Location Information - Bulgaria
A picturesque small country called Bulgaria has existed for more than 13 centuries in Europe, linking East and West. Bulgaria remembers ancient civilisations and great people that wrote its turbulent history. Situated in Southeastern Europe, Bulgaria occupies the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The country borders the Black Sea, in the middle of Turkey and Romania.
Five centuries subjugated to Ottoman rule and, more recently, four decades locked very firmly behind the Iron Curtain turned Bulgaria into a distant, enigmatic country in the eyes of much of the rest of the world. Images of cheap wine downed at student house parties, budget ski holidays and umbrella-wielding Cold War assassins were once among the popular stereotypes, but Bulgaria today is a vastly different country from what it was even 10 years ago.
It has approximately 7.8 million inhabitants, 1.5 million of which live in the capital city of Sofia. A large percent of Bulgaria’s population is associated with Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The remaining percent belongs to religions like Islam, Protestantism, and Roman Catholicism. Islam is said to have come in Bulgaria during the 14th century. Meanwhile, during the 16th century, Roman missionaries came to Bulgaria and introduced Roman Catholicism to people. On the other hand, American missionaries were the ones who introduced Protestantism to Bulgarians. It started in 1857 and continued to grow up to the 19th and 20th century.
Bulgaria is observed to have a moderate climate in its fours seasons. It has hot and dry summers with an average temperature of 23 degrees Celsius. Winters are cold with snow and with an average temperature of 0 degrees Celsius. However, the average temperature throughout the year is recorded at 10.5 degrees Celsius.
Enyovden is one of Bulgaria’s most celebrated national holidays (which takes place on 23rd and 24th June), along with Easter, Christmas and St. George’s Day. It is both a religious feast and a traditional folk ritual. The celebrations of this day have mystical pagan roots and are related to the summer solstice, healing waters and wild herbs.
According to Bulgarian tradition the lasses from each village make a mysterious gathering on the night before ‘Enyovden’ to pick special herbs and sing magical spells. On that evening the healing powers of the herbs are supposed to be at their most potent.
Later the girls take the sprays to make herb crowns, tied together with red strings, which are then used for curing ‘77 and half diseases’. In practice these are all the known illnesses in the Balkan villages over the past centuries. Each crown is named after a member of the family and protects him/her from evil spirits and illnesses.
The maidens also name wild flower crowns after their beloved young men. Thus it has the power to ‘call’ and attract their beloved ones. A must is also a big fire around which all the traditional dances take place and which the bravest ones jump over to prove their courage and to bring health and love. Dances and songs continue all night long, until the sun arrives and starts its slow steady move towards winter.
Quick Facts about Bulgaria
Area: 110,993.6 sq km
Population: 7,973, 673 (2001)
Capital city: Sofia
Official language: Bulgarian
Alphabet: Cyrillic
Religion: There is freedom of religious confessions. Traditional religion in the Republic of Bulgaria is Eastern Orthodox Christianity
National holiday: March 3, the day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman domination (1878)
Administrative division: 28 regions, named after their respective regional centres.
State system: a parliamentary republic with a one-chamber parliament (National Assembly), consisting of 240 national representatives, elected for a four-year term of service. The head of state of the republic is the President, elected for a five-year term of service. The Council of Ministers is the main body of executive power.
Relief: most diverse. Average height above sea level 470 m. Some 31.5% of the country territory is plain (up to 200 m above sea level), 41% are lowlands and hilly regions (from 200 to 600 m above sea level), and 27.5% are mountains (from 600 to more than 1,600 m above sea level).
Climate: moderate continental with Black Sea influence in the east and Mediterranean in the south.
Waters: rivers (main rivers are Danube, Maritsa, Mesta, Strouma, Iskar, Yantra); warm and cold mineral springs (more than 600); lakes coastal (some with curative mineral mud) and of glacial origin (in the Rila and Pirin mountains).
Plant and animal world: extremely diverse. An Act on the Protected Territories is operating in Bulgaria, aimed at the preservation of the country flora and fauna. It has specified the following categories in the country: a national and nature park, a reserve and a tended reserve, a natural sight, a protected locality.
Economy: Bulgaria has been an associated member of the European Union (EU) since 1992. In 1997 an agreement was signed with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for economic stabilization and for the carrying through of economic reforms in the country. A currency board was introduced. The national monetary unit has been referred to the EURO. A structural reform is underway aimed at an economic growth, a functioning market economy and at paving the way for foreign investments in the country.
Transport: railway, automobile, air and water.
International telephone code: +359
