X-Nico

24 unusual facts about Bulgaria


1951–52 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 1951–52 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the first season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

1952–53 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 1952–53 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the second season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

1969–70 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 1969–70 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the 18th season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

1970–71 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 1970–71 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the 19th season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

1971–72 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 1971–72 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the 20th season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

1995–96 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 1995–96 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the 44th season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

2000–01 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 2000–01 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the 49th season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

2002–03 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 2002–03 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the 51st season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

2009–10 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 2009–10 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the 58th season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

2012–13 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 2012–13 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the 61st season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

Albanians in Bulgaria

Indeed, the toponym Arbanasi, a village near the city of Tarnovo, is a hint at Albanian settlement in the region.

Batovo

Batovo, Bulgaria, a village in the municipality of Dobrichka in Dobrich Province, Bulgaria

Borovo Municipality, Bulgaria

It is named after its administrative centre - the town of Borovo.

Bulgarian resistance movement during World War II

In the Tran, Rhodopes and Sredna Gora regions, the partisans were a constant threat to the government.

Bunavad

An inauguration ceremony for the airline and its first scheduled air service, between Sofia, Ruse, and Varna, was held at Sofia Bozhurishte Airport on 25 October 1927.

Chalga

Whilst in the People's Republic of Bulgaria, Chalga was forbidden by the ruling Communist governments.

Cherno more

Cherno More is the Bulgarian name of the Black Sea (see: Bulgarian Black Sea Coast)

Eduard Totleben

The village of Totleben in Pordim municipality, Pleven Province, is named after Eduard Totleben, in honour of his decisive role in the Siege of Plevna of 1877.

Karakachanov

Karakachanov is a Bulgarian family name related to the Sarakatsani.

Nicholas Hartwig

Hartwig was a key figure in the formation of the system of alliances formed in 1912 between Serbia and Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro (the Balkan League).

Ohrid Literary School

After Clement was ordained bishop of Drembica (Velika) in 893, the position of head of the school was assumed by Naum of Preslav.

Shale gas by country

"Fracking" is prohibited by moratorium despite the 30-million-euro contract signed with Chevron for the exploration of shale gas deposits in Novi Pazar.

Vetovo Municipality

Since 1992 Vetovo Municipality has comprised the former municipality of Senovo and the numbers in the table reflect this unification.

Yordanov

Yordanov (masculine) or Yordanova (feminine) is one of the most popular surnames in Bulgaria.


1802 Vrancea earthquake

Earthquake caused fear in Warsaw (Poland), and in Bulgaria, the cities of Ruse, Varna and Vidin suffered some damage and panic amongst the population.

1999–2000 Bulgarian Hockey League season

The 1999-00 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the 48th season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria.

4th Land Force Brigade

It is covering the territory of southern Serbia, from the border with the Republic of Macedonia in the south to the border with Bulgaria in the east and the administrative border with Kosovo in the west to the area around the city of Leskovac in the north.

Alino, Sofia Province

Alino is a village in Samokov Municipality, Sofia Province, Bulgaria.

Association of Special Fares Agents

The administrative office of ASFA moved in 1998 to Sofia, Bulgaria.

Balgarevo

Later in mid-19th century large families from Kotel, Elena and Yambol regions follow the 'emigration flow' from inner Bulgaria to Dobrudja and settled in the village.

Black-headed Bunting

In Bulgaria, the collapse of the drying cotton thistle (Onopordum acanthium) stems on which the birds build their nests has caused high mortality; this is thought to be an example of an ecological trap.

Bunovo, Kyustendil Province

Bunovo is a village in Kyustendil Municipality, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria.

Congress of Berlin

The Congress of Berlin returned territories to the Ottoman Empire that the previous treaty had given to the Principality of Bulgaria, most notably Macedonia, thus setting up a strong revanchist demand in Bulgaria that in 1912 led to the First Balkan War.

Constantine Dragases

Constantine Dragaš, Serbian Prince of Velebusdos; Serres, Greece; and the Struma River valley in western Bulgaria

Devin Hydro Power Plant

The Devin Hydro Power Plant is an active hydro power project in Devin, Bulgaria.

Dimitar Agura

With the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, Dimitar Agura arrived in the newly established Principality of Bulgaria and worked as a clerk at the Ministry of Interior (1879–1883).

Dwijen Mukhopadhyay

As a member of ‘Indian Cultural Delegation’, he toured Soviet Union and East European countries like Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia.

Etropole Monastery

In the late 19th century, during the last decades of the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria, Elephant the time of Bulgaria's struggle for independence, the monastery provided shelter to national hero Vasil Levski and other anti-Ottoman revolutionaries.

Gabriele Nissim

On 6 November 1998 the Sobranie (Sofia's Parliament) knighted him Sir of Madera, the highest cultural honor in Bulgaria, for discovering Dimitar Peshev, the saviour of the Bulgarian Jews.

Hristofor Zhefarovich

In his testament, he explicitly noted that his relatives were "of Bulgarian nationality" ("булгарской нации", bulgarskoy natsii) and from Dojran.

Ilinden Peak

The feature is "named after the settlement of Ilinden in Southwestern Bulgaria, in connection with the 1903 Bulgarian uprising of Ilinden-Preobrazhenie for the liberation of Macedonia and Odrin (Adrianople) Thrace".

Jacob Svetoslav

One such territory was the Svrljig region lying southwest of Vidin, which in 1278 was documented as belonging to Bulgaria.

John Flournoy Montgomery

Montgomery was clearly expected to watch over the political intrigues not only in Budapest but, from his central location on the Danube, to monitor the goings-on in Hungary’s neighbors (Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia) and other countries in the region as well, including Bulgaria, Poland, Germany and Italy.

José Augusto Torres

Torres' last game was a 2–2 draw, again against Bulgaria for the 1974 World Cup qualifiers, on 13 October 1973 (at the age of 35).

Kalotina

Kalotina is known for the Kalotina-Gradinje border checkpoint, one of Bulgaria's busiest and best-known due to the proximity to Sofia.

Karaağaç railway station

The line was used by the Greek State Railways (OSE) until 1971 when the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) built a line from Pehlivanköy through the city of Edirne to the Bulgarian border, and OSE built a short cut-off between Marasia and Nea Vyssa to avoid Turkish territory near Edirne.

Karamesutlu

It lies on the highway that connects Babaeski to Kırklareli and further extends to Dereköy, the customs with Bulgaria.

Kosovo Campaign Medal

The Air Campaign refers to any flight operations which are performed in the land area and air space of Serbia (including Kosovo), Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, and Slovenia, as well as the waters and air space of the Adriatic and Ionian Sea, provided such flight operations are in direct support of Kosovo peacekeeping actions.

Macedonia in the Middle Ages

Republic of Macedonia, a country composed of Bulgaria (theme) and the Slavic states in the Middle Ages

Mad River

Erythropotamos, a river in Bulgaria and Greece known in Bulgarian as Luda reka ("Mad River")

Mario Rizzi

Mario Rizzi (March 3, 1926 – April 13, 2012) was the Roman Catholic Italian titular archbishop of Bagnoregio and apostolic nuncio to Bulgaria 1991-1996.

Mark Aizlewood

His debut came in a 2–1 friendly defeat to Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on 25 February 1986, his last appearance came on 14 December 1994 as Wales lost 3–0 to Bulgaria in a Euro 96 qualifier at Cardiff Arms Park.

Negru Vodă, Constanța

The town is close to the border with Bulgaria and there is a border crossing linking Negru Voda to the Bulgarian village Kardam.

Nevestino Cove

Named after the three settlements of Nevestino situated in southeastern, southern, and western Bulgaria respectively.

Ochindol

The village contains a monument representing Ivan Vazov's character 'Grandfather Yotso', a symbol of liberation from the Ottoman Empire and the progress of independent Bulgaria.

Orient campaign medal

These battles culminated in the 1918 successful offensive under French general Louis Franchet d'Espèrey in Macedonia knocking Bulgaria out of the war and the overrunning of much of the Balkans.

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 was a Boeing 737-200 flight from Sacramento, California to Los Angeles that was hijacked by Dimitr Alexiev and Michael Azmanoff, two Bulgarian immigrants, on July 5, 1972 shortly after take-off from Sacramento Airport.

Peace of Szeged

They had several advantages over the Ottomans, allowing them to win the first encounters, such as forcing Kasim Pasha of Rumelia and his co-commander Turakhan Beg to abandon camp and flee to Sofia, Bulgaria to warn Murad of the invasion.

Philippopolis

Plovdiv, Bulgaria (named after Philip II of Macedon, Alexander the Great's father)

Porky pine

They performed a lot of concerts around Bulgaria and its Black Sea Coast.

Richard Dunne

He played in all ten games helping Ireland finish second and qualify for a play-off whilst also scoring goals in both 1–1 draws with Bulgaria, as well as winning the man of the match award in the away game held in Sofia.

Saedinenie Snowfield

The feature was named after the Bulgarian town of Saedinenie (‘Reunification’), in association with the 120th anniversary of the Reunification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the province of Eastern Rumelia in 1885.

Shabla Municipality

The area is best known with Cape Shabla - Bulgaria's easternmost point as well as the natural reserve of Durankulak Lake.

Skobelev

Skobelev Park, a museum park in the vicinity of Pleven, Bulgaria

Slatina Peak

Named after the Bulgarian settlements of Slatina in Montana, Lovech, Plovdiv, Silistra and Sofia regions (the last one now part of the city of Sofia).

Sofia – Kardam train fire

The Sofia – Kardam train fire occurred on 28 February 2008, when the BDZ night train from Sofia to Kardam caught fire at 11:40 pm near the industrial zone of the town of Cherven bryag, Bulgaria.

Stadion Kranjčevićeva

In 1947 Kranjčevićeva hosted their single international game in the SFR Yugoslavia period, a 2–1 Balkan Cup win against Bulgaria, with both Yugoslavia's goals scored by Prvoslav Mihajlović.

Stefan Kanchev

After leaving the National Academy of Arts shortly before graduation, Kanchev took part in exhibitions and biennales in Bulgaria and abroad over the next 22 years, including Belgrade, Budapest, Berlin, Moscow, Warsaw, Brno, Ljubljana and New York City.

Stoyan Kolev

He made his debut for Plamen Markov's Bulgaria in a friendly against Spain on 20 November 2002, when he was a CSKA Sofia player, coming on as a second half substitute during 0–1 defeat at Los Cármenes in Granada.

Supercomputing in Europe

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications in Sofia operates an IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer, which offers high-performance processing to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Sofia University, among other organizations.

Timočani

Today, Timočani can be used as an informal name for the inhabitants of the Timok region in Serbia and Bulgaria.

Vietnamese people in Bulgaria

According to an international agreement of 1980, Bulgaria, along with other Comecon members such as East Germany, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, accepted Vietnamese guest workers in the country as a relatively cheaper manual labour workforce.

Wilfred Burchett

Burchett moved to Bulgaria in 1982 and died of cancer in Sofia the following year, aged 72.