7 Facts About Bulgaria

Whenever someone asks me where I’m from, I get two reactions while replying I’m originally from Bulgaria. Most of the time people respond with nothing because they know nothing about the country, including where it is on the map. The second most common reaction is a quiet and scorned “aha” which means, “I’ve heard about the mafia or corruption” or something else negative. And yes, even if it hurts to admit it, the bad reputation is justifiable in some cases… but maybe, you will be pleasantly surprised to learn those facts about the country. Think of it as a fun introduction to this “crazy place”, as some describe it to be. So without further ado, here’s 7 curious facts about Bulgaria.

Bulgarian Parliament in Sofia. Drone photo by Alexandr Bormotin.

1. The Cyrillic Alphabet

The single most important thing I hope you retain from this article is that the Cyrillic Alphabet is actually Bulgarian. During the 9th century, Bulgaria was an empire ruled by a tsar called Simeon, known humbly as “the Great”. It was during his rule, in the city of Preslav, that the then-used Glagolitic Script was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet. The Cyrillic alphabet is based on the Greek alphabet and has been the official script of Bulgaria since 893. Many other countries have adopted Cyrillic as their official script, among which: Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Ukraine, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. And Russia, obviously. We celebrate the Cyrillic Alphabet in Bulgaria with a national holiday which falls on the 24th of May. This day is equally regarded as a day celebrating education and Slavic literature. A final comment because I’ve been asked this way too many times: no, we don’t speak Russian in Bulgaria. We speak Bulgarian.

The cover of my first-grade Bulgarian language textbook. So much nostalgia 😌💛

2. The year 681

Bulgaria is one of the oldest countries on the European continent and we’ve kept our country’s name since 681 - the year when the First Bulgarian Empire was established by khan Asparuh.

3. The Balkans

You surely have heard of the Balkan Peninsula. But did you know that its name comes from a mountain in Bulgaria? We call it Stara Planina which translates to “The Old Mountain” and its alternative name is The Balkan. Stara Planina stretches from West to East, across all the territory of Bulgaria, dividing the country into North and South.

Image from Varna Municipality’s website.

4. Oldest Gold Treasure in the World

The oldest gold treasure in the world, dating from 4600 BC to 4200 BC, was discovered at the Varna Necropolis. Sometimes this treasure is displayed internationally in museums around the world, but under normal circumstances, you can see it at the Varna Archeological Museum.

5. Voice in Space

In 1977 NASA sent two golden phonographic records in space with the Voyager spacecraft. The records contained images and sounds from Earth with an idea to represent an encapsulation of life and the diversity of cultures on our planet. Bulgaria made its appearance on the second disk with a folk song performed by singer Valia Balkanska.

Images below from NASA, public domain.

6. Lactobacillus Bulgaricus

This is the name of a tiny bacteria that has a huge place in the identity, economy and cuisine of Bulgaria. It is used as a starter to transform fresh milk into yogurt, a major staple food in the country. Locals tend to take it for granted, but for a person who lives abroad like I do, yogurt is so precious and valued, that I’ll dedicate a full article to it. It is hard to find Bulgarian yogurt in other European countries, but Asian countries such as Japan and Thailand are among its biggest international importers and appreciators.

7. “God is Bulgarian”

One thing that I’ve learned during my travels is the uniting power of football. People around the world are crazy about this game and it’s something I’ll never ever understand 😆 I’m always so surprised when folks in Malaysia, Cambodia, Iran and even in tiny villages in Vietnam tell me they know that our national football team was very strong in 1993-1994. So here’s a funny anecdote from those years. 17th November 1993 is a day which is remembered in Bulgaria not only for the victory of our national team over the French team in Paris, but also for an epic exclamation by the sport commentator Nikolay Kolev. In a moment of sublime joy after the second and defining goal of the game scored by player Emil Kostadinov, Kolev shouted “God is Bulgarian!” live on national TV while thousands of people were watching. This phrase has remained in Bulgarian culture as a nostalgic memory of the good old days for football fans.

Emil Kostadinov during the 1993 football game, image from Reuters Archive.

That’s it for the 7 random facts about Bulgaria! Now you have the knowledge to impress any Bulgarian you meet at a dinner party. Speaking of which, coming next on the blog is everyone’s favorite topic: cuisine.

Sources consulted for this article: Encyclopedia Britannica & World History Encyclopedia