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Country Profile
Location
Bulgaria is located in South East Europe, situated in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, neighbouring Greece, Turkey and Romania, and enjoys a Black Sea coastline stretching for over 250 miles. The total area of the country is 111,000 sq kms.
The main airport is situated in Sofia, with further airports at Plovdiv, and on the coast at Varna and Bourgas. It is 2 hours ahead of GMT and a flight takes just 3 hours from the UK.
Relief
Extremely varied in a range of altitude from 0 m to 2,925 m. large plains and lowlands, low and high mountains, valleys and lovely gorges.
Waters
The rivers rise mainly in the highest mountains and flow into the Black Sea (via the Danube) and into the Aegean Sea. Bulgaria has 526 rivers longer than 2.3 km. The only navigable river is the Danube, which lies along the northern Bulgarian border.
Climate
The predominant climate in Bulgaria is moderate and transitional continental. (2,000 to 2,400 hours of sunlight per year). There are four seasons, with a dry and hot summer. Temperate continental with clearly marked four seasons. A Mediterranean influence is felt in the country's southern regions.
The average annual temperature is 10.5°C.
The average January temperature is around O°C.
Average summer temperatures rarely exceed 30°C.
Flora and Fauna
Bulgaria has many regions which have preserved in their natural state unique natural nooks, preserving remarkable bio-diversity.
Mineral Springs
Bulgaria has some 500 deposits of mineral waters with over 1,600 water sources.
Language
Bulgarian, English, German, French and Russian is spoken in the country's resorts, hotels and restaurants.
Alphabet
Cyrillic. Signs along international motorways, in airports and resorts are also spelled in Roman letters.
Religion
86.6% of the population is Eastern Orthodox, 13% are Muslims. The Bulgarian Church is autonomous and headed by a Patriarch.
State government
Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic.
Official holidays
January 1 - New Year
March 3 - Bulgaria's Liberation from Ottoman rule - the National Day
Easter - one week after the Catholic Easter
May 1 - Labour Day
May 6 - Bulgarian Army Day
May 24 - Day of Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture and the Slav Script
September 6 - Bulgaria's Unification
September 22 - Independence Day
December 25-26 - Christmas
Population
It has a population of 8.4 million and is divided into 28 districts.
Population in towns: 5.5 million>
Capital
Sofia (pop. 1,141,000)
Interesting Facts
The vastest lowland in Bulgaria and on the Balkans, is the Upper Thrace. ( Plovdiv is the metropolis of the region). It is about 180 km long and 50 km wide. Its overall area is 6032 square km.
The largest bay is the Bourgas Bay on the Black Sea coast. It goes 31 km into the land. At its widest, it measures 41 km, and its deepest point is 25 m.
The largest coastal lake is the Varna Lake that covers an area of 18 square km. It is also the deepest - 19 m.
The largest glacial lake is Smradlivoto in the Rila Mountain. It covers 21.2 hectares.
The highest mountain is Rila. Its highest peak Moussala rises to an altitude of 2925 m above the sea level. This is the highest point on the Balkans. The first written evidence of the peak being climbed refers to King Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great.
The highest glacial lake is Popovoto, in the Pirin Mountain, situated at 2715 m above the sea-level.
The highest waterfall is Raiskoto Praskalo /Paradise Sprayer/ - 124 m. It is not far away from the Botev peak in the Balkan Range. The total number of falls in Bulgaria is nearly 300, 70 of which are state-guarded.
The only Bulgarian extinct volcano is Kozhukh (281 m above sea level). It is not far from the southwestern town of Petrich.
The greatest number of mineral springs are to be found in the town of Velingrad - more than 70.
The longest cave is close to the village of Bosnek, in the Vitosha Mountain near Sofia - over 15 km. Six underground rivers have dug out the labyrinths of its galleries. As many as 4000 caves have been investigated and mapped in Bulgaria so far.
The highest temperature was measured in the summer of 1916 in Sadovo, near Plovdiv - 45.2 degrees centigrade.
The heaviest rain was recorded on 21 August 1951 in the neighborhood of the port of Varna , where within only 24 hours there were rainfalls of 342 mm. The average annual precipitation for the country is 650 mm.
The most prolonged fog occurred in December 1948 in Sofia - 29 days and nights. At that same time, the fogs in Plovdiv and Lom stayed for 28 days.
The hottest mineral spring is in Sapareva Banya near the town of Dupnitsa. Its temperature is 103, 8 degrees centigrade. According to some sources, this is the hottest spring in Europe.
The oldest tree is an oak growing in the village of Granit near Stara Zagora. Its age is estimated at about 1650 years. The crown of this oak-tree covers 1017 square m; the circumference of its trunk is 7, 45 m and its height - 23, 40 m.
The "Baikusheva Mura" /white fir/ in Pirin Mountain is as old as the Bulgarian state - 1300 years.
Bisons in the Bulgarian lands disappeared as early as the Middle Ages. In 1961 the reserve near the town of Razgrad acquired 2 couples of bisons and settled them in the Voden forest. Nowadays there are several dozens of bisons in different Bulgarian preserves.
The largest amphibian is a turtle, which was caught and then set free near the town of Krumovgrad in 1987. It weighed 5 kg, was 35 cm long, and of the same height, 29 cm wide and 100-120 years old - i.e. at the age limit of animals of the European fauna. Another turtle of similar dimensions was caught some 80 years ago in the neighborhood of Kotel, a town in Central Bulgaria.
The rarest animal species is the Black Sea seal of which only 5-6 are left now. They inhabit the caves along the shoreline around the Black Sea capes of Kaliakra and Masslen.
The farthest migration is that of the eels, which live in the Bulgarian rivers, but spawn as far away as the Sargasso Sea, east of Florida, U.S.A.
The longest river running only across Bulgarian territory is Iskar - 368 km.
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