Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

602 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

the borders almost as far as

Constantinople. However, a Byzantine

resur gence halted further expansion.

The Ottoman Turks conquered

Bulgaria in the 1390s and ruled it for

almost 500 years, cutting the country

off from Western Europe and

weakening its language and culture.

An upsurge of Bulgarian culture

known as the National Revival took

place in the 19th century, and young

patriots planned a revolt. The

so-called April Rising began in 1876

but was quashed by the Ottomans.

Outraged by the mas sacre that took

place, public support in Russia and

Western Europe took up the Bulgarian

cause. Russia declared war on the

Ottomans in April 1877, resulting in

the creation of an indepen dent

Bulgarian state. The new Bulgaria

was initially intended to include

Macedonia as well but this was

prevented by the European powers at

the Congress of Berlin in 1878.

Eager to force the Ottomans out of

Macedonia, Bulgaria was drawn into

an alli ance with Serbia and Greece.

In the First Balkan War of 1912, the

three Balkan states defeated the

Ottomans but disagreed on how to

divide their conquests. Bulgaria

dec lared war on Serbia and Greece

but was defeated in the Second

Balkan War of 1913.

In 1941, two years after the

outbreak of World War II, Bulgaria

joined Germany. However, it switched

sides in 1944, hoping in vain to head

off an invasion by the Soviet Red

Army. Supported by the Soviets, the

Bulgarian Communists staged a coup

and ruled the country for the next 45

years. The Communist regime

disintegrated in 1989 but economic

collapse soon followed. Bulgaria’s

entry into the EU in 2007 marked a

new phase in the country’s voyage

from post-Communist chaos to

political and economic stability.

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

The country’s official language is

Bulgarian, a Slavonic language

related to Serbian, Russian and

Croatian. It is written in the Cyrillic

script, although Roman lettering is

sometimes used on public signs.

With heritage playing a highly

visible role in Bulgarian society,

religious holidays, saints’ days and

folk festivals form the backbone of

Bulgaria’s festive calendar.

Bulgarian soldiers during the Second Balkan War, 1913

KEY DATES IN BULGARIAN HISTORY

1000–800 BC The Thracians begin to form

powerful tribal states in Bulgaria

AD 50 Thracian lands are captured by the

Romans

681 The Bulgars conquer the land south of

the Danube

930 Rila Monastery is founded by St Ivan

of Rila

1393 The Ottomans seize the capital of Bulgaria

1830 The National Revival gains momentum,

bringing with it a flowering of the arts

1876 The April Rising

1877–8 The Russo-Turkish War ends in defeat

for the Ottomans

1912–13 First Balkan War against the Ottomans

1913 Second Balkan War

1915–18 Bulgaria joins World War I on the

German side

1944 Bulgarian Communists, supported by the

Soviet Red Army, seize power

1946 Bulgaria becomes a republic

2004 Bulgaria joins NATO

2007 Bulgaria becomes a member of the EU