Bulgaria - Bulgarije

Bulgaria (България) is a country in the Balkans west of the Black Sea. It is surrounded by Romania in the north, Serbia in the northwest, the North Macedonia in the southwest, Greece on the south side, and Turkey in the southeast. The main land routes from Europe to the Middle East go right through Bulgaria.

Info

History

The Danubian Bolgars, also called Protobulgars, a Turkic tribe from Central Asia and the local Slavic population, formed the First Bulgarian Empire in the 7th century under the leadership of Khan Asparuch. In the 14th century, the country was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The Bulgarian Renaissance took place between 1762 and independence in 1878. On March 3, 1878, Bulgaria regained its self-government as an independent principality within the Ottoman Empire, and on September 22, 1908, it became a fully independent kingdom. It gained and lost territory during the Balkan Wars and the First World War.

After the Second World War, Bulgaria came under the influence of the Soviet Union and became a communist people's republic. In 1989, hundreds of thousands of Turks and Pomaks fled Bulgaria because of the government's severe repressive attitude towards the Muslim minorities. For example, Turkish names were banned in 1984 and mosques were closed [4]. After a palace coup by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1989, the country became a democratic multi-party state and was able to move slowly towards the EU. Repressive measures against minorities were also suspended in 1989.

Bulgaria officially became a member of NATO on March 29, 2004 and joined the European Union on January 1, 2007, after only missing the boat of EU enlargement in 2004. The Association Agreement was signed on April 25, 2005. Earlier, on May 7, 1992, Bulgaria became a member of the Council of Europe, and thus of the OSCE.

Geography

Bulgaria has 378 km of coastline on the Black Sea in the east. Furthermore, the country is bordered by Romania to the north (608 km), by Serbia (318 km) and North Macedonia (148 km) to the west, by Greece (494 km) to the south and by European Turkey (240 km). ) in the southeast.

Central Bulgaria is crossed from east to west by fans of the Balkan Mountains. Between the Balkans and the Danube lies a fertile plateau. This flat area in the northeast of the country is called the Dobruja. It continues in Romania. The Danube makes up most of the northern border. To the south lies the Rhodope Mountains. Furthermore, in the west there are the Rila with the highest point of Bulgaria (and the Balkan Peninsula), the mountain Moesala (2925 m), and in the southwest the Pirin with the highest mountain Vichren (2920 m). South of the Balkans and north of the Rhodope Mountains, the country is flat. The southeast of Bulgaria is called Thrace, after the Thracians who lived there in ancient times. The city of Plovdiv is located in the Tracian plain. This area continues south of Bulgaria.

The Danube, Iskar, Maritsa and Strimon are the main rivers. The north and east of the country drain into the Black Sea, whether or not via the Danube. The Maritsa and Strimon and their tributaries drain into the Aegean Sea.

Population

Bulgaria has a population of 7,322,858 according to a 2007 census. The population has been declining since the mid-1980s.

Most residents of Bulgaria are ethnic Bulgarians (83.9%). There is a significant minority of Turks (9.4%) and smaller groups of Roma (4.7%), Russians (0.2%), Armenians (0.1%) and Macedonians. Bulgaria, with its historical claims to North Macedonia, does not consider the Macedonians a separate population group and sees their language closely related to Bulgarian as a Bulgarian dialect.

The official language of the country is Bulgarian, which is written with the Cyrillic alphabet. Minorities speak Turkish and Romani.

Culture

The country is famous for its roses and its grapes, which grow along the valley sides.

Religion

Most of the population - 85% - belongs to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. In 1953 the Bulgarian Patriarchate was re-established.

A small minority belongs to the Bulgarian Catholic Church and also a small minority to the Roman Catholic Church.

There is a significant Muslim minority (12% of the population): it consists of ethnic Turks and Muslim Bulgarians, the latter are also known as Pomaks.

Regions

Towns

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• Sofia (София) - The capital and very interesting area of ​​the country. It has many parks, a beautiful center, quite a few cafes and discotheques and more than 250 historical and architectural sights and many other cultural highlights. Sofia has an international airport.

• Plovdiv (Пловдив)- The second city of the country. It boasts a beautiful shopping promenade, many parks, an old town with a preserved amphitheatre, and many period residences. While you're there, make sure to take a trip to Bachkovo Monastery an hour outside the city.

• Varna (Варна) - The third largest city in the country, known for its beaches. Varna's nightlife is renowned, especially in summer.

• Burgas (Бургас) - Known for its commercial port (port of Burgas) and oil refinery. Picturesque shops along the waterfront in the center make this town popular with tourists.

• Vratsa (Враца) - One of the most beautiful cities in Bulgaria. The city is an important economic and administrative, tourist and cultural center. It is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria.

• Shumen (Шумен) - view the Madara horseman, which is carved into the cliff. One of the many Bulgarian sites that belong to the World Heritage of the UNESCO. A few hours north, there are many Thracian tombs, and two of the former ancient capitals of the Bulgarian Kingdom - Pliska and Preslav

• Veliko Turnovo (Велико Търново) - a beautiful city by a winding river, the former capital of the Middle Ages. The original city castle and the city walls have been restored. Also try the nearby arbanassia to visit.

• sliven (Сливен) - Known for its permanent wind and blue rocks. A good place for level golf at reasonable prices

• Smolyan (Смолян) - Preferred destination for nature lovers. Known for its planetarium, drama theatre, history museum. A few kilometers away you can ski in Pamporovo.

• Belogradchik (Белоградчик) - See the remains of an ancient Roman post in northwestern Bulgaria. Interesting rock formations also make it suitable for mountaineers. A little tricky to get to.

• Kurdzhali (Кърджали) - The city is located under a giant dam. Many thousands of years old ruins to visit.

• Velingrad (Велинград) - The city is surrounded by the Rhodope Mountains. There are more than 70 mineral water springs in the area.

• Gabrovo (Габрово) - the Scots of Bulgaria, about whom many jokes are made. So with a House of Humor and Satire to visit, but also an open-air museum with a town in old Bulgarian style.

• Asenovgrad (Асеновград) - a small town near Plovdiv with the most churches per inhabitant of the population. Also try to visit Asen Castle and Bachkovo Monastery.

• Melnik (Мелник) - taste the fine wines, see the sand pyramids, and take a long walk to the Rozhen Monastery.

• Nesebar (Несебър) - beautiful small town on the Black Sea coast a few hours south of Varna. Also a Unesco World Heritage Site.

• Sozopol (Созопол) - known along with Nesebur for its traditional houses. At the beginning of September it will be known Apollonia Arts Festival held.

• Bansko (Банско) - a beautiful old town in the Pirin Mountains with restored houses, ramparts and cobbled streets, but also with more and more large hotel chains as Bansko is also a major ski destination in the region. The highest peak (Vihren - 2916m) is a day's walk from the city. In August it will be Bansko Jazz Festival held here.

• Semkovo (Семково) 17 km north of Belitsa is this beautiful mountain resort, on the edge of the Rila Mountains among pine forests.

Port cities : Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Rousse, Varna, Vidin

• arbanasia - historic town with churches from the 17th and 18th centuries
• Kazanlak
• obzor
• Pliska
• Preslav
• Samokovo

Other destinations

• Pirin National Park - http://pirin.bg/
• Central Balkan National Park - http://visitcentralbalkan.net/en/

Arrive

By plane

Bulgaria has 4 airports with international flights, namely: Sofia, Burgas, Varna & Plovdiv. There are many charter and last minute flights that mostly come from Germany and England.

Bulgaria Air has been the national airline since 2002. There are also several low budget airlines that fly to and from one of the airports in Bulgaria. These include: Wizz Air (including London, Rome, Milan, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Brussels and Dortmund), Easyjet (London Gatwick, Manchester, Milan and Madrid), MyAir (Milan, Bari, Brussels and Bologna) and Sky Europe (Bratislava to Sofia, Varna and Bourgas).

By train

Despite the rise of budget airlines, train travel can still be a cheap, fast and certainly more convenient option for transportation. Because train stations are often located in the city centres, the train on the medium distance (for example Enschede - Paris or Bruges - Wolfsburg) can compete very well with the plane.

Currently in Belgium and at the Deutsche Bahn online only to order tickets for the neighboring countries of Belgium, resp. Germany and a number of easily accessible cities further on. Other tickets can only be purchased by telephone or at the counter, or of course in the relevant country. The latter is often much cheaper. Also keep an eye out for the many Sparpreis offers at the Deutsche Bahn, which can be very advantageous for a travel route to or via Germany.

However, it is quite possible to train journey map out from home. The two sites listed immediately below provide information not only about journeys from the Benelux, but also about all train connections throughout Europe and in the Russian part of Asia, e.g. between Moscow and Madrid. It is about this the site of the Belgian railways and the Dutch site of the Deutsche Bahn.

NS Hispeed only offers information about travel between the Netherlands and a few large foreign cities. As a rule, this information is also limited to trains that run directly to or from abroad (i.e. no connections between Utrecht and Paris or between Rotterdam and Germany, because there is always a transfer within the Netherlands). To plan trips within the Netherlands, it is best this website use.

NS Hispeed sells online a small range of journeys departing from the Netherlands to other countries (one-way and return journeys), and a very limited number of routes from abroad to (other) foreign countries (one-way and return journeys). You can book other trips by telephone via the Telesales department (0900-9296, €0.35 p.m.) and at the counters in the Tickets and Service shops at the (medium) large stations. This is the online International counter of the Dutch railways.

Smoking is prohibited on the train in all European countries.

By car

Bulgaria is easy to reach by car. The most common route to the capital Sofia is via Cologne, Frankfurt and Passau in Germany, via Linz and Vienna in Austria to Budapest in Hungary and then via Belgrade in Serbia to Sofia. However, if you want to go to the sandy beaches on the coast, it is often chosen to take the following route: from Budapest the M5 south, crossing the border at Arad in Romania, continuing via Bucharest, Rousse, the friendship bridge, into Bulgaria and keep Varna. Be aware of border controls along the Serbian and Bulgarian borders and the occasional bad road.

By bus

The fastest and cheapest way to travel is the bus.

There is a brand new bus station in Sofia [1].

By boat

Travel around

Language

In Bulgaria they do not use the Roman, but the Cyrillic script.

People mainly speak Bulgarian and Russian. A small minority, about 9%, speak Turkish. An even smaller minority speaks Arabic: 1.5%.

Not everyone speaks English. In the villages an English speaking person is rare. In the capital Sofia, there is always at least someone present in the large shops who speaks English.

To look at

To do

To buy

Cost

Food

Many vegetables are used in Bulgarian cuisine. The main meals always contain meat or fish. In the summer there are many salads available with the fresh local vegetables. The most famous and common salad is "шопска салата" (Shopska salata), which is a very simple but tasty salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, onion, dill and white cheese. This is the traditional salad eaten when drinking "ракия" (rakia). Rakia is a strong drink made from grapes. You can also find good quality fruits and vegetables on the market. It is safe to buy raw fruit and vegetables from the market or from a roadside stall. Especially in the summer, a lot of fresh dill is used in the dishes. Other fresh herbs such as parsley or basil are also often used. In winter, mainly preserved vegetables (from a jar) are eaten. The "сирене" (sirenne) cheese is white cheese comparable to feta cheese and is of very good quality! It is also used in many dishes. The concept of vegetarian food is not well established, but in the capital Sofia you will find some vegetarian restaurants. In Burgas there is also 1 veggie restaurant.

Going out

stay overnight

To learn

To work

Safety

You are advised to be vigilant throughout the country. Due to the risk of car theft, combined with the poor condition of the Bulgarian road network, driving after sunset is strongly discouraged. It is also strongly discouraged to stay overnight in the car.

For the rest, travel in Bulgaria can be made in accordance with the advice below.

For more information:

• http://web.archive.org/web/20061002035911/http://www.minbuza.nl/nl/reizenlanden/reisadviezen,reisadvies_bulgaria.html
• https://diplomatie.belgium.be/nl/Services/Op_reis_in_het_buitenland/reisadviezen/bulgaria
• http://bulgaria.nlambassade.org/you-and-country/reizen/reisadvies-bulgaria.html

Health

respect

Contact

Typical for Bulgarians is that they nod left-right if they mean yes and up and down if they mean no. For questions about Bulgaria, you can contact the Bulgarian Tourist Office in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. [2]

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