Border between Bulgaria and Greece

Over a length of 475 km, the Bulgarian-Greek border separates the Bulgarian oblasts of Blagoevgrad , Smoljan , Kardzhali and Haskovo from the Greek administrative regions of Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and Thrace . The border begins in the west at the border triangle Bulgaria , Greece and North Macedonia and extends to the east over the Rhodope Mountains , through the Nestostal to the border triangle Bulgaria , Greece and Turkey . There the border crosses the Mariza river ( Bulgarian Марица , Greek Έβρος Evros , Turkish Meriç Nehri ) near the border crossings to Turkey. The most heavily frequented border crossing is the Struma valley , the least frequented one is located near the Turkish border in the Maritsa / Evros valley, as the main traffic from / to the east is handled directly between Bulgaria and Turkey.

history

After the First Balkan War , Bulgaria gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1908 , creating the border between Greece and Bulgaria. Before that point, Greece only had a single terrestrial border (with the Ottoman Empire). After the two Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 (the second between Greece and Bulgaria), the border was determined by the Peace of Bucharest and its position in Nestostal, a few kilometers east of the river, was determined.

After the First World War , the border was changed in that Bulgaria ceded western Thrace to Greece under the terms of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine and thus lost access to the Aegean Sea . Other changes took place during World War II , when Bulgaria captured part of Greek Macedonia and recaptured western Thrace. At the end of the conflict, the 1919 border was restored and has remained unchanged since then.

The border area consists partly of high mountains, which makes it difficult to access the region and to cross the border. In addition, as a result of the Cold War, mainly the Bulgarian border area as a former exclusion zone ( Iron Curtain ) is almost uninhabited. Thus there is hardly any need for cross-border infrastructure and small border traffic .

Given the mountainous terrain, the development of the region requires an improvement in the existing transport networks and accessibility in general. The aim is to enable greater mobility of goods and people. The development of the transport offer is therefore essential, in particular to make the infrastructure on both sides of the border compatible. Despite the relationship that has been shaped by a difficult past, cross-border cooperation seems to be in full swing as a factor of stability today.

Borderline

 Map with all coordinates of the boundary: OSM

Bulgaria		⇄	Greece		position
The border triangle Bulgaria - Greece - North Macedonia					41 ° 20 '18.6 "  N , 22 ° 55' 38.9"  E
Kulata border crossing , Blagoevgrad Oblast Bulgarian ГКПП Кулата, Област Благоевград				Telonio Promachonas Greek Τελωνείο Προμαχώνα	41 ° 22 ′ 44.5 "  N , 23 ° 21 ′ 47"  E
Kulata border station in Bulgarian Кулата	BDZ (БДЖ)		TrainOSE	Promachonas , Serres district in Greek Σταθμός Διοδίων Προμαχώνα, Σέρρες	41 ° 22 ′ 45.3 "  N , 23 ° 21 ′ 51.8"  E
Ilinden-Exochi border crossing Bulgarian ГКПП Илинден-Ексохи GKPP Ilinden-Exochi				Greek Σταθμός Εξοχή – Ιλινδεν Stathmós Exochi-Ilinden	41 ° 26 '12.5 "  N , 23 ° 49' 34.9"  E
Border crossing Zlatograd-Thermes Bulgarian ГКПП Златоград-Термес				Greek Σταθμός Ξάνθης – Ζλάτογκραντ Stathmós Xanthis – Zlatograd	41 ° 21 '56.1 "  N , 25 ° 2' 58.8"  E
The southernmost point of Bulgaria					41 ° 14 '7.4 "  N , 25 ° 17" 16.8 "  E
Makasa border control point - Nimfeja Bulgarian ГКПП Маказа - Нимфея				Greek Νυμφαία-Μακάζα	41 ° 15 '53.6 "  N , 25 ° 25' 45.2"  E
Slaveevo Bulgarian Славеево			( → )	Kiprinos Greek Συνοριακός Σταθμός Κυπρίνου	41 ° 32 '55.3 "  N , 26 ° 10' 44.9"  E
Border crossing Kapitan Petko Wojwoda Bulgarian ГКПП Капитан Петко Войвода	II / 80			Border control point Ormenio Greek Ορμενίου	41 ° 44 '51.4 "  N , 26 ° 9' 58.9"  E
Svilengrad Bulgarian жп гара Свиленград				Ormenio in Greek Ορμένιο	41 ° 44 '51.6 "  N , 26 ° 10' 0.2"  E
Northernmost point of Greece Greek Βορειότερο σημείο της Ελλάδας					41 ° 44 ′ 56 "  N , 26 ° 10 ′ 28"  E
Border crossing of the projected Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline					41 ° 42 '41.3 "  N , 26 ° 17' 5.5"  E
The border triangle Bulgaria - Greece - Turkey					41 ° 42 ′ 49.3 "  N , 26 ° 21 ′ 16.2"  E 41 ° 42 ′ 40 "  N , 26 ° 21 ′ 28.7"  E

Notes and sources

1. ↑ The highway border in Struma on the Pirinska-Bistrica bridge is one of the busiest links between the two countries. Since 2010, border controls in road traffic have been carried out by mixed groups of Greek-Bulgarian customs officers on the Greek side.
   • → Iron Curtain Trail (EV13)
   • Iron Curtain Trail. Bulgaria / Greece. ECF, accessed on August 17, 2019 . 
   • Pirinska Bistritsa. Business Information and Consulting Center - Sandanski, 2008, accessed August 17, 2019 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} border in the Bear Tunnel, Iron Curtain Trail (EV13) from the North Sea to the Black Sea. Along the former Iron Curtain across Europe
   • Iron Curtain Trail. Bulgaria / Greece. ECF, accessed on August 17, 2019 . 
3. ^ Line Sofia - Thessaloniki. At the Bulgarian station in Kulata, border clearance for rail traffic is carried out by joint groups of Bulgarian-Greek customs officers. The trains are being re-spanned here because of the lack of catenary in Greece.
   Sofia to Thessaloniki (Greece) Regional Greek Railway Organization Greek Οργανισμός Σιδηροδρόμων Ελλάδος (RE 361)
   • Greece: The rail sector is given priority in the National Strategic Reference Frameworks (NRSP). Expansion and modernization of the Greek railways. WKO , June 18, 2019, accessed on August 17, 2019 . 
   • Timetable. BDŽ / БДЖ , 2019, accessed on August 17, 2019 . 
   • Promachonas to Thessaloniki by train. rail.cc, 2019, accessed on August 17, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Panagiotis Gavrilis: To refuel after Bulgaria. Deutschlandfunk, February 21, 2018, accessed on August 17, 2019 . 
5. ↑ The joint border checkpoint on the Makasa Pass is operated on the Bulgarian side. The line is part of the TEN-T Pan-European Transport Corridor IX from Helsinki to Alexandroupoli.
   • Loyola de Palacio: Networks for Peace and Development. (PDF) Extension of the major trans-European transport axes to the neighboring countries and regions. High Level Group, December 7, 2005, accessed August 17, 2019 . 
6. ↑ To the south is the Arda reservoir , to the east are the ancient tombs of Mikri Doxipara-Zoni
7. ↑ When Bulgaria became independent in 1878, Ormenio station became the Ottoman border station to Bulgaria. Due to the new demarcation due to the Treaty of Lausanne , the place fell to Greece in 1923, the station became a Greek / Bulgarian border station.
   In 1971 Turkey opened a new, parallel railway line via Edirne to Bulgaria, which does not cross Greek territory. International traffic between Europe and Turkey now flows through this. Ormenio station is now the terminus for Greek regional trains. The railway border crossing to Bulgaria is no longer used because of the insufficient volume of traffic.
   In the past, the route was used by major international lines such as Orient-Express , Chemin de fer Franco-Hellenique , Istanbul-Express , Pythio , Chemins de fer Orientaux .
8. ↑ At Ormenio
   According to a Greek map , it is a different point. According to the Soviet general map, the boundary stone № 337 is at 41 ° 44 ′ 56 ″  N , 26 ° 13 ′ 48 ″  E
9. ↑ The project, it was suspended as a result of the Crimean crisis .
   • Vladimir Volkov: Russian Balkan pipeline should bypass Turkey. World Socialist Web Site, April 4, 2007, accessed August 17, 2019 . 
   • Kostis Geropoulos: Wary of Russian gas, EU pushes TBP, Vertical Corridor. TEKMOR, September 15, 2016, accessed on August 17, 2019 (English): "Russia has said it will abandon Ukrainian gas transit in 2019 while the EU is looking for ways to protect its member states and Kiev" 
   • → Burgas – Alexandroupoli pipeline
   • Και ξαφνικά οι Βούλγαροι θυμήθηκαν τον αγωγό Μπουργκάς - Αλεξανδρούπολη. perifereiaka.gr, 2015, accessed August 17, 2019 (Greek). 
   • Map display of the course

Web pages

• Theodora Dragostinova: On 'Strategic Frontiers' :. Debating the Borders of the Post-Second World War Balkans. cambridge.org, August 3, 2018, pp. 387-411 , accessed on August 17, 2019 . 
• Bulgaria 2015 Annual Border Monitoring Report. (PDF) asylumineurope.org, July 30, 2016, accessed on August 17, 2019 . 
• mgb / dpa: Migrants want to march from Greece to Central Europe. Focus.de , April 5, 2019, accessed on August 17, 2019 .