ISSN 1311-9753 I FREE MONTHLY GUIDE + MAP I JULY 2014 I ISSUE 253 BULGARIA IN BRIEF 1 2 BULGARIA IN BRIEF 4 BULGARIA IN BRIEF 5 KM RUN 18 SOFIA OVERVIEW 26 ACCOMMODATION 36 BARS AND p. 35 RESTAURANTS 44 ENTERTAINMENT YANNI 52 CULTURE 58 UsEFUL NUMBERS TORI AMOS 60 INDEX p. 57 For Advertising, Bulk Orders and Subscriptions: (before 10th of the preceding month, please!) Sofia City ® Info Guide Phone: 02 980 85 01 Publisher: Cell: 0896 717 225 Nova Advertising Ltd. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] /Нова Адвъртайзинг ЕООД/ Manager: Lyudmila Mladenova Translations: Pro Trans Expert Ltd. Sofia City Info Guide Design: Nova Advertising Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior On the Cover: Photo by Mihail Spirov permission. Monthly circulation: 20 000 Print: Janet 45 Ltd. www.cityinfoguide.net www.cityinfoguides.com BULGARIA IN BRIEF 3 44 BULGARIABULGARIA ININ BRIEFBRIEF WELCOME TO BULGARIA Welcome to one of the oldest European states with 6000-year old gold treasures, a centre of ancient civilizations, a country that hosts the sanctuary of the mystical singer Orpheus and gave to the Slavonic world the first letters. Bulgaria is a small country by area and population, but it was this spectacular piece of land that God Almighty blessed with unearthly beautiful nature, proud people and rich cultural heritage Bulgarians are also quite hospitable nation – they will greet you like dear guests, will open their hearts filigree gold and silver jewelry. The great Homer and homes to you and will see you off with sincere described in his masterpiece Iliad a Thracian king, wishes for you to come back soon again... having “the biggest and the most handsome horses I have ever seen,/whiter than snow and swifter than FACTS & FIGURES the winds/and a chariot finely wrought with silver Population: 7 364 570 and gold.” Area: 110 993 sq. km The newly established state acquired political Language: Bulgarian recognition from the Byzantine Empire in 681 A.D. Religion: Orthodox The state was ruled by its founder Khan Asparuh, Average summer temperatures: 26° to 30°C the leader of the proto-Bulgarians, and its capital Average winter temperatures: -5° to 5°C was Pliska. Time zone: GMT +2 (Apr-Sept GMT +3) The First Bulgarian State stretched gradually from Country dialing code: 00 359 Transylvania in the north to the Aegean Sea in the Internet country code: .bg south and from the Black Sea in the east to the President: Rosen Plevneliev Adriatic Sea in the west. It fell to the Byzantines in Administrative division: 28 regions 263municipalities 1018 after it had been conquered by the Emperor Capital: Sofia (population 1 291 591) Vassileios II. Major Cities: Plovdiv (671 918), Varna (468 220), During that period the Slavic alphabet was created Bourgas (409 018), Rousse (230 847), Stara in 855. It was called Cyrillic alphabet, named Zagora (327 576), Pleven (266 144), Sliven (193 after St. Cyril, and corresponded perfectly to the 609), Dobrich (186 016), Shumen (180 452), phonetic riches and needs of the Slavonic-Bulgarian Pernik (133 750), Yambol (129 156), Haskovo language. As of today more than 250 million people (242 030). in Europe and Asia use the Cyrillic alphabet for their Location and Territory national languages and half of them are in Russia. Bulgaria is located in South-Eastern Europe and With the accession of Bulgaria to the EU, the Cyrillic occupies the Eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. alphabet became the third official one of the union. To the North, the country borders with Romania via Another major historical landmark took place in this the Danube River, to the East it touches the Black period when Knyaz Boris I converted the state to Sea, its southern neighbors are Turkey and Greece, Orthodox Christianity in 864. and to the West it borders with the Republics of The Second Bulgarian State, established in 1185 at Macedonia and Serbia. The total territory of the Veliko Tarnovo, reinstated the borders of the First country is 110 993 sq. km and Bulgaria ranks 15th Bulgarian Kingdom and a second Golden Age began in size among the other European countries. during which Bulgaria expanded its borders to the shores of Black, Aegean and Adriatic seas History From 1396 to 1878 the country was under the rule The Bulgarian state was founded circa 681 as (the so called ‘yoke’) of the Ottoman Empire. a union of the new-settled Proto-Bulgarians, of Sofia became the capital of Bulgaria after the Veliko seven Slavonic tribes who have already settled this Tarnovo Constitution was accepted in 1879. From territory and with the inclusion of some smaller 1878 (liberation from the rule of the Ottoman Empire) ethnical groups (Thracians and others) to 1944, Bulgaria enjoyed a brief but unstable period The Thracians were a tribal society who inhabited a of relative freedom. After 1944 the Communist vast area in Central and Southeastern Europe. They Party, led by its leader Georgi Dimitrov,took the were well known in the Ancient world for making power as a result of almost bloodless coup d’état 5 66 BULGARIABULGARIA ININ BRIEFBRIEF and proclaimed Bulgaria a People’s Republic in 1946 considerable exports. after a controversial referendum. The Communist In 2009, Bulgaria’s GDP fell by 5.1 %, ending regime lasted until November 10th, 1989 when a three-year growth pattern. However after the Bulgaria peacefully ousted the Communist Party economy’s stagnation in 2010, in 2011 and 2012, leader Todor Zhivkov. the real GDP growth reached 0.2% and 1.7%. One of the first signs of Bulgaria’s democratization Currently Bulgaria ranks 59th (out of 183 world after 1989 was the establishment of a multi-party economies) in the Doing Business 2012 report of system. The new Constitution of the Republic of the IFC and the World Bank, measuring business Bulgaria, adopted on July 12, 1991, proclaimed regulations and their enforcement. the country as a parliamentary republic. On March 29, 2004 Bulgaria joined NATO, and on January Currency Bulgarian Lev is pegged to the EURO (EURO 1 = 1st, 2007 the country became a member of the BGN 1, 95583). Nowadays coins in circulation European Union. are issued in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 stotinki and 1 lev. State System Banknotes circulate in the form of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 State power in Bulgaria is divided into three branches: and 100 leva. legislative (represented by the National Assembly), Banking System executive (represented by the Bulgarian Government At this point 30 banks are functioning in the country, and the Presidency) and judiciary legislative serving their consumers through well distributed (represented by the Supreme Judiciary Council and and balanced network of 2929 branches. The the Supreme Court of Cassation). banks in Bulgaria are stable, have excellent capital The National Assembly of Bulgaria (Narodno adequacy and liquidity indicators and the banking Subranie) consists of 240 deputies, elected for supervision operates properly. The banking system 4-year terms. The parliament enacts laws, approves works according to the European legislation and the budget of the country and ratifies the international world standards, and 80% of it is formed of top- treaties and agreements. rated banks of the Euro-zone. The three biggest Currently there are four parties in the 42nd National banks – Unicredit Bulbank, DSK Bank and the Assembly. The largest one is the rightwing party United Bulgarian Bank, possess over 40% of all Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, bank assets and generate over a half of the profit having 93 seats, followed by the leftwing Coalition in the sector. The Bulgarian consumer is still for Bulgaria, with 83 seats, the Movement for Rights conservative and prefers to pay in cash. However, and Freedoms, with 36 seats and the far right different modern ways of bank payments have been nationalist party “Ataka” with 23 seats. There are also developing fast in the recent years. 4 independent deputies. The President of Bulgaria is elected for a 5-year term Religion and is the head of state and the commander in chief A full freedom of the religious denominations is of the armed forces. proclaimed in the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria. Economy According to the census from 2011, 76% of Before the changes in Eastern Europe, the country the population are Eastern Orthodox Christians, was entirely dependent on the Soviet Union and the 10 % are Muslims, 0.8% - Catholics, 1.1% are socialist block. A positive change began in 1997, Protestants and 0,2 % belong to other religions. when the currency board system was introduced in Bulgaria, i.e. the national currency (BGN) was fixed Population and Ethnic Groups to the German Mark, and later to the Euro. Thanks to Bulgaria is a country with a population of almost the strict monetary discipline of the currency board 8 million people. Until the middle of the last in combination with a series of radical reforms, the century three quarters of the population lived in economic system was stabilized and the restoration the villages. At the end of the century, as a result process was initiated. of the process of rapid industrialization and the The years of development of the national economy consequent migration to the cities, the ratio has between 1998 and 2005, seeing an average GDP been reversed and today 70% of the total population growth of 4.5%, were followed by more rapid growth is an urban one. of GDP. In 2005, GDP growth reached 5.5%, in With its 1, 5 million residents the capital Sofia is 2006 – 6, 1 %, 2007 – 6, 2 %, 2008 – 6,6% .