Bulgaria

Bulgaria

BULGARIABulgaria was established in 681 by khan Asparuh. The

country is located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black

Sea to the east. Its territory is 110,994 square kilometres and the population is about 7.305 million people.

Belogradchik Rocks The Belogradchik Rocks are a group of strange shaped rock formations located on the

western slopes of the Balkan

Mountains. Many of them have fantastic

shapes and are associated with

legends. The Belogradchik Rocks have been declared a Natural Landmark.

The eyes of God“The eyes of God” is a cave in Bulgaria, it is

declared as a Natural Landmark.

The marvelous bridgesThe Marvelous Bridges or Wonderful Bridges

are natural arches in the Rhodope Mountains of southern Bulgaria.

PerperikonThe ancient Thracian city of Perperikon is

believed to have been a sacred place.

Perperikon is the largest megalith ensemble in the

Balkans. It is thought that the famous

Temple of Dionysius is situated at this

location.

The Seven Rila LakesThe Seven Rila Lakes are a group of lakes

situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains in Bulgaria. The lakes are situated between 2,100

and 2,500 metres elevation above sea level. Each lake carries a name associated with its

most characteristic feature.

“Sulzata”- “The tear” “Okoto”- “The eye”

„Bubreka“- “The kidney” “Bliznaka”- “The twin”

The Madara Rider is an early medieval large rock relief carved on the Madara Plateau east of Shumen in

northeastern Bulgaria, near the village of Madara. The monument is dated to about 710 AD and has been on

the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979.

MADARA RIDER

Christmas in Bulgaria

We celebrate Christmas Eve on 24.12 every year. We make odd number of dishes and decorate our home in Christmas spirit. On this evening everyone is with their families, it is a wonderful feast.

Christmas decorations

The KukersThe kukers are the Bulgarian carnival figures.

They dance around the streets to scare the evil demons and to exorcise the cold weather and

the winter.

Lazarovden (St. Lazarus’ Day)

Only young girls can take part in the ritual. It is

celebrated on the Saturday before Easter.

The girls who are wearing special

costumes go around the village, visiting from

house to house singing their ritual songs. One of them carries a basket to collect the eggs which

the people give them as a present for their visit.

Panagyurishte TreasureThe Panagyurishte Treasure

is a Thracian treasure . It consists of a phiale, an

amphora and seven rhytons. All of the objects are richly decorated with scenes of Thracian myths, customs

and life. As one of the best known surviving artifacts of

Thracian culture, the treasure has been displayed at various museums around

the world.

RILA MONASTERY

The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, known

as the Rila Monastery is the largest

monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the

southwestern Rila Mountains. The

monastery is named after its founder, the

hermit Ivan of Rila.

KoprivshitsaKoprivshtitsa is a historic town in Bulgaria. It was

one of the centres of the April Uprising in 1876 and is known for its authentic Bulgarian architecture and for its folk music festivals, making it a very

popular tourist destination.

The Rodopes

The Rhodopes are a mountain range in

Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its

area in southern Bulgaria. The region is particularly notable for the Karst areas with

their deep river gorges, large caves and

specific sculptured forms.

MelnikMelnik is a town in

southwestern Bulgaria. It is an architectural reserve and

96 of its buildings are cultural monuments. With a population of 385, it is the smallest town in Bulgaria.

AlbenaAlbena is a major Black Sea resort in

northeastern Bulgaria. It is one

of the purpose-built resorts on the

Bulgarian Black Sea coast and has

a unique architectural style.

Asen's Fortress

Asen's Fortress is a medieval fortress in the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains.

The Trigrad Gorge is a canyon of vertical marble rocks in the Rhodope Mountains. It is in Smolyan Province, one of the

southernmost provinces of Bulgaria.

THE TRIGRAD GORGE

SofiaSofia is the capital of Bulgaria and the biggest

city. It is located in the western part of the country. Sofia is the 15th largest city in the

European Union with a population of around 1.3 million people.

HISTORY OF THE CITY

Sofia's history spans 2,400 years. Its

ancient name Serdica derives from the

local Celtic tribe of the Serdi who

established the town in the 5th century BC.

Legend of Saint SophiaSaint Sophia had three daughters: Faith, Hope

and Love. They are said to have been martyred during the reign of Hadrian. The

guards took Sophia's daughters and beat and tortured them to death.

Sophia buried her daughters' bodies and

remained by their graves for three days until she

died herself. The capital Sofia is named after the Church of Saint Sophia

and there is a monument in her honour in the city.

ST. ALEXANDER NEVSKY CATHEDRAL

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an Orthodox cathedral in Sofia. It is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world.

It is also the second-

largest cathedral on

the Balkan Peninsula

and one of Sofia's

symbols.

Interesting facts about BulgariaBulgaria is one of the oldest European

countries and is the only one that has never changed its name ever since it

was founded.The Bulgarians were the first people to

use the Cyrillic Alphabet.

The Bulgarian Army is the only force in

the world which has never lost a single

flag in battles.Bulgaria was the only

European country to save its Jews during the Second World

War.

BULGARIA THEN AND NOW

The oldest golden treasure in the

world was found in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is second in the world in

international IQ test and SAT scores.

Great Bulgarian peopleThe first wrestler in the world with 1500

wins and only two lost matches is the Bulgarian- Dan Kolov.

The inventor of the first electronic computer John Vincent Atanassoff is of Bulgarian origin.

The Bulgarian folk song “Izlel e Delio Haidutin” sang by Valia Balkanska, was sent in deep space on the board of the US Space Probe- Voyager 1 as a message to an alien intelligence.