The rich History of the Bulgarian State

History doesn‘t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

Mark Twain

Bulgaria from 681 AD

Bulgaria is a country with rich and exciting history, marked with both turmoil and glorious victories. Officially, Bulgaria is founded by Khan Asparuh in 681 AD after successful war with the Byzantine Empire. Bulgaria has been into existence for many centuries, at the time when Empires and mighty world powers, such as Spain, France, Italy, Germany and the British Empire were yet to be born. Bulgaria is the oldest country in Europe and the only country, which has never changed its name since its formation. Prior to the birth of the Bulgarian state in 681 AD, there were the Thracians who lived in the territory that is now Bulgaria. The Thracians left marvelous treasures and many sacred places all over the country. These places are still being discovered and developed. Many famous and historical names of ancient heroes and even legends are all coming from the land where Bulgaria is located now – Spartacus, Orpheus, Alexander the Great, just to name a few.

Even before the Thracians

Long before the Thracians, other ancient civilisations have left their fingerprint on the land where now modern Bulgaria is. The Varna Necropoilis for example, discovered in the now cosmopolitan seaside city of Varna, is by many considered to be one of the cornerstone archaeological sites in the world prehistory. The sacred ancient places of Tatul and Perperikon, both in southern Bulgaria, are believed to have been built as far as in 5000 BC.

Modern Bulgaria

Modern Bulgaria is mid-sized country with booming, yet sustainable economic model. It is located in south-eastern Europe with about 7 million inhabitants and an area of 111000 square kilometers. Size wise, Bulgaria is roughly one third the size of Germany and almost half of the size of the UK. It is full member of the EU and the NATO. As from 1999 the Bulgarian national currency (the Lev) is pegged to the Deutsche Mark at the rate of 1:1 and since the demise of the German Mark is pegged to the Euro at the rate of 1:1,95583. Bulgaria is multicultural orthodox nation and is the only EU country to use the Cyrillic alphabet. The official language is Bulgarian, but English is also widely spoken. The Capital of Bulgaria is Sofia, with estimated population of about 2 million.

Strong economy

Bulgaria has very strong economy with sustainable growth and investment grade credit ratings by all major rating agencies. The country enjoys low deficits and one of the lowest external debts in the world. Bulgaria applies the lowest corporate and personal income tax in the whole EU. The banking system is very well developed with many international banks present and fully implemented EU standards on bank deposit protection.