Portal:Bulgaria

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Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located west of the Black Sea and south of the Danube river, Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north. It covers a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi) and is the 16th largest country in Europe. Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city; other major cities include Burgas, Plovdiv, and Varna.

Bulgaria has an upper-middle-income economy, its market economy is part of the European Single Market and is largely based on services, followed by industry—especially machine building and mining—and agriculture. The country faces a demographic crisis; its population peaked at 9 million in 1989, and has since decreased to under 6.4 million as of 2024. Bulgaria is a member of the European Union, the Schengen Area, NATO, and the Council of Europe. It is also a founding member of the OSCE and has taken a seat on the United Nations Security Council three times. (Full article...)

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Engraving of Ivan Shishman as a child from the Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander

Ivan Shishman (Bulgarian: Иван Шишман) ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Tarnovo from 1371 to 3 June 1395. The authority of Ivan Shishman was limited to the central parts of the Bulgarian Empire.

In the wake of the death of Ivan Alexander, the Bulgarian Empire was subdivided into three kingdoms among his sons, with Ivan Shishman taking the Tаrnovo Kingdom situated in central Bulgaria and his half brother Ivan Sratsimir holding the Vidin Tsardom. Although his struggle to repel the Ottomans differentiated him from the other rulers on the Balkans like the Serbian despot Stephan Lazarevic who became a loyal vassal to the Ottomans and paid annual tribute and participated in all of the Ottoman campaigns subsequent to the battle of Kosovo, contributing a 5,000 strong contingent of christian knights. Although Ivan Shishman has been categorized as indecisive and inconsistent in his policy in the past, this was done with little regard for an understanding of the context of the conditions and limited resources that this ruler had at his disposal. It is notable that Ivan Shishman is the only Balkan ruler for whom there is no evidence of tribute paid to the Ottoman empire or any military aid provided. Based on historical evidence and the numerous folk songs of the region glorifying his struggle against the Ottoman invaders, the image of Ivan Shishman is one of fierce and concerted resistance to the Ottoman incursions.

Regardless, in 1393 the Ottoman Turks seized the capital Tarnovo. Two years later, Sultan Bayezid I captured Nicopolis with a surprise approach from the north of the fortress after two failed campaigns in Hungary and Wallachia, summoning Ivan Shishman on the false pretense of a discussion and had him executed by beheading. (Full article...)

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... that Tsvetana Jermanova survived imprisonment in two forced labour camps in communist Bulgaria?

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Gallery

Image 1Maritsa is a river in South Bulgaria.
Image 2Razgrad is a city in East Bulgaria.
Image 3Varna lake is a salt lake near Black sea.
Image 4Rila is a mountain in West Bulgaria
Image 5A beach in Bulgaria.
Image 6Sofia is the biggest city in Bulgaria.
Image 7Danube river in Bulgaria

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Credit: Deyan Vasilev (Dido3)

A view of the northern part of the Pirin mountain. The second-highest mountain of Bulgaria, Pirin is famed for its 176 glacier lakes and harbours the UNESCO World Heritage Pirin National Park.

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More did You Know?

...that the Zograf Monastery (pictured) on the Holy Mountain was burnt down by a Catalan pirate raid in 1275?

...that Mandritsa is known as the only Albanian village in Bulgaria?

...that the Banat Bulgarian Stefan Dunjov participated in both the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the Italian unification, and was the first Bulgarian to be promoted to the rank of Colonel?

...that Ivan Bogorov, who published the first Bulgarian newspaper in 1846 in Leipzig, was also an ardent supporter of Bulgarian linguistic purism and was known for his often amusing neologisms?

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