Information about Bulgaria

Bulgaria is an ancient European country whose development has repeatedly intersected the history of the world’s civilisation. Thousands of tourists per year direct their steps to Bulgaria, wishing to lapse into recreation in the resorts in summer, or ski in winter, and in the meantime to get acquainted with the history and traditions of the people of this beautiful country and visit the cultural and historical centre of the Balkan Peninsula. Moreover, Bulgaria also offers opportunities for year-round treatment at the balneological resorts.

State system
 
Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic. The head of state is the president, who is elected by direct universal suffrage for a mandate of 5 years. The standing supreme governing body of the legislative power is the unicameral National Assembly (240 Members of Parliament), which is elected for a mandate of four years. The Supreme Court is under the general jurisdiction of the Supreme Judicial Council, which also determines the members of the judicial organs, the prosecutor’s office and the investigative offices in Bulgaria, and the Supreme Council is under the constitutional jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria, which may cancel any anticonstitutional laws and regulations and its decisions are non-appealable.
 
Geography
To the east Bulgaria has an outlet on the Black Sea. To the South it borders on Greece and Turkey, to the west on Serbia and Macedonia, and to the north – on Romania. They are divided by the Danube. The capital and largest city is Sofia. The larger part of the country is formed by the mountain ridges of the Balkan Mountains, the Sredna Gora, Rila, Pirin, and the Rhodope Mountains. The larger rivers are the Danube, the Maritsa and the Iskar. Forests account for 1/3 of the territory and are predominantly deciduous. Bulgaria is famous for its oleaginous roses, which bloom throughout the Kazanlak Valley, also known as the Rose Valley. High in the mountains can be seen the especially rare and beautiful flower – edelweiss. The Bulgarian tobacco is famous all over the world. Some national parks are Vitosha, Golden Sands, Ropotamo, Steneto, etc. The Bulgarian seaside stretches for a length of 648 km. At some places its width reaches 100 m. Some of the mountain ski-resorts are Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovets, which welcome the ski-sports lovers.
 
Official holidays in the country
1 January – St. Basil’s day and New Year;
6 January – Epiphany (St. Jordan’s day);
14 February – Trifon Zarezan (Day of the wine producer);
1 March – Baba Marta;
3 March – Day of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule;
25 March – the Annunciation of the Holy Mother of Christ;
1 April – April Fools’ Day;
1 May – International Workers’ Day;
6 May – Day of the St. George the Victorious, Day of the Bulgarian army;
24 May – Day of Slavic literacy;
2 June – Memorial Day for those who died for the liberation of Bulgaria;
9 August – Day of Bulgaria’s navy;
6 September – Day of the unification of Bulgaria;
22 September – Bulgarian Independence day;
1 November – Day of the national educators;
8 December – Day of the Bulgarian university students;
24 December – Christmas Eve;
25 December – Christmas Day;

 Climate in Bulgaria
The climate in the main part of the country is temperate continental, and in the south, in the valleys of the Mesta and the Struma – Mediterranean. Due to the light sea breeze in the hot summer days, the exhausting heat is not typical.

Population
About 7 million people populate the territory of Bulgaria. The main part of the population is formed by Bulgarians, and almost 10% – ethnic Turks. Here also live Greeks, Armenians and representatives of other nationalities. The majority of the religious people are Greek Orthodox, and there are Sunni Muslims.

Official Language
Bulgarian

National Currency
Bulgarian lev (EUR 1 = BGN 1.95)

Time zone
UTC+02:00

Cuisine
A large part of the Bulgarian cuisine is formed by a multitude of vegetable dishes. Dairy products are also widespread. It is believed that they are the reason for the Bulgarians’ longevity.  It is not difficult to read the menu of a Bulgarian restaurant – they usually have English menus available. A lunch at a café or a fast food restaurant costs about 5-7 BGN per person, and at a middle-class restaurant – about 30 - 40 BGN for two people.