. Radul Milkov and Prodan Tarakchiev. Rayna Kasabova was the first woman ever to take part in a combat air mission, accomplished on 30 October 1912.
- A developer of the combined oral contraceptive pill, Carl Djerassi is of Bulgarian descent.
- Bulgarian Beach on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named for Bulgaria.
- World's first digital wristwatch was developed by the Bulgarian Peter Petroff.
Notes
- ^ a b This article uses the official Bulgarian transliteration system to romanize Bulgarian Cyrillic. For details, see Romanization of Bulgarian.
- ^ Fine, The Early Medieval Balkans, pp. 144-148.
- ^ Bulgaria Illustrated History, Bojidar Dimitrov, PhD., Author, BORIANA Publishing House 2002
- ^ http://www.motoroads.com/why_bul_history.html
- ^ http://www.alstom.cz/boilers/en/enovinky.html#3
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/working_lunch/6172095.stm
- ^ http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/bulgaria/bulgaria_communications.html
- ^ http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/bulgaria/bulgaria_communications.html
- ^ National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria, retrieved July 31, 2006
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Social values, science and technology" (pdf). Eurobarometer. European Commission. June 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
See also
Further reading
- Raymond Detrez. Historical Dictionary of Bulgaria Second Edition. 2006. lxiv + 638 pp. Maps, bibliography, appendix, chronology. ISBN 978-0-8108-4901-3.
- RJ Crampton. A Concise History of Bulgaria
- Lampe, John R., and Marvin R. Jackson. Balkan Economic History, 1550-1950: From Imperial Borderlands to Developing Nations. 1982. online edition
- Lampe, John R. The Bulgarian Economy in the Twentieth Century. 1986.
Pre 1939
- Hall, Richard C. Bulgaria's Road to the First World War. Columbia University Press, 1996.
- Mercia MacDermott; A History of Bulgaria, 1393-1885 (1962) online edition
- Duncan M. Perry; Stefan Stambolov and the Emergence of Modern Bulgaria, 1870-1895 (1993) online edition
- Steven Runciman; A History of the First Bulgarian Empire (1930) online edition
World War II
- Michael Bar-Zohar. Beyond Hitler's Grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews
- Stephane Groueff. Crown of Thorns : The Reign of King Boris III of Bulgaria, 1918–1943
- Tzvetan Todorov The Fragility of Goodness: Why Bulgaria's Jews Survived the Holocaust
Communist era
- Tzvetan Todorov. Voices from the Gulag: Life and Death in Communist Bulgaria
- The Iron Fist - Inside the Bulgarian secret archives Alexenia Dimitrova
Contemporary
- John D. Bell, ed. Bulgaria in Transition: Politics, Economics, Society, and Culture after Communism (1998) online edition
Guide books
- Blue Guide: Bulgaria James Pettifer
- Paul Greenway, Lonely Planet World Guide: Bulgaria
- Timothy Rice, Music of Bulgaria
- Jonathan Bousfield. The Rough Guide To Bulgaria
External links
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
Official
- Council of Ministers - Official Governmental Site
- Diplomatic missions of Republic of Bulgaria abroad - Diplomatic missions of Republic of Bulgaria abroad
- European Youth Parliament — Bulgaria
- President.bg - Official Presidential Site
- Narodno Sabranie - Official Parliamentary Site
- Ministry of Finance of Bulgaria
- Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria
- Ministry of Transport and Communications of Bulgaria
- Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Bulgaria
- Ministry of Economy of Bulgaria
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Energy and Energy Resources of Bulgaria
- Ministry of Environment and Water of Bulgaria
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria
- Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria
- Ministry of State Policy for Disasters and Accidents
- National Radio - Official Radio Site
- Antarctic Place-names Commission of Bulgaria
English-language Bulgarian media
- Bulgarian News Agency
- Radio Bulgaria – the world service of the Bulgarian National Radio
- Dnevnik News
- The Bulgarian Post
- Focus English News
- Sofia News Agency
- Template:Bg icon Template:En icon Southeast European Times
- Standart (daily)
- The Sofia Echo (weekly)
- The Frontier Times — Bulgaria's English Language Newspaper (monthly)
- Bulgaria Info Online Magazine — Free online monthly magazine all about BG
Other
- Bulgaria joins the EU – France 24 special Report
- Bulgaria at Wikitravel - Travel Guide and tourist information on Bulgaria
- Bulgarian musical instruments
- Collection of Bulgarian Art
- Bulgarian Folklore (Eurofolk)
- The Surva International Festival of the Masquerade Games in city of Pernik
- "Bulgaria". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
- Bulgaria in pictures
- The Bulgarian Photo Album
- Monasterys, castles, ruins
- Will EU Entry Shrink Bulgaria's Population Even More?
- Pictures from Bulgaria
- Treasures of the national library of Bulgaria displayed via The European Library
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