Bulgaria has an amazing history which is both extensive and turbulent. To give you a taste of why Bulgaria’s culture is so fascinating and varied today, the major points of historical significance are listed below:
7th Century BC to 7th Century AD. The Thracians, Greeks, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Slavs and Bulgars all invaded and ruled in what we call Bulgaria today. Each race made a significant impact on the cultural life and traditions that we now experience.
From 681 AD to 1800’s, Bulgaria has seen a succession of government. The First & Second Bulgarian Empires where established and then abolished by the invading Byzantine and Ottoman Empires respectively. Then, after a period of National Revival, Bulgaria convened the first National Assembly in 1879.
Bulgaria then hit hard times during the War Years from 1908 – 1945. First, independence from Turkey, then The Balkan Wars (1912/13), followed by WW1 and WW2. In 1946, The People’s Republic of Bulgaria was proclaimed by the Communist Party and the country fell asleep under the regime on the international scene.
The fall of Communism in 1989, saw Todor Zhivkov resign and the free market economy was introduced in 1990 after the first Parliamentary elections. The first Presidential elections were held in 1992.
A decade or so later, the world sees Bulgaria in a new light. With joining NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007, Bulgaria is now recognised internationally in the free market, even though it has been slow to drag itself out of the communist years. |
