Bulgaria

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Bulgaria
Bulgaria.gif
Flag of Bulgaria
Capital Sofia
Inhabitants 7.606.551
Language(s) Bulgarian
Bulgaria.jpg

Bulgaria is a country on the Balkan Peninsula of southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania on the north, Yugoslavia and Macedonia on the west, Greece and Turkey on the south, and the Black Sea on the east. Mountains cover most of Bulgaria. Fertile valleys and plains separate the mountains in many areas.

Bulgaria earned its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, but having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, it fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946.

Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multi-party election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime.

Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into NATO and the EU - with which it began accession negotiations in 2000.


Contents

History

  • 2nd millennium BC: Thracians settle eastern Balkan Peninsula.
  • 1st century BC: Romans invade and make Serdika (Sofia) a Roman Empire stronghold.
  • 410 AD: West Roman Empire (Rome) falls after Goth, Vandal, and Hun invasions. Bulgaria land remains part of East Roman Empire (Byzantium/Constantinople).
  • Late 5th century: Slavs settle in the region.
  • Mid 7th century: Bulgars arrive from Central Asia.
  • 681: 1st Bulgarian Kingdom established by Bulgars and Slavs, led by Khan (King) Asparuh. It is centred at Pliska and recognized by Byzantine.
  • 865: Tsar Boris I leads conversion to Christianity to unify people and elevate Bulgaria to European level. Cyril and Methodius create Cyrillic alphabet.
  • 893: Tsar Simeon succeeds Boris I, moves capital to Preslav, expands Bulgaria's territory almost 2X, and ushers in a cultural Golden age.
  • 967: Preslav overrun by Byzantines. Tsar Samuil moves capital to Ochrid (now Macedonia), then Western Bulgaria's spiritual and political centre.
  • 1014: Bulgaria falls to Byzantines and becomes vassal state for 170 years.
  • 1185: 2nd Bulgaria Kingdom established, centred at Veliko Tarnovo.
  • 1218: Tsar Ivan Assen II comes to power. 2nd Golden age - boundaries expand; culture and art flourish.
  • 1362: Ottoman Turks invade Balkans, and conquer Bulgaria within 30 years. Bulgaria remains under Ottoman occupation for almost 500 years.
  • 1453: Constantinople falls to Ottomans, marking the end of Byzantine Empire.
  • Mid 1700s: National Revival Period (Bulgarian Renaissance) and Ottoman decline. Patriotic resistance fighters incite uprisings.
  • 1870: Bulgarian Church gains independence.
  • 1873: National hero Vassil Levski captured by Ottomans and hanged.
  • 1876: Failed April uprising leads to massacres by Ottomans.
  • 1878: Russian army helps liberate Bulgaria; San Stefano Treaty gives it independence. Berlin Congress soon excludes Macedonia/ Thracia and returns them to Turkey.
  • 1908: Declaration of independent Bulgarian Kingdom.
  • 1912: 1st Balkan War. Bulgaria tries to recover land lost in Berlin; Serbia and Greece are allies.
  • 1913: 2nd Balkan War. Greece, Serbia, Romania and Turkey claim territories Bulgaria regained in the 1st war.
  • 1915: Bulgaria joins Central Powers and enters WWI, hoping to recover lost territories. Bulgaria looses Aegean Sea access.
  • 1941: Boris III forced to join WWII Axis, allowing Germans land access, but refusing to send troops to Eastern front or Bulgarian Jews to Nazi concentration camps.
  • 1945: End of Bulgarian monarchy. Yalta treaty makes Bulgaria a USSR satellite state.
  • 1990: Communist party resigns. Bulgaria becomes a multi-party democracy.
  • 1999: Bulgaria invited to begin accession proceedings for EU membership.


Culture

After five centuries of Turkish rule, Bulgarian culture reappeared in the 19th century as writers and artists strove to reawaken national consciousness.

FlcBulgaria.jpg

Art & Literature

Zahari Zograf (1810-53) painted magnificent frescoes inspired by medieval Bulgarian art in monasteries. The carvings of highly contemplative monks appear in monastery museums throughout Bulgaria: saints the size of grains of rice are a particular highlight. Bulgaria's poets show a tendency to meet with a violent and early death, lending a poignancy to the high idealism of writers such as Hristo Botev (rebel folk poet of the late 19th century), Dimcho Debelyanov (lyric poet killed in WWI) and Geo Milev (poet of the post-WWI social upheavals, kidnapped and murdered by police). The grand old man of Bulgarian literature, Ivan Vazov, is one of the few who made it over the age of 30. His novel Under the Yoke describes the 1876 uprising against the Turks.

Music

An ancient Greek myth ascribes a Thracian origin to Orpheus and the Muses, a heritage which Bulgaria's singers still take very seriously. Orthodox religious chants convey the mysticism of regional fables and legends, whereas the spontaneous folk songs and dances of the villages meld classical origins with a strong Turkish influence. International interest in Bulgarian vocal music was ignited by groups such as Le Mystere des Voix Bulgaires, who have taken Bulgaria's polyphonic female choir singing to a world audience.

Food

Bulgarians fill up on meals of meat, potatoes and beans, crisped up with salads, and tossed back with dangerous liquor: beware of water glasses filled with rakia (ouch) and mastika (aaah). Breakfast is a bread-based snack on the run - look out for hole-in-the-wall kiosks selling delicious banitsi - cheese pastries, often washed down with boza, a gluggy millet drink which is an acquired taste. Lunch is the main meal of the day. Dinner appears late at night, mostly to signal the end of aperitifs and the start of serious slugging.

Language

Bulgarian is a South Slavic language written in the Cyrillic alphabet. Saints Cyril and Methodius, two brothers from Thessaloniki, invented the Cyrillic script in the 9th century and one of the strong bonds between Bulgarians and Russians is their shared use of this alphabet. Russian is the second language of older Bulgarians and is still taught in schools. Younger people are more likely to be interested in speaking a version of English peppered with classic rock lyrics and advertising slogans. Bulgarians waggle their heads Indian-style to mean yes, and nod to mean no. It's normal to feel like your head is a pogo-stick; just try to stay upright.

Events

coming soon...

National holidays

  • Jan 1: New Year (Western Christians)
  • Jan 7: Christmas Day (Orthodox)
  • Jan 14: New Year (Orthodox)
  • Mar 1: Independence Day
  • Mar 3: Liberation Day
  • May 1: Labour Day
  • May 6: St George's Day (Orthodox)
  • May 24: Cyrillic Alphabet Day
  • Jun 28: Vidovdan (Orthodox)
  • Jul 12: Petrovdan (Orthodox)
  • Aug 2: Ilindan (Orthodox)
  • Aug 15: Velika gospa - Assumption (Western Christians)
  • Aug 28: Velika gospojina - Assumption (Orthodox)
  • Sep 8: Mala gospa - Nativity of the Virgin Mary (Western Christian)
  • Sep 21: Mala gospojina - Nativity of the Virgin Mary (Orthodox)
  • Nov 1: All Saints' Day (Western Christians)
  • Nov 2: All Souls Day (Western Christians)
  • Nov 8: November Mitrovdan (Orthodox)
  • Nov 25: National Day
  • Dec 25: Christmas Day (Western Christians)


Embassies

  • Embassy of the Republic of Albania in Sofia, Bulgaria -- Ulica Krakra 10, Sofia, Bulgaria. Tel

9461222, 9461623 Fax 9433069

876650, 882522 Fax 00-359-2-876068, 877984

 

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