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Bulgarian
Dreams > Bulgaria
Tourist Information > History
Culture
The territory of Bulgaria has been populated
since the earliest historical times: the Stone
Age and the Chalcolithic Age. Archaeological discoveries
from that time have been made near Karlovo, in
the region of the towns of Nova Zagora, Veliko
Turnovo, Vidin, Sofia, Teteven, Troyan and in
the Rhodope Mountains. The oldest gold treasure
in the world, discovered near Varna, is dated
to that time.
During the Bronze Age the present-day Bulgarian
lands were inhabited by the Thracians, mentioned
for the first time by Homer. They were engaged
in agriculture and stockbreeding, and left evidence
of a rich culture (the Vulchitrun gold treasure).
The first Thracian state unions emerged in the
11th-6th centuries BC, which flourished in the
7th-6th centuries BC. In the 1st century BC their
lands were conquered by Rome, and after the 5th
century AD they were incorporated in the Byzantine
Empire. The Thracians were later gradually assimilated
by the Slavs who settled in the Balkan Peninsula
in the 6th century AD.
In the second half of the 7th century, the Proto-Bulgarians
- an ethnic community of Turkic origin - settled
on the territory of the present-day Northeastern
Bulgaria. In alliance with the Slavs they formed
the Bulgarian State, which was recognised by the
Byzantine Empire in 681 AD. Khan Asparouh stood
at the head of that state and Pliska was made
its capital.
Under the rule of Khan Tervel (700-718 AD), Bulgaria
expanded its territory and turned into a major
political force. Under Khan Kroum (803-814 AD)
Bulgaria bordered with the empire of Carl the
Great to the west, and to the east the Bulgarian
troops reached the walls of Constantinople, the
capital of the Byzantine Empire.
In 864 AD, during the rule of Prince Boris I
Michail (852-889 AD), the Bulgarians adopted Christianity
as their official religion. This act abolished
the ethnic differences between Proto-Bulgarians
and Slavs, and started building a unified Bulgarian
nation.
After adopting Christianity, the influence of
the Byzantine Empire grew. This is evidenced by
the ossuary in the Bachkovo Monastery (1083 AD).
Bulgarian church music was created.
In the second half of the 9th century the brothers
Cyril (Constantine the Philosopher) and Methodius
created and disseminated the Cyrillic alphabet.
Their disciples Clement and Nahum came to Bulgaria,
where they were warmly welcomed and found good
conditions for work. They developed a rich educational
and literary activity. From Bulgaria the Cyrillic
script spread to other Slavic lands as well -
present-day Serbia and Russia.
The cities of Ochrida and Pliska, and subsequently
the new capital city Veliki Preslav as well, became
centres of Bulgarian culture, and of Slav culture
as a whole.
The reign of King Simeon I (893-927 AD) marked
the "Golden Age of Bulgarian Culture",
and the territory of his state reached the Black
Sea and the Aegean Sea.
During the reign of Simeon's successors, Bulgaria
was weakened by internal struggles, the heresy
of the priest Bogomil spread and influenced the
teachings of the Cathars and Albigenses in Western
Europe.
In 1018, after prolonged wars, Bulgaria was conquered
by the Byzantine Empire. From the very first years
under Byzantine rule, the Bulgarians started fighting
for their freedom. In 1186, the uprising led by
two boyars, the brothers Assen and Peter, overthrew
the domination of the Byzantine Empire. The Second
Bulgarian Kingdom was founded, and Turnovo became
the new capital. After 1186, Bulgaria was initially
ruled by Assen, and after that by Peter.
The earlier power of Bulgaria was restored during
the reign of their youngest brother, Kaloyan (1197-1207),
and during the reign of King Ivan Assen II (1218
-1241) the Second Bulgarian Kingdom reached its
greatest upsurge: political hegemony was established
in Southeastern Europe, the territory of the country
spread to the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the
Adriatic Sea, the economy and culture developed.
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Bulgaria reached a new peak, which
lasted until the end of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom
(1186-1396). The schools of literature and the
arts in Turnovo developed the traditions in Bulgarian
culture, which is evidenced by the frescoes in
the Boyana Church, the churches in Turnovo, in
the Zemen Monastery, the churches hewn into the
rocks near Ivanovo, the miniatures in the Gospel
that belonged to King Ivan Alexander, kept at
the British Museum in London, and Manassiy's Chronicle.
In 1235, the Head of the Bulgarian Church was
given the title of Patriarch.
The strife among some of the boyars resulted
in the division of Bulgaria into two kingdoms:
the kingdoms of Vidin and Turnovo. This weakened
the country and it was conquered by the Ottoman
Empire in 1396. For nearly five centuries Bulgaria
was under Ottoman domination. The initial years
were characterised by sporadic and unorganised
attempts to win freedom. Later the appearance
of the clandestine fighters, the “haydouts”,
made the emergence of a well-organised national
liberation movement possible.
The formation of the Bulgarian nation and the
development of Bulgarian education started in
the beginning of the 18th century. One impetus
for this was the work of the monk Paissiy of Hilendar
History of Slavs and Bulgarians, written in 1762.
The ideas of national freedom led to the establishing
of an autonomous Bulgarian national Church, and
to the flourishing of education and culture. Some
of the key figures during the Bulgarian National
Revival were Zachary Zograph, Nikolay Pavlovich,
Stanislav Dospevski, and many others. That period
marked also the beginning of the first amateur
theatre performances.
The start of the organised revolutionary movement
for liberation from Ottoman domination is associated
with the work of Georgi Sava Rakovski (1821-1867)
- writer and journalist, founder and ideologist
of the national-liberal liberation movement.
The main figures in the national liberation movement
were Vassil Levski (1837-1873) - strategist and
ideologist of the movement and national hero;
Lyuben Karavelov (1834-1879) - writer and journalist,
leader and ideologist of the movement; Hristo
Botev (1848-1876) - poet and journalist, revolutionary,
democrat, national hero, and many other Bulgarians.
In 1876 the April Uprising broke out - the first
significant and organised attempt at liberation
from Ottoman domination. The uprising was brutally
crushed and drowned in blood, but it drew the
attention of the European countries to the Bulgarian
national issues. In 1878, as a result of the Russian-Turkish
War of Liberation (1877-1878), the Bulgarian State
was restored, but national unity was not achieved.
The former Bulgarian territories were divided
into three: the Principality of Bulgaria was proclaimed
- with Prince Alexander Battemberg at its head,
Eastern Rumelia - with a Christian Governor appointed
by the Sultan, while Thrace and Macedonia remained
under the domination of the Ottoman Empire.
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After 1878, the first cultural
and educational institutions in the Principality
began to be built. The St. St. Cyril and Methodius
National Library was built in 1878, the St. Kliment
Ohridski University of Sofia opened its doors
in 1888, and the Ivan Vazov National Theatre -
in 1904. The first film was shown in Rousse in
1897.
The late 19th and the early 20th century were
characterised by remarkable achievements in all
fine arts. That was the period marked by the works
of the Bulgarian poets and writers Ivan Vazov,
Aleko Konstantinov, Dimcho Debelyanov, Pencho
Slaveykov - the only Bulgarian nominated for Nobel
Prize, Peyo Yavorov and many others. The artists
Anton Mitov, Ivan Angelov, Ivan Mrkvicka, Yaroslav
Veshin, B. Schatz and others created some of the
most remarkable works of art during that time.
The late 19th century also marked the beginning
of Bulgarian professional musical culture. The
first Bulgarian composers were Emanouil Manolov,
Dimiter Christov and Georgi Atanassov-Maestro.
The decision for the fractionation of Bulgaria,
taken at the Berlin Congress (1878), was never
accepted by the people. The decisions of 1878
triggered the Kresna-Razlog Uprising (1878-1879),
which in 1885 led to the unification of the Principality
of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. The Ilinden-Preobrazhenie
Uprising also broke out (1903).
Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Bulgarian Prince
since 1887, proclaimed Bulgaria's independence
from Turkey and in 1908 became king of the Bulgarian
people. Bulgaria took part in the Balkan War (1912)
and fought together with Serbia and Greece for
the freedom of Thrace and Macedonia. Bulgaria
won that war, but in the subsequent war among
the allies (1913) it was defeated by Romania,
Turkey and by its earlier allies, who tore from
her territories with a Bulgarian population.
The intervention of Bulgaria in World War I on
the side of the Central Powers ended with a national
catastrophe. In 1918, King Ferdinand abdicated
in favour of his son Boris III. The Neuilly Peace
Treaty of 1919 imposed severe provisions on Bulgaria:
it lost its outlet on the Aegean Sea, Western
Thrace became a part of Greece, Southern Dobroudja
was annexed to Romania, and the territories around
Strumica, Bosilegrad, Zaribrod and villages around
Kula were given to the Serbian-Croatian-Slovenian
Kingdom. (Southern Dobroudja was restored to Bulgaria
by the Bulgarian-Romanian Treaty of 1940.)
The 1920s and 1930s were characterised with a
continuing flourishing of Bulgarian culture. During
that period Vladimir Dimitrov-Maistora, Zlatyu
Boyadjiev, Dechko Uzunov and many other artists
created remarkable works. The State Musical Academy
was founded in 1921. The first steps of the art
of Bulgarian ballet were made in 1928. Among the
most prominent composers of that period were Pancho
Vladigerov, Lyubomir Pipkov and Philip Koutev.
Under the Old Sky, The Cairn and Graves without
Crosses were among the best Bulgarian films in
the 1920s and 1930s. The literary works of Elin
Pelin, Yordan Yovkov, Geo Milev, Hristo Smirnenski,
Elisaveta Bagryana, Assen Raztsvetnikov, Nikola
Fournadjiev, Nikola Vaptsarov, and others, are
brilliant examples of Bulgarian poetry and prose
during that period.
In the early 1940s, Bulgaria led a policy in
the interest of Germany and the Axis powers. Later
the participation of Bulgarian cavalry units on
the Eastern Front was discontinued. King Boris
III supported the public pressure and did not
allow the deportation of about 50,000 Bulgarian
Jews.
In August 1943 King Boris III died and the regency
of the young King Simeon II took over the governing
of the country. On 5 September 1944, the Soviet
Army entered Bulgaria and on 9 September the Fatherland
Front Government, headed by Kimon Georgiev, came
to power. In 1946 Bulgaria was proclaimed to be
a People's Republic. The Queen-Mother, King Simeon
and Princess Maria-Louisa left Bulgaria for Egypt
via Turkey. The Bulgarian Communist Party came
to power. The political parties outside the Fatherland
Front were banned, the economy and the banks were
nationalised, the arable land was coercively organised
in cooperatives. The governing of the state went
successively into the hands of Georgi Dimitrov,
Vassil Kolarov, Vulko Chervenkov, Anton Yougov
and Todor Zhivkov.
The date 10 November 1989 marked the beginning
of the democratic changes in Bulgaria. A new Constitution
was adopted (1991), the political parties were
restored, the property expropriated in 1947 was
resituated, privatisation and restitution of the
land started. In 1990 Zhelyu Zhelev became President
of Bulgaria - the first democratically elected
President.
The key priorities in Bulgaria's foreign policy
became the membership in the European Union and
NATO. As a result of the country's considerable
progress towards meeting the criteria for EU membership,
Bulgaria received on 10 December 1999 the invitation
to start the pre-accession negotiations.
The negotiations started in Brussels on 15 February
2000. On 1 December 2000, the Council of Ministers
of Justice and Home Affairs of the European Union
decided to remove Bulgaria from the negative visa
list.
Subsequently, Bulgaria was invited into the EU
with full membership now ratified for the 1st
January 2007. |
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