About Bulgaria

Bulgaria is situated in the South-Eastern, in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula. In borders with Romania to the North, Serbia and Macedonia to the West, Greece and Turkey to the South and the Black Sea to the East. Bulgaria covers an area of 110,993 sq.km and the country's population number about 7.8 million. Its territory is about the same size as that of Portugal in Europe, the US state of Ohio in North America, Jordan in Asia, Guatemala and Cuba in Latin America and Liberia in Africa.
Most of Bulgaria's land, in its contemporary boundaries, lies between 41 and 44 degrees northern latitude. Sofia, its capital city, is in approximately the same latitude as Rome, Madrid, Chicago and Beijing. The country's climate is temperate continental, warm Mediterranean breeze is often felt in its southern parts, the Central European air - in its north-western regions, and the air of the Russian Steppes - in its northeastern territory.

The landscape of Bulgaria is fascinatingly varied - low, medium and high mountains, hills and plateaus, low lands and plains, gorges and passes, valleys and meadows, gulfs and beaches. The Rila and Pirin alpine mountains exceed 2,900 m above sea level. Stara Planina is the longest mountain range, dividing the country into two parts. Called also the Balkan /range/, it is the "name-giver" of the whole peninsula. The forests, deciduous and coniferous, are large in number but not startling in size. The Great Bulgarian Wood (Magna silva bulgarica), famous in the Middle Ages, is only a legend now. The rivers are numerous, but not very long and deep. None of them are navigable today. The longest river running solely through Bulgarian territory is the Iskar - 368 km. Bulgaria's northern borderline follows the Danube. It connects Bulgaria with the Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany, as well as with the system of the navigable canals of the whole of Europe.

The largest lakes in the Balkans are the Ohrid and the Prespa lakes which are closely connected with Bulgarian history. More than one quarter of the country's territory is covered with forests. The Edelweiss which grows in places difficult to access in the Pirin Mountains and the Balkan Range, is one of the rare plants growing in the country.

Bulgaria is famous for its oleaginous rose which blooms in the Valley of Roses. The Bulgarian tobacco brands are world - famous. The Bulgarian fauna is no less interesting, with almost 13 000 animal species and subspecies, or about 14 percent of all European species. Fishing is possible in lakes, dams, mountain brooks and sea, hunting - in special hunting grounds.

The mineral resources have been exploited ever since Thracian times. Predominant are woodland soils and chernozems /rich black soils/. Owing to its fertile soil, as well as to its other geographic and climatic conditions, Bulgaria has enjoyed the fame of a place blessed for agricultural work ever since the period of classical antiquity. The vine was cultivated here, this is one of the centres where vegetable and fruit-growing were developed. The vegetation is mainly European, largely enriched however, with Mediterranean, Caucasian, Steppe and Asia Minor influences. The animal population is typical of Europe. In its flora and fauna there is a large number of endemic species - species that can be found nowhere else in the world. Moreover, there are a number of nature reserves, mountains and lakes in Bulgaria that are of international interest.