OVERVIEW BULGARIA

The climate is temperate continental, mild and suitable for travel in any season. Winter offers exceptional snow. January is the coldest month of the year with an average temperature of 0 °. The average annual temperature is 10.5 °. Summers are hot, with an average of 30 °. In the east ,the influence of the Black Sea makes the climate warmer in summer and autumn long and mild. Farther west, the summers are hotter and harsher winters are harsher , while fall and spring are short. Bulgaria is also the same latitude as Marseilles, Toulouse and Rome. To check the weather forecast - http://weather.digsys.bg.

Relief :


Le Massif des Balkans (ou encore Stara Planina) prolonge les Carpates et coupe le pays en deux. Il traverse le centre de la Bulgarie, de la frontière serbe jusqu’à la côte de la Mer Noire. Le point culminant de cette chaîne montagneuse, le pic Botev, domine la Vallée des Roses à une altitude de 2 376 m. Le Sud est occupé par une chaîne de montagnes composée de trois massifs, celui de Rila, dominé par le pic Moussala à 2 925 m., du Pirin avec son pic Vihren à 2 914 m. et des Rhodopes plus vastes et plus vallonnées (le sommet principal – le Grand Pérélik à 2 191 m.) Elle constitue la frontière naturelle entre la Bulgarie et la Grèce. Les plaines concentrent la majeure partie de la population et des activités économiques. Au Nord de Stara Planina, la Plaine du Danube est le grenier à grain de la Bulgarie, alors qu’au Sud, la Plaine de la Thrace a d’autres spécialités agricoles sans oublier la fameuse Vallée des Roses qui assurent les ¾ de la production mondiale d’huile de rose. Les montagnes cachent une des plus grandes ressources du pays – l’eau. 1600 sources d’eau potable, plus de 500 fleuves et rivières, 336 lacs dessinent le paysage du pays. Enfin, on pourrait mentionner les 4300 grottes, dont 2000 seraient encore inexplorées. Les autorités ont voulu protéger cette nature préservée, en créant des parcs d’une grande envergure dont certain sont inscrits sur la liste du patrimoine naturel de l’Unesco. La faune et la flore, riche et diversifiée, y a trouvé refuge et peut prospérer en toute quiétude. L’espèce emblématique du pays, l’ours brun, vit tranquillement dans les massifs montagneux pour le plus grand plaisir des amoureux de la nature.

The capital of Bulgaria since 1879 is Sofia(or the city of wisdom), a city which bears the imprint of at least two thousand years of history: remains of Roman and medieval ruins living alongside mosques, buildings of Austro-Hungarian style rise  next to monumental buildings from the communist era. In 1879 the population of Sofia was 12,000 inhabitants, while today, over 1.2 million.

The main cities in Bulgaria are: : Plovdiv (339,000 inhabitants), Varna (313,000 inhabitants), Bourgas (192,000 inhabitants), Rousse (161,000 inhabitants), Stara Zagora (143,000 inhabitants), Pleven (121,000 inhabitants), Sliven (100,000 inhabitants), Dobrich (100,000 inhabitants).

Administrative Organisation :
The country is composed of 9 provinces: Bourgas, Grand Sofia, Haskovo, Lovetch, Montana, Plovdiv, Razgrad, the city of Sofia and Varna, which form 28 administrative regions, managed by a governor and a regional administrator. It is further divided into 262 municipalities, run by a mayor and a municipal council, elected by the population and provided with a budget adopted by the municipal council.



The population is 7.8 million inhabitants, in constant decline since 1992 linked to emigration and a negative growth rate (-5.5% in 2001). The average life expectancy is 71 years. The population density is 75 inhabitants / km2. The principally urban population (69%) is composed of 85.8% Bulgarians, 9.7% Turks, and 3.4% Gypsies. The active population represents 3,643,213 people, a 2% decrease from 1989.


The religion Orthodox Christian is considered the traditional religion in Bulgaria and the most represented, practiced by the quasi-totality of Bulgarians (86%). The 9.7% Turkish Muslims gather in the mosques. The third ethnic group of the population of Bulgaria is composed of Gypsies, whom we call Rom, which means ‘man’ or ‘person.’ Their population in the world is estimated at 10 million of which the majority are found in the Balkans. In Bulgaria it is difficult to define their religious affiliation. Some are Orthodox Christians, others Muslims. The Jews and the Catholics are a minority; there is only one synagogue in Bulgaria (in Sofia) and a single Catholic church (St. Paul in Roussé).
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The language The official language is Bulgarian. The Cyrillic alphabet is used, named after its creator, a Bulgarian monk of the 9th century (Saint Cyril and his brother Saint Methodius). Russian continues to be the second language of the country, even if it lost its importance after the end of the Easter Bloc. Turkish is still used in our days by the Muslim population in Bulgaria. English is slowly becoming the second or third language for young Bulgarians. Hotel, restaurant and tourist office personnel usually have a good mastery of English as well. German is probably the second language in the tourist zones. Bulgarians of a certain age speak French reasonably well, in particular the inhabitants of large cities where French high schools are present.


The currency The national money is the Lev, tied to the Euro at a fixed rate of 0.51€ per Lev. The Bulgarian bank cards are up to date, foreign cards are accepted by money distributors and certain hotels or stores. It is, however, the use of cash that remains the most common practice. Cheques are inexistent in Bulgaria, only traveller’s cheques can be cashed.


The time difference in Bulgaria is an hour more than continental Europe and two hours more than Great Britain (GMT+2). The time changes in summer and winter take place at the same time as in the rest of the European Union.


Political organisation :
Bulgaria is a republic endowed with a unicameral parliament. The legislative power is in the hand of the National Assembly, which counts 240 seats into which the members are elected by direct suffrage by proportional representation for a period of 4 years. The assembly elects a counsellor of the ministers who is advised by the Prime Minister. This council helps the president, who in his role of Chief of State, exercises the executive supreme power and is equally elected by direct suffrage for a mandate of 5 years. The judiciary power is represented by the Supreme Court, of which the president is named for a mandate of 7 years by the President of the Republic and by the Constitutional Council composed of 12 judges named and elected for a term of 9 years.
 

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