The Republic of Bulgaria
(General Information)

Bulgaria comprises the classical regions of Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia. Old European culture in the region started to produce golden artifacts by the fifth millennium BCE.
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. Centuries later, with the decline of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185 – 1396/1422), the country came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. Diplomacy re-established Bulgaria as a constitutional monarchy in 1878, with the Treaty of San Stefano marking the birth of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom. After World War II, Bulgaria became a communist state and part of the Eastern Bloc. In 1990, after the Revolutions of 1989, the Communists gave up their monopoly on power and Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and free-market capitalism.
Currently, Bulgaria functions as a parliamentary democracy under a unitary constitutional republic. A member of the European Union since 2007 and NATO since 2004, it has a population of approximately 7.7 million, with Sofia as its capital and largest city.

Location: The republic of Bulgaria is situated in the south-east part of Europe and more precisely in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula. On the north it has a common boundary with Romania and on the west with Yugoslavia. On the south-west it is conterminous with Macedonia while on the south-east it is contiguous to Turkey. On the east the country is bounded by the Black Sea. The total length of the Bulgarian border-line is 2245 km, 1181 of which are land frontier, 686 km river and 378 km sea-frontage.

Territory: 111 000 square kilometres

Population: 8 000 000 (according to the census taken in 2000)

Settlements: 5406

Capital city: Sofia, with 1 188 000 inhabitants

Larger cities: Plovdiv (350 000 inhabitants), Varna (300 00 inhabitants), Bourgas (200 000 inhabitants), Stara Zagora (150 000 inhabitants), Rousse (140 000 inhabitants), Pleven (120 000 inhabitants)

Highway network: 36 720 km

Railway system: 4 300 km

Airports: Sofia, Varna, Bourgas

Harbours: on the Black Sea - Varna, Bourgas, Balchick, Nessebur; on the Danube - Vidin, Lom, Oriakhovo, Nickopol, Svishtov, Rousse, Toutrackan, Sillistra

Monetary unit: lev (2 lev ~ 1 EURO), with bank notes (bills) of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 leva (BGN)

Official language: Bulgarian - the oldest written Slavonic language.

Religion: Orthodox Christianity, Islam Relief: The lowlands occupy 31%, the plains and the hilly terrains 41%, and the mountains 28% of the country.s territory. The larger mountain ranges are the Balkan mountains (with its highest peak Botev - 2376 m), the Rhodopes (highest peak - Goliam Perrelick - 2191 m), Rila (highest peak - Moussala - 2925 m), Pirin (highest peak - Vihren - 2914m), Vitosha (highest peak - Cherni Vruh -2290 m).

Water resources: On the east Bulgaria borders on the Black Sea. The common length of the sea-frontage from the north (Romania) to the south (Turkey) is 378 km. The rivers in Bulgaria flow into the Black and the Aegean Seas. The biggest and the longest rivers take their sources from the Rila mountains. The larger rivers are: The Danube (covering 609 km of the Bulgarian northern boundary), Iskur (length - 368 km on Bulgarian territory), Toundja (length - 349 km on Bulgarian territory), Maritza (length - 321 km on Bulgarian territory), Ossum (length - 314 km), Strouma (length - 290 km on Bulgarian territory), Yantra (length - 285 km), Kamtchya (length - 244 km).

Climate: The climate in Bulgaria is moderate continental with four yearly seasons and average annual temperature of 10.5 degrees centigrade. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of 0 degrees centigrade. The average air temperature in the summer is 30 degrees c. and the average water temperature - 25 degrees c.

Vegetation and animals: Basic characteristic features of the country.s natural life are the great variety and wealth of animal and plant species and their considerable ecological and biogeographical diversity. The vegetable life of Bulgaria numbers about 12 000 species - 71 kinds of trees, 119 kinds of bushes, 3300 kinds of flower plants, about 4000 kinds of seaweed, etc.
The most common and often met animals and birds are the typical of Europe: hinds, deer, wild-boars, bears, wolves, foxes, jackals, wood-grouses, vultures, sparrows, grass-snakes, etc. Altogether in Bulgaria are to be found about 40 000 invertebrate species, 659 vertebrate species, 337 bird species, 117 fish species and 92 mammal species.

Protection of Nature: Protection of the natural world is one of the country.s major concerns. The protected territories in Bulgaria are 49, the biospherical reserves - 17 (the greatest recorded number in Europe), the national parks - 7, the reserves - 82, the protected natural sites - 3055, the protected plants - 63 and the protected animals - 419. The air and water resources of the country are some of the purest in Europe.

History: The Bulgarian people is one of the most ancient. The Bulgarian state was founded on the present-day territory of Europe in 681 and ever since that time the name of the country has always been the same. What follows are some of the most significant dates and events in the history of Bulgaria:
885 - Cyril and Methodius created the Slavonic script
864 - 866 - Bulgaria adopted Christianity
1018- 1185 - Bulgaria fell within the limits of the Byzantine Empire and Rule
1185 - Restoration of the Bulgarian state
1396 - 1878 - Bulgaria was under the Turkish Yoke
1878 - 1944 - Bulgaria was a constitutional monarchy
1944 - 1989 - Bulgaria was a people.s republic, governed by the communist party
Since 10 th of November, 1989 Bulgaria has been a parliamenary republic.

Important telephone numbers for all built-in areas of the country:
Police - 166, Fire Brigade - 160, Road Duty - 146, First Aid – 150

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.
 
 
The Seven Rila Lakes in Bulgaria
Bulgaria comprises portions of the regions known in Ancient Rome as Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia. The mountainous southwest of the country has two alpine ranges — Rila and Pirin — and further east stand the lower but more extensive Rhodope Mountains. 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. 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. Other major rivers include the Struma and the Maritsa river in the south.
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.
Bulgaria has a temperate climate, with cool and damp winters, very hot and dry summers, and Mediterranean influence along the Black Sea coast. 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. Drier areas include 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 40 degrees Celsius, but remain cooler by the coast. The highest recorded temperature is 46.7c near Plovdiv.
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. It has large deposits of manganese ore in the north-east. Smaller deposits exist of iron, silver, chromite, nickel and others. Bulgaria has abundant non-metalliferous 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 and extends into eastern Serbia.
 
 
View of the Pirin National Park.

Bulgaria’s larger cities include:
Sofia (1,380,406 inhabitants)
Plovdiv (376,918)
Varna (349,031)
Burgas (209,985)
Rousse (176,118)
Stara Zagora (163,193)
Pleven (121,700)
Dobrich (115,861)
Sliven (106,434)
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.