August 2017 I ISSUE 19
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ISSN 2367-4717 I FREE GUIDE IN ENGLISH + MAP I July - August 2017 I ISSUE 19 BULGARIA IN BRIEF 1 2 BULGARIA IN BRIEF 4 BULGARIA IN BRIEF 8 OVERVIEW 18 ACCOMMODATION 22 BARS AND RESTAURANTS 24 ENTERTAINMENT 26 CULTURE “St. St. Konstantin 36 USEFUL NUMBERS and Helena” Church, Old Town ® P lovdiv City Info Guide Publisher: “St. St. Konstantin and Helena” Nova Advertising Ltd. Church is one of the ancient Christian UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ACADEMIC OPERA /Нова Адвъртайзинг ЕООД/ temples in Plovdiv. It is located in the center of the old part of the Manager: Lyudmila Mladenova city, on the very wall of the ancient Editor: Lyubina Panayotova Acropolis. The church is part of the Design: Nova Advertising Ltd. “Old Plovdiv” Architectural Complex – together with other monuments such Cover: “St. St. Konstantin and Helena” Church as the Dzhumaya Mosque – from Print: Janet 45 Ltd. the 14th-15th centuries, the “Holy For Advertising, Assumption” Cathedral Church, the Bulk Orders and Subscriptions: “St. Marina” Church and the Ancient (before 10th of the preceding month, please!) Theater. Next to the Cristian temple is situated the so-called “Hissar Kapia”, Phone: 02 980 85 01 which during Roman times was the Cell: 0896 717 225 Eastern gate of the ancient city – the E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] road to the Far East. facebook.com/cityinfoguides.bulgaria 24, Saborna Str., Old Town All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission. Monthly circulation: 5 000 WWW.CITYINFOguIDES.COM www.cityinfoguides.com BULGARIA IN BRIEF 3 GRAB YOUR FREE CITY GUIDE AND HAVE A NICE STAY www.cityinfoguides.com 4 BULGARIA IN BRIEF WELCOME TO BULGARIA Religion: Orthodox Average summer temperatures: 26° to 30°C Welcome to one of the oldest European states Average winter temperatures: -5° to 5°C with 6000-years old gold treasures, a center Time zone: GMT +2 of ancient civilizations, a country that hosts the Country dialing code: 00 359 sanctuary of the mystical singer Orpheus and Internet country code: .bg gave to the Slavonic people the Cyrillic alphabet. Capital: Sofia Bulgaria is the only one country in Europe Currency: Bulgarian Lev (BGN) that hasn’t changed its name since it was first established. The Bulgarian army has never lost a single flag in battle. The flag of Bulgaria is a HISTORY tricolor consisting of three equal-sized horizontal The Bulgarian state was founded circa 681 as bands of (from top to the bottom) white, green a union of the new-settled Proto-Bulgarians, of and red. It was first adopted after Russo-Turkish seven Slavonic tribes who have already settled War (1877-1878), where Bulgaria regained inde- this territory and with the inclusion of some pendence. The current flag was re-established smaller ethnical groups (Thracians and others). with the 1991 Constitution of Bulgaria. The state was ruled by its founder Khan Asparuh, the leader of the proto-Bulgarians and the first Bulgarian capital was Pliska. The Thracians were a tribal society who inhabited a vast area in Central and Southeastern Europe. They were well-known in the Ancient world for making filigree gold and silver jewelry. The great Homer described in his masterpiece Iliad a Thracian king, having “the biggest and the most handsome horses I have ever seen, /whiter than snow and swifter than the winds/and a chariot COAT OF ARMS OF BULGARIA finely wrought with silver and gold.” IMPORTANT & SIGNIFICANT EVENTS 681 – The Bulgarian state acquired political recognition from the Byzantine Empire. 718 – The Bulgarian Khan Tervel has stopped the Arabic invasion to European continent. 855 – The Cyrillic alphabet by the brothers Cyril and Methodius. It corresponded perfectly to the phonetic riches and needs of the Slavonic- Bulgarian language. As of today more than 250 million people in Europe and Asia use the Cyrillic alphabet for their national languages. Details Armiger - Republic of Bulgaria 864 – During his rule Knyaz Boris I converted the Adopted - 1997 state to Orthodox Christianity. Crest - Crown of theSecond Bulgarian Empire Escutcheon - Gules, a lion rampant crowned 893-927 – During the Golden Age of Tzar Simeon Supporters - Two lions rampant crowned The Greatest the First Bulgarian State stretched Compartment - Two crossed oak branches gradually from Transylvania in the north, to the with fruits Aegean Sea in the south, from the Black Sea in Motto - Съединението прави силата the east and to the Adriatic Sea in the west. At this time Bulgaria gradually reached its cultural “Saedinenieto pravi silata” and territorial apogee, when it developed into “Unity makes strength” the cultural and literary center of Slavic Europe, as well as becoming one of the largest states FACTS & FIGURES in Europe. Population: 7 364 570 Area: 110 993 sq. km 1018 – The Bulgarian army fell to Byzantines and Language: Bulgarian after that the Bulgaria State had been conquered BULGARIA IN BRIEF 5 by the Emperor Vassileios II. BORDERS THROUGH THE CENTURIES 1185 – The Second Bulgarian State was estab- Bulgaria has expanded twice its borders to the lished at Veliko Tarnovo, reinstated the borders of shores of Black, Aegean and Adriatic seas. the First Bulgarian Kingdom and a second Golden Bulgarian Empire is a term used to describe Age began during which Bulgaria expanded its two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, borders to the shores of Black, Aegean and during which it acted as a key regional power in Adriatic seas. Europe in particular, often rivaling Byzantium. Here is the picture of Bulgarian borders in our 1396-1878 – The country was under the rule of days. the Ottoman Empire. 1878 – Liberation from the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Establishment of the Third Bulgarian State. 1878-1879 – As the result of the Treaty of Berlin, the Bulgarian State was divided in two territories. An autonomous Principality of Bulgaria was cre- ated, between the Danube and the Stara Planina range, with its seat at the old Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo, and including Sofia. An autono- CITY mous Ottoman province under the name of INFO Eastern Rumelia was created south of the Stara GUIDES Planina range, whereas Macedonia was returned .com under the sovereignty of the Sultan. For more info, look for Varna, 06.09.1908 – The establishment of the Burgas and Plovdiv City Info Guides Independence of Bulgaria. On that date Eastern WWW.CITYINFOGUIDES.COM Rumelia rejects the rule of Sultan and announced that joined the Principality of Bulgaria. Two Unesco Heritage days later, the Prince Alexander Battenberg First signed a manifesto to approve the accession of The UNESCO List of World Heritage now the field and taken to be titled as a future prince features 9 landmarks in our country. Nine of Northern and Southern Bulgaria. Bulgarian wonders - seven cultural and two natural sites – are included among them: Rila 1944 – The After Communist Party, led by Georgi Monastery, Nessebar, The Kazanluk Tomb, The Dimitrov, took the power as a result of almost Sveshtari Tomb, The Madara Horseman, The bloodless coup d’état and proclaimed Bulgaria Boyana Church, The Ivanovo Rock Monasteries, for a “People’s Republic” in 1946 after a contro- Pirin National Park, Sreburna Lake. versial referendum. National Holidays 10.11.1989 – The Communist regime ended 1 January – New Year’s Day when Bulgaria peacefully ousted the Communist 3 March – National Holiday /The liberation of Party leader Todor Zhivkov. the Bulgarian land from the Ottoman Empire is celebrated on this day/ 1989 – The establishment of a multi-party 1 May – Labour and International Worker’s system and the begging of the Bulgaria’s democ- Solidarity Day ratization. 6 May – St. George’s Day (Gergyovden) and the Bulgarian Army’s Day 12.07.1991 – The new Constitution of the 24 May – Bulgarian Education, Culture and Republic of Bulgaria was adopted and it pro- Cyrillic Alphabet Day claimed the country as a parliamentary republic. 6 September – Unification Day 22 September – Independence Day 29.03.2004 – Bulgaria joined NATO. 1 November – Day of the Bulgarian Enlighteners (Holiday for all educational institutions) 01.01.2007 – The country became a member of 24 December - Christmas Eve the European Union. 25, 26 December – Christmas Days 6 BULGARIA IN BRIEF BULGARIA IN BRIEF 7 The Bagpipe Contest in the village of Gela will the authentic Rhodope folklore, history and take place on 5th and 6th of August 2017. The traditions. The Bulgarian contestants must event happens on the first Saturday of August and play the pieces on low-voiced bagpipes (“kaba on Sunday it becomes part of the large Ilinden gaida”). assembly in the village of Gela. The contestants are divided into three age This celebration of the Bulgarian folk music, groups and they have to meet the following played on the Rhodope bagpipes, has over 100 requirements: years of history. The main goal of the festival is - First age group – up to 14 years of age: to popularize the authentic Rhodope folklore. An They perform a piece of their choice up to 5 obligatory condition for the Bulgarian participants minutes long; is the performances on the “kaba gaida”. - Second age group – between 15 and 20 The local event has gained popularity and it grew years of age: into an international forum. Gela is a small village They must perform a slow and a fast piece up in southern Bulgaria, near the city of Smolyan. A to 6 minutes long; legend says that Gela is Orpheus’s birthplace and - Third age group – over 21 years of age: that he was stepping down to seek Eurydice in the They perform a slow and a fast piece up to 7 nearby Devil’s Throat cave. minutes long.