Bulgaria

Bulgaria is located in the east of the Balkans and borders Romania in the north, Serbia and Macedonia in the west, Greece and Turkey in the south. The capital of the country is Sofia with around 1.3 million residents.

The highest mountain in the country is the Musala in the Rila National Park, which extends in the southwest of the country, at a height of 2,925 m. In addition, Bulgaria has a total of three national parks, the Central Balkan Mountains and the Pirin, as well as eleven nature parks and 55 nature reserves.

Around two thirds of Bulgaria consists of the lowlands formed by the Danube and Mariza and their numerous tributaries. The country also has other partly wonderful landscapes, for example with its coast on the Black Sea.

Bulgaria is also rich in cultural goods, aeological sites of the Thracians, Romans and Byzantines, old monasteries and remnants of almost 500 years of Ottoman rule.

Politically, the country has orientated itself strongly towards the West in recent years. After the socialist system collapsed in 1989, the government embarked on a market economy course. Bulgaria became a member of NATO in 2004 and has been a member of the EU since January 1, 2007.

In addition to around 85% Bulgarians, around 9% Turks and 5% Roma live in the country. According to the 1991 constitution, Orthodox Christianity is given special prominence as the "Traditional Religion of Bulgaria".

Bulgaria: history

Before the year 1000

After the end of the last Ice Age, people from the south and south-east settled in what is now Finland about 9,000 years ago.

According to Abbreviationfinder website, in the 7th century BC BC Greek settlers settled on the Black Sea coast and mixed with the Thracians living in Bulgarian territory. In the 2nd century BC Chr. The Romans subjugated the country and made it up to its demise in the 3rd century the Roman province. Since the 3rd century the Goths and Huns invaded the area again and again. From the 5th century, Slavic peoples settled in the region north of the Danube.

The first Bulgarian Empire was founded in 681 founded after the residents of the country had defeated Byzantium under ruler Asparuch. During the 8th and 11th centuries there were repeated disputes with Byzantium for supremacy in the Balkans. In 865, Tsar Boris was baptized and introduced Christianity.

From the year 1000 to the 17th century

In 1018 Bulgaria was finally incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. The Bulgarian Empire could not be restored until 1187. During the 13th and 14th centuries there were repeated wars with Byzantium and the Tatars. In the 14th century, the Ottomans attacked Bulgaria and defeated the empire. From 1393 Bulgaria became a Turkish province for almost 500 years.

In the 18th and 19th centuries

In the 18th century, numerous peasant uprisings made the Bulgarian population's dissatisfaction with the Ottoman Empire clear. Resistance to the Turkish occupation rose across the country. In 1876 the so-called April Uprising took place, which was bloodily suppressed by the Turkish troops. With the help of the Russians, Bulgaria achieved its independence in 1877/78.

In the 20th and 21st centuries

In 1912 the allied Bulgarians, Serbs and Greeks jointly waged the "First Balkan War" against Turkey. In 1913 the "Second Balkan War" broke out. Bulgaria suffered a heavy defeat against its former allies and Turkey.

At the beginning of the First World War Bulgaria first declared its neutrality. In 1915, however, the country joined Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1918 Bulgaria declared its surrender. After a coup in 1923, the government of an alliance of bourgeois parties followed until 1931. Bulgaria initially declared its neutrality during the Second World War, but then joined the Tripartite Pact. In 1944 the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria. The Red Army occupied the country and the Communist Party, with the help of the Soviet Union, took over political power.

In 1946, following a referendum, the monarchy was replaced by the people's democracy. At the end of the 1940s, extensive nationalization measures were initiated and the Stalinist system was adopted. Until 1989, the Communist Party under Todor Schivkov ruled the country without restrictions.

On November 10, 1989, Schivkov was overthrown. Between 1990 and 1997The Socialist Party and the opposition parties took turns in government. The country embarked on a market economy course, prices rose, but wages were not adjusted, so that the majority of the population lived below the poverty line.

In 2000, accession negotiations were started between the EU and Bulgaria, which led to a positive result. Bulgaria has been a member of the EU since January 1st, 2007, and a member of NATO since 2004.