Bulgaria is a country of 110,993 sq. km in south-eastern Europe and, clockwise from the south borders Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Romania. To the east the country’s natural border is the Black Sea.
Bulgaria is a fascinating destination for summer and winter tourism. Mild climate, beautiful and diverse nature and azure, sandy beaches on the coast attract tourists from all over the world. Modern hotels and holiday resorts add to a memorable vacation. Go further and enjoy winter holiday skiing on the slopes of Bansko, Borovets, Pamporovo and many other winter resorts.
Bulgaria is a natural gift. Rivers, lakes, golden sand beaches, vast plains, high mountains and evergreen forests create a diversity rarely seen on a single country’s territory. Numerous mineral waters throughout the country provide excellent conditions for spa and wellness. The mountains reveal a colourful world of forests, pastures, rock formations, villages and history. A good option for discovering the outdoors of Bulgaria is hiking, cycling, horseback riding or maybe taking a multi-activity trip. Bulgaria is a
top destination for ornithological and botany tours. Protected areas cover nearly 6% of the state’s territory.
Historically Bulgaria is one of the first countries in Europe, recognized in 681. Glorious past and historic evidence of various civilizations that have been on Bulgarian territories are seen everywhere. Golden treasures, architectural ensembles, rock relieves, and numerous monasteries narrate history, faith, beliefs, and fights of the people who have lived on these ancient lands since the days of yore. The country has a 4000 year long wine producing history. Bulgaria is the land of roses. The preserved identity of Bulgarian villages incorporates their traditions, colours and rhythms, delicious homemade food and warm hospitality.

Over the centuries, many people have traversed these lands on the Balkan Peninsula. Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Slavs and Ottoman Turks have all left their mark, their culture, knowledge and wisdom. Bulgaria has always been at the crossroads of continents – the gateway between Asia and Europe.

Early Settlements
Bulgaria is thought to be one of Europe’s earliest inhabited areas. The discoveries of the Bulgarian- French expedition in Kozarnika Cave proved this hypothesis. The newfound artefacts date from the Early Palaeolithic period – more than one million years BC. Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis could serve as irrefutable proof that the new society reached its zenith in the 4th millennium BC when an extraordinary civilisation developed along the Black Sea Coast. The funeral offerings of pure massive gold from this Necropolis show that this is the oldest collection of gold artefacts in the world. It can be seen at the Archaeological Museum in Varna.

Thraciants
By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, migrant tribes in the region were coalescing into the ethnic group that became known as Thracians. They inhabited most of present-day Bulgaria, Northern Greece, European Turkey and part of Asia Minor. Thracians practised a polytheistic religion and the leader of their pantheon was the goddess Mother-Earth. Among Thracian deities, the one held in the highest esteem was the mythical musician Orpheus. Another deity that the Thracians worshipped was Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility of nature. A famous Thracian was Spartacus – the fearless gladiator. he managed to
escape and lead a slave revolt against the Romans, but was killed. Thracians believed in life after dead. They placed the dead bodies in tomb together with weapons, jewellery and horses.

Sensational Thracian Archaeology
While having no alphabet, Thracian culture has left a big impact on modern Bulgaria. The world has recognised many of the Thracian cultural and historical achievements. The Thracian Tombs at Sveshtari and Kazanlak are on the UNESCO List and can be visited.

The valley between the Balkan Range and Sredna Gora Mountains in the south is named the Valley of the Thracian Kings. It is there that in 2004 sensational findings were discovered. Archaeologists uncovered a previously unknown and still intact tomb from the 5th century BC near Kazanlak. The most impressive find was a 2400-year-old golden mask of a human face. It weighs 680 grams solid gold and is without parallel in archaeology. The same expedition team unearthed two more tombs and a 22-pound bronze head resembling a king’s face. In 2000, near Starosel village, an enormous Thracian Temple was discovered and today it is already open to the public. Other Thracian dome tombs are discovered in Strandzha Mountains, also near Mezek and Aleksandrovo villages. Hundreds of Thracian sanctuaries are scattered in the Bulgarian mountains. The most famous one is Perperikon. It is believed to have been the great temple of Dionysus where he had an oracle. One of the largest golden mines of the Antiquity was located near Perperikon. In 2004 archaeologists found the sanctuary of Orpheus, which is some 30 km south of Perperikon and near Tatul village. The world famous Thracian golden treasures are exhibited in the National History Museum in Sofia.

Slavs and Proto Bulgarian
Nowadays Bulgarians descend from Thracians, Slavs, and Proto Bulgarians. Slavs began to invade the Balkan Peninsula in the late 5th century. They were democratic people who lived by agriculture. The Proto Bulgarians initially inhabited the Central Asian Pamir-Himalaya region. There they had a highly developed civilization and their calendar, based on the sun cycles, is recognized as one of the most accurate ancient calendars. They moved towards Europe during the Great Migration and the army of Khan Asparuh reached today’s north-eastern Bulgaria. These Proto Bulgarians established contacts with the Slavonic tribes and very soon led a victorious battle against the great Byzantine army.

In 681 AD the 1st Bulgarian Kingdom was established.

First Bulgarian Kingdom
In 865 Khan Boris I converted to Christianity and in 870 Orthodox Christianity became the official religion. Some years later the brother monks Cyril and Methodius devised the Slavonic alphabet, which was introduced in the country and replaced the Greek one. The 1st Bulgarian Kingdom (681-1018) had a huge territory, which expanded from the Carpathians in the north, to Mount Olympus in the south, and from the Black Sea and the Danube Delta to the Aegean and Ionian Seas. In 716-718 under the command of Khan Tervel the Bulgarian army together with the Byzantines defeated the great Arab army at Constantinople. This successful battle stopped the penetration of Arabs in the European continent. In the beginning of the 11th century Bulgaria was defeated by Byzantium and remained a vassal state for nearly 170 years.
Second Bulgarian Kingdom

In 1186 in Veliko Tarnovo an uprising led by the Assen brothers liberated Bulgaria. Assen was given thetitle of Tsar of Bulgaria in 1187. The town became the capital of the 2nd Bulgarian Kingdom (1186-1396). In 1204 Tsar Kaloyan negotiated a union with the Catholic Church in the hope that the Pope would support the Bulgarian expansion. With this political act the authority of Kaloyan was recognised by the Pope. Under the rule of Tsar Ivan Assen II Bulgaria became the most powerful state in south-eastern Europe. The territory of the Bulgarian state comprised almost the whole of the Balkan Peninsula. In the middle 14th century, the Ottoman Turks began to invade and occupy areas of the Balkan Peninsula

Ottomans
Bulgaria remained under Ottoman rule from the late 14th century till the late 19th century. During this time, conservative Ottoman systems prevented all the Balkan population from economic and political development. Many churches were burned down and people were made to change their religion.

National Revival Period
In the middle 18th century the Ottoman decline led to significant changes in Bulgarian life. They marked the beginning of a new period in the Bulgarian history, called National Revival Period. It was a time of national and cultural identification. This resulted in parallel struggles for religious and political independence.
The key figure of the Bulgarian revolutionary movement was Vasil Levski (1837-1873). He managed to create a vast network of local revolutionary committees but was later captured and hanged. The Revolution was launched with the April 1876 Uprising. It was suppressed with a ferocity that shocked the world, more than 30,000 people were massacred. Having failed to find a solution at the 1876 Constantinople Conference, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire in 1877. Over 200,000 Russian, Finnish and Romanian soldiers and Bulgarian volunteers lost their lives. Bulgaria became an autonomous principality in 1878. Fear of Russian expansion motivated the Congress of Berlin (1878) to limit the size of the newly created state. During the next 70 years Bulgaria was involved in five wars, in attempts to unify all the territories inhabited by Bulgarians.

Contemporary History
In the early 20th century Bulgaria became the leading Balkan economic and military power, and in 1908 was finally proclaimed an independent state. During WW II, the last Bulgarian king, Boris III, was forced to join the Axis in 1941, but clearly refused to send troops to the Eastern front or Bulgarian Jews to Nazi concentration camps. This act saved the lives of more than 50,000 Bulgarian Jews.
At the end of the war, Bulgaria became a republican satellite of the Soviet Union as per the Yalta Allied agreements. The Communist Party ruled until 1990, when a democratic government came to office.
Since 1990, Bulgaria has been going through the difficult process of privatising state-owned companies, upgrading infrastructure, encouraging investments, and re-training individuals and companies to be privately competitive. The country has made significant progress. Bulgaria became a member of NATO in 2004 and is well on target for accession to the EU in 2007. In 2001 the son of the last Bulgarian King – Simeon II was involved in Bulgarian politics. He created his own political party and was elected prime minister.

Period (18th – 19th centuries) such as Koprivshtitsa, Bozhentsi, Kovachevitsa, Shiroka Laka and Zheravna have wonderfully preserved and restored houses. They feature graceful curved bay windows and ornate wooden ceilings, along with hand painted murals that show influences from Western Europe. Narrow cobbled streets and stone homes with slate roofs are a distinctive feature of many Rhodopes and Stara Planina villages.

Old Roman and Turkish bridges and merchant roads are found throughout the country. In several big and small towns there are architectural ensembles: Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanasi, Bansko and Melnik are proud of their preserved traditional Bulgarian architecture.