Portal:Bulgaria

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Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located west of the Black Sea and south of the Danube river, Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north. It covers a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi) and is the 16th largest country in Europe. Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city; other major cities include Burgas, Plovdiv, and Varna.

Bulgaria has an upper-middle-income economy, its market economy is part of the European Single Market and is largely based on services, followed by industry—especially machine building and mining—and agriculture. The country faces a demographic crisis; its population peaked at 9 million in 1989, and has since decreased to under 6.4 million as of 2024. Bulgaria is a member of the European Union, the Schengen Area, NATO, and the Council of Europe. It is also a founding member of the OSCE and has taken a seat on the United Nations Security Council three times. (Full article...)

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Sofia (/ˈsoʊfiə, ˈsɒf-, soʊˈfiːə/ SOH-fee-ə, SOF-; Bulgarian: София, romanized: Sofiya, IPA: [ˈsɔfijɐ] ^ⓘ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river and has many mineral springs, such as the Sofia Central Mineral Baths. It has a humid continental climate. Being in the centre of the Balkans, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea and closest to the Aegean Sea.

Known as Serdica in antiquity and Sredets in the Middle Ages, Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. The recorded history of the city begins with the attestation of the conquest of Serdica by the Roman Republic in 29 BC from the Celtic tribe Serdi. During the decline of the Roman Empire, the city was raided by Huns, Visigoths, Avars and Slavs. In 809, Serdica was incorporated into the Bulgarian Empire by Khan Krum and became known as Sredets. In 1018, the Byzantines ended Bulgarian rule until 1194, when it was reincorporated by the reborn Bulgarian Empire. Sredets became a major administrative, economic, cultural and literary hub until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1382. From 1530 to 1836, Sofia was the regional capital of Rumelia Eyalet, the Ottoman Empire's key province in Europe. Bulgarian rule was restored in 1878. Sofia was selected as the capital of the Third Bulgarian State in the next year, ushering a period of intense demographic and economic growth. (Full article...)

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... that Tsvetana Jermanova survived imprisonment in two forced labour camps in communist Bulgaria?

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Image 1Razgrad is a city in East Bulgaria.
Image 2Varna lake is a salt lake near Black sea.
Image 3Sofia is the biggest city in Bulgaria.
Image 4Maritsa is a river in South Bulgaria.
Image 5A beach in Bulgaria.
Image 6Danube river in Bulgaria
Image 7Rila is a mountain in West Bulgaria

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Credit: Evgeni Dinev

Sozopol (Bulgarian: Созопол) is a small ancient town located 30 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today the town is mostly a seaside resort known for the Apollonia art and film festival.

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More did You Know?

... that the currently abandoned Old High School of Music (pictured) in Rousse, Bulgaria has previously housed a primary school, a junior high school, a university, and a trade school?

... that goaltender Konstantin Mihailov played in 28 Ice Hockey World Championships with the Bulgarian national team until the age of 49?

... that Bulgaria's first cosmonaut, Georgi Ivanov, safely returned to Earth despite a failing main engine and a damaged backup engine on his Soyuz 33 spacecraft?

... that Spas Wenkoff, first a tenor at a Bulgarian amateur theatre, appeared as Tristan at the Staatsoper Dresden, and was then invited to sing the role at the centenary Bayreuth Festival?

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