Official name: Republic of Bulgaria
Total population: 7,322,858 (July 2007 est.)
Capital: Sofia, population over one million
Language: the official language is Bulgarian and uses only the Cyrillic alphabet. To facilitate tourists, road and direction signs in populated areas, resorts, railway atations, airports and along the main motorways are also spelled in Roman letters. English, German, French, Russian and other languages are spoken in the country.
Religion: predominantly Eastern Orthodox. The Bulgarian Church is autonomous and headed by a Patriarch.
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Constitution: adopted 12 July 1991
Legal system: civil law and criminal law based on Roman law.
Land boundaries:
total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km
Area:
total: 110,910 sq km 
water: 360 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee
Coastline: 354 km
Geographic coordinates: 43 00 N, 25 00 E
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m
Climate: temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers.
Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast.
Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land.
Geography - note: strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia.
Time difference: Winter time: GMT + 2 hours (October through March), Summer time: GMT + 3 hours (April through September).
Public holidays:
January 1 - New Year
March 3 - National day of the Liberation from Ottoman rule
Easter - Velikden - Two days (Sunday and Monday) according to the Orthodox calendar
May 6 - Gergyovden - St. George's Day; Day of the Bulgarian Military
May 24 - Sveti Sveti Kiril i Metodi - St.St. Cyril and Metodius; the Day of Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture and Slav Script/Cyrillic alphabet
September 6 - National Day of Bulgaria's Reunion in 1885 - unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia
September 22 - Independence Day - Independence from the Ottoman Empire
November 1 - Day of the Bulgarian Revival Leaders
December 24-26 - Koleda - Christmas Eve and Christmas
December 31 - New Year's Eve
Bulgarian Language
The Bulgarian language is the earliest written Slavic language. It dates back to the creation of the old Bulgarian alphabet - Glagolitsa in 862 by the brothers Cyril and Methodius which was gradually replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet /Kirilitsa/ over the following centuries.
The most typical characteristics of the Bulgarian language are elimination of noun declension, suffixed definite article, lack of a verb infinitive and complicated verb system - there are various verb forms to express nonwitnessed, retold, and doubtful action. The words in Bulgarian are pronounced in the same way in which they are written.
Problematic is the transcription of the Bulgarian names in Latin alphabet because the different phonetic codes in English, French and German. Bulgarian names consist of three parts - personal, father’s and family name. It is important to know that the suffixes of the women’s father or family names always change by adding „a” after the last consonant!
Bulgarian History
The history of Bulgaria separates into four periods: First Bulgarian Kingdom (681 – 1018 AD); Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1185 – 1396 AD); Third Bulgarian Kingdom (1878 – 1945), and newest Bulgarian history.
The First Bulgarian Kingdom
The Bulgarian State was founded in 681 by khan Asparouh as a leader of a union of the Slavs and the Proto-Bulgarians in their struggle against Byzantium. The following period between the 8th and the 10th centuries brought the political rise and territorial expansion. Boris I Mihail (852-889) converted the Bulgarians to Christianity and adopted the Slavonic script created by Constantine Cyril the Philosopher and his brother Methodius. Simeon the Great (893-927) conquered new lands and expanded the territory of Bulgaria to the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Adriatic. Bulgaria became one of the most powerful states in Europe. After exhaustive wars with Byzantium which ended with the defeat of the troops of tzar Samuil (997-1014) the Byzantine rule over Bulgaria was established.
The Second Bulgarian Kingdom
In 1187 the Second Bulgarian Kingdom with Turnovo as a capital was established. Peter II was pronounced tzar of the Bulgarians. The power of Bulgaria was restored by tzar Kaloyan (1197-1207) who inflicted a final defeat on the forces of the Latin emperor Baldwin I. The ascension of tzar Ivan Asen II (1218-1241) on the throne is connected with a new strengthening of the state, with the expansion of its borders, and with economic and cultural development. Tzar Ivan-Alexander (1331-1371) divided the country between his sons Ivan Sratsimir (1371-1396) and Ivan Shishman (1371-1393). The cultural life was on the upsurge again.
The Otoman Expansion
The attacks of the Ottoman Turks on the Balkan Peninsula in the 14th century led to the waning of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom taken over in 1396. The 18th century witnessed the beginning of the Bulgarian National Revival and the formation of the Bulgarian nation. The period of the National Revival began with "The Slav-Bulgarian History" written in 1762 by Paisii of Hilendar. The ideology of national liberation was conceived, the independent Bilgarian church, education and culture were restored.
The Third Bulgarian Kingdom
As a result of the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation (1877-1878) the Bulgarian State was restored, but it included only a small part of the Bulgarian lands.The Bulgarian people reacted against the decision of the Berlin Congress with the Kresna-Razlog uprising (1878-1879), accomplishment of the unification of Eastern Rumelia and the Principality of Bulgaria (1885) and organized the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie uprising (1903). Prince Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg-Gotha proclaimed Bulgaria independent and himself the tzar. Bulgaria, together with Serbia and Greece, was victorious in the Balkan War (1912-1913) against Turkey for the liberation of Thrace and Macedonia, but in the Inter-Allies War (1913) it was defeated by its former allies who tore out territories inhabited by Bulgarians. Bulgaria's participation in the World War I on the side of the Central Powers ended with a national catastrophe, tzar Ferdinand abdicated in favor of his son Boris III (1918-1943). The period between the two world wars started with a heavy crisis and with the rule of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union. The resistance of the left forces led to the September 1923 uprising guided by the Communist Party. During the next decade the influence of the monarchist circles increased which strengthened the personal power of tzar Boris III. At that time Bulgaria was oriented to Germany and it was forced to join the Axis in 1941. Bulgaria declared the so called "Symbolic war" on USA and Great Britain, but did not participate in the battles on the Eastern Front; the Bulgarian society saved the Jews living in the country from deportation. After the death of tzar Boris III a council of regents was formed and it ruled instead of the underage Simeon II. A National Committee of the Fatherland Front (organization created by the communists) was set up and a guerilla movement was organized.
Newest Bulgarian history
In 1944 the Fatherland Front took over the power. The presence of the Soviet Army in Bulgaria sped up the changes in the political life and the following events - the declaration of the Republic (1946) and the coming to power of the Bulgarian Communist Party; the political parties were dismantled, nationalization of industry and banks, cooperation of land were implemented. In 1989 democratic changes began in Bulgaria - the political parties and the parliamentary functions were restored. The National Assembly adopted a new Constitution which regulates the functions of the three main powers - legislative, executive and legal.
Religion
The Eastern Orthodox Church emerged as a result of disagreements between Greek speaking eastern churches and Latin speaking western churches over doctrine and ecclesiastical authority. During the Ottoman rule it was placed under the jurisdiction of the patriarch of Constantinople. However, with the demise of the Ottoman empire many independent churches emerged in eastern Europe. Remaining in communion they retain their independence.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church as an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church was established in 865 when Boris I was baptised by Greek missionaries. In the centuries of Ottoman yoke it was the only link with other Eastern Orthodox peoples and with European Christianity in the resistance to the Islamic invasion. It became independent in 1870 by a decree of the sultan and thus won the international juridical recognition of the Bulgarian nation before its political one.
During the communist era the church's property was confiscated by the state. The constitution of 1991 guaranteed freedom of religion while recognising Eastern Orthodoxy as "the traditional religion in Bulgaria". 88.5% of the population of Bulgaria belong to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has an extremely rich history of icons which depict Biblical scenes, local saints, the Virgin Mary or Jesus. The icon is of particular importance for the Orthodox Church since it is seen as the dwelling place of God's grace, creating in the faithful a sense of the presence of God. Thanks to this, even now Bulgarian artists continue to create icons with the clear sense, that they are an example of an exclusive spiritual and artistic phenomenon. The presence of the icon in our life helps us to overcome the psychological barriers of our material world.
Credits to: Visit to Bulgaria; CIA World Factbook