Portal:Bulgaria

Welcome to the Bulgaria portal!

Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located west of the Black Sea and south of the Danube river, Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north. It covers a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi) and is the 16th largest country in Europe. Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city; other major cities include Burgas, Plovdiv, and Varna.

Bulgaria has an upper-middle-income economy, its market economy is part of the European Single Market and is largely based on services, followed by industry—especially machine building and mining—and agriculture. The country faces a demographic crisis; its population peaked at 9 million in 1989, and has since decreased to under 6.4 million as of 2024. Bulgaria is a member of the European Union, the Schengen Area, NATO, and the Council of Europe. It is also a founding member of the OSCE and has taken a seat on the United Nations Security Council three times. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

The Bulgarians rout the Byzantine army at the Battle of Boulgarophygon, considered one of the greatest battles of the century

The Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 894–896 (Bulgarian: Българо–византийска война от 894–896) was fought between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire as a result of the decision of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI to move the Bulgarian market from Constantinople to Thessalonica which would greatly increase the expenses of the Bulgarian merchants.

Following the defeat of the Byzantine army in the initial stages of the war in 894 Leo VI sought aid from the Magyars who at the time inhabited the steppes to the north-east of Bulgaria. Aided by the Byzantine navy, in 895 the Magyars invaded Dobrudzha and defeated the Bulgarian troops. Simeon I called for truce and deliberately protracted the negotiations with the Byzantines until securing the assistance of the Pechenegs. Cornered between the Bulgarians and the Pechanegs, the Magyars suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Bulgarian army and had to migrate westwards, settling in Pannonia. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Tsvetana Jermanova survived imprisonment in two forced labour camps in communist Bulgaria?

edit

Gallery

Image 1Danube river in Bulgaria
Image 2Varna lake is a salt lake near Black sea.
Image 3A beach in Bulgaria.
Image 4Rila is a mountain in West Bulgaria
Image 5Razgrad is a city in East Bulgaria.
Image 6Sofia is the biggest city in Bulgaria.
Image 7Maritsa is a river in South Bulgaria.

edit

Selected Picture

Credit: MrPanyGoff

The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University (Bulgarian: Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“) is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888. The university's edifice was constructed between 1924 and 1934 with the financial support of the brothers Evlogi Georgiev and Hristo Georgiev, whose sculptures are now featured on its façade.

More selected pictures • Read more...

edit

More did You Know?

...that Lady Strangford (pictured) is honoured in Bulgaria for the work she did following the Batak massacre?
...that the Samara flag, presented as a gift from Russia to the Bulgarian volunteers in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, is the only flag awarded a Bulgarian Medal for Bravery?
...that the bulk of Bulgarians in Hungary descend from gardeners and other professionals who settled in the country prior to World War I?
...that although it was not particularly well-known in Bulgaria until the late 19th century, today Bulgarian beer is one of the country's most popular alcoholic beverages?