About Bulgaria -

Location

Bulgaria is situated in South-Eastern Europe and occupies an area of 111 000 sq.km in the North-Eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Its length is 520 km and its width is 330 km. The overall length of its borders is 2245 km. Bulgaria borders to the north on Rumania (the frontier line runs along the Danube river and continues on land to the north-east), to the south - on Greece and Turkey, to the west - on Serbia and Macedonia (former Yugoslavia) and to the east - on the Black Sea. The average altitude is 470 m.

Population

About 8 million the average density of the population is 76, 2 people per a square kilometer. The number of the town population (68, 3%) prevails over the number of the rural population. The main part of the population are Bulgarians numbering 7 200 000. Beside them in the country live about 800 000 Bulgarian Turks, 300 000 Gypsies and small number of Jews, Armenians, Russians and Greeks.

Relief

The relief of Bulgaria is extremely varied. Vast plains and valleys, precipitous ravines and gorges, deep glens nestling among hills, lowlands and high mountains alternate together on its comparatively small territory. The average altitude above sea level is 470 m. The Rila Mountains are the highest in Bulgaria as well as in the whole Balkan Peninsula with Mt. Moussala - 2925 m. 34% of the seaside consists of beaches and dunes. Along the seaside there are 18 lakes and many bays, the largest of which are the bays of Varna and Bourgas.

Climate

The climate in Northern Bulgaria is moderate continental, while the climate in Southern Bulgaria is intermediate continental tending to Mediterranean. The climate in the regions with an altitude of 1900-2000 m above sea level is mountainous and along the Black Sea coast it is maritime. The climate of the seaside regions is milder in the winter and cooler in the summer than the climate of the interior of the country. The average annual temperature is 10.5°C. The average January temperature is around O°C. Average summer temperatures rarely exceed 30°C.

Capital

Sofia is Bulgaria’s capital and its largest city. Founded thousands of years ago, today the city continues to develop as the country’s cultural and economic center. At present, the city has a population of 1,250,000. Sofia is located in the western part of the country, on The Sofia Plain and on the lower slopes of Mount Vitosha.

Other main cities

Religion

The official religion is Eastern Orthodox which is professed by 86, 6% of the population. 13, 1% of the population profess Islam and 0, 3 profess other kinds of religion.

Language

The official language is Bulgarian and uses only the Cyrillic alphabet. To facilitate tourists, road and direction signs in populated areas, resorts, railway stations, airports and along the main motorways are also spelled in Roman letters. English, German, French, Russian and other languages are spoken in the country.

Government

Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic in which the sovereign power belongs to the people who exercise it through their representative bodies, elected by direct and secret ballot. Every Bulgarian citizen over the age of 18 has the right to elect or to be elected. The state power is divided into legislative, executive and judicial.

History

It will take you back dozens of centuries to Pliska, Preslav and Veliko Tarnovo - the seats of the first Bulgarian khans, czars and kings; to the stone carving of the Madara Horseman; to the Thracian Gold Treasures; to the breathtaking murals of the Kazanlak Tomb and the church in Boyana; to the quiet wisdom of the Rila Monastery and to the towns of Koprivshtitsa, Melnick and Zheravna - Renaissance legends of wood, stone and color.

Culture

It will be omnipresent in your days with unique finds in the museums, including the world s oldest gold; with beautiful collections of works from self-taught old masters to modern painters in the art galleries; with classical concerts and folklore song-and-dance festivals.

Tourism

Bulgaria offers excellent conditions for tourism. The Black Sea Coast has become world known for its wonderful geographical and climatic conditions: a warm sea, with almost imperceptible tides, well-wooded shores and vast beaches covered with fine golden sand. Modern resorts offer excellent conditions for rest and recreations, such as Zlatni Pyassatsi (the Golden Sands), Drouzba, Slunchev Bryag (the Sunny Beach), Rousalka, Albena, Duni, Elenite, St. Constantine and Elena, motels, camping sites and summer camps.

Each of the Bulgarian mountains has a charm of its own - their snow-capped peaks sparkling in the sun, covered with thick pine or deciduous forests interspersed with fragrant alpine meadows. There are numerous cosy chalets and pleasant holiday houses, snuggling in the mountains folds. The mountain and ski resorts of Borovets, Bansko, Pamporovo, Malyovitsa, Velingrad, Yundola and many others are equally attractive in summer and in winter.

Bulgaria is also famous through its mineral springs (more than 500) and many of them are used for balnetherapy. Health resorts (Spa) were built in Kyustendil, Vurshets, Sandanski, Pavel Banya, Hisar, Bankya and in many other places of Bulgaria.

There are 2000 explored and unexplored caves in Bulgaria. In one of them, the Magoura Cave, the unique rock drawings made by people from the pre-historical time can be seen. The Belogradchik rocks, the natural pyramids at Melnik, the Pobiti Kamuni (Stone Forests) near Varna, the Er Kyupria (Devil s Bridges) in the Rhodopes are some of the most curious sights of Bulgaria.

Beside the natural beauties of Bulgaria there are countless historical and cultural monuments. The Thracian tumulus (burial mound) near Kazanluk and the Proto-Bulgarian Madara Horseman near Shoumen are two of them. Entire towns and villages in Bulgaria are nominated as museum towns -Turnovo, Koprivshtitsa, Old Plovdiv, Melnik, Zheravna, Kotel, Tryavna, Nessebur and many other places where memories of the past still linger.