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Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/1 Blagoevgrad Province (Bulgarian: област Благоевград, oblast Blagoevgrad or Благоевградска област, Blagoevgradska oblast), also known in certain contexts as Pirin Macedonia (Bulgarian: Пиринска Македония, Pirinska Makedoniya), is a province (oblast) of southwestern Bulgaria. Part of the wider Macedonian region, it borders four other Bulgarian provinces, as well as Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. It has 14 municipalities with 12 towns.
The province has a territory of 6,449.5 km² and a population of 341,245. It is the third largest in Bulgaria after Burgas and Sofia Provinces and comprises 5.8% of the country's territory. Blagoevgrad Province includes the mountains, or parts of, Rila (highest point of the Balkans — Musala summit, 2925 m), Pirin (highest point — Vihren summit, 2914 m), the Rhodopes, Slavyanka, Belasitsa, Vlahina, Maleshevska, Ograzhden and Stargach. There are two major rivers — Struma River and Mesta River — with population concentrations along their valleys, which are also the main transport corridors.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/2
The Byzantine–Bulgarian wars were a series of conflicts between the Byzantines and Bulgarians that began when the Bulgars migrated to the Balkan peninsula in the 8th century, and were successful enough to create their own kingdom. The Byzantines and Bulgarians continued to clash over the next century but often lost, until under the Khan Krum the Bulgarians managed to recover. After Krum died his son Omurtag negotiated a 20-year peace treaty with the Byzantines. The fighting was renewed under the Byzantine emperor Theophilos, but quickly another peace treaty was created. Then, in 893 another war was fought in which the Simeon the I, the Bulgarian emperor, defeated the Byzantines, which ended under his son Peter I, although a few brief battles occurred later in his life.
Under Peter I’s son Boris II, much of the Bulgarian Empire was subjugated, defeated by John I Tzimiskes and the Byzantine empire, and further brought under Byzantine control by his successor, Basil II. Finally in 1018 the entire nation of Bulgaria was ruled by the Byzantines. There were rebellions against Byzantine rule in 1040-41, the 1070s and the 1080s, but these failed, but in 1185 Peter and Asen started a revolt, and the weakening Byzantine empire was unable to stop them, and it stopped the fighting after little more than a year.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/3
Ivan Asen II (Bulgarian: Иван Асен II, and also Йоан Асен II, Ioan Asen II, in English sometimes John Asen II) was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241.
He was a son of Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria and Elena (religious name Evgenija). Elena, who survived until after 1235, is sometimes alleged to be a daughter of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia, but this relationship is questionable and would have caused various canonical impediments to marriages between various descendants. Ivan Asen II's father was one of the two founders of the Asen dynasty and the Second Bulgarian Empire. Under Ivan Asen II's rule, the empire would become the dominant force in the Balkans for about a decade, 1230-1241.
Ivan Asen II is considered, with good reason, one of the most important and successful rulers of Bulgaria. His work included the restoration of the autocephalous Bulgarian patriarchate in 1235 (after a long hiatus since 1018), the minting of the first Bulgarian non-imitation coinage in both gold and copper, the suppression of the centrifugal forces that had plagued his predecessor's reign, and the expansion of Bulgaria's frontiers in all directions.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/4
Ivan Alexander (in Bulgarian Иван Александър, transliterated as Ivan Aleksandăr; in English also John Alexander) ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria 1331-1371. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on February 17, 1371.
The reign of Ivan Alexander had begun promisingly enough with Bulgaria swiftly recovering from a major defeat (the battle of Velbăžd) and an acute succession crisis involving civil war and a foreign invasion. Ivan Alexander had energetically met opposition on two fronts and overcome it, although the elated praise of his triumph by the court writers was premature in retrospect. The period was a golden age for medieval Bulgarian literary, architectural, and artistic production, and a significant amount of the output has survived the ravages of time. In spite of the Black Death and foreign invasions, a large portion of Ivan Alexander's realm enjoyed peace and relative prosperity for four decades, and churches and monasteries were endowed on an unprecedented scale.
However, even at the height of his power in the mid-1340s, Ivan Alexander exhibited signs of weakness and vacillation, and his policy was characterized by alternating attempts at assertion and forced compromise. In his old age, Ivan Alexander was no longer able to fight off enemies on two fronts, or to exert effective control over some of his nobles (without major concessions in their favoкr).
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/5
Hristofor Zhefarovich (original Cyrillic Христофоръ Жефаровичъ) was an 18th-century South Slavic painter, engraver, writer and poet and a figure of the Illyrian movement.
Born in the end of the 17th century, Zhefarovich descended from a priestly family from Dojran in Macedonia and became a monk himself. As a highly-educated and well-learned vagrant monk he painted and traded with books, icons and church plate.
Zhefarovich's work of greatest importance for the South Slavic Revival was his Stemmatographia published in Vienna in 1741. Stemmatographia was illustrated by Zhefarovich with copper engravings and black and white drawings. It contains 20 images of Bulgarian and Serbian rulers and saints, as well as 56 coats of arms of Slavic and other Balkan countries with descriptive quatrains under them, regarded as the first example of modern secular Bulgarian and Serbian poetry. Stemmatographia had a crucial influence on the Bulgarian (particularly Paisius of Hilendar) and Serbian Revival and made a great impact on the entire Bulgarian heraldry of the 19th century.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/6
Sofia <phonos file="Sofia.ogg">listen</phonos> (Bulgarian: София), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1,270,450 (making it the 14th largest city in the European Union), and some 1,380,406 in the metropolitan area, the Capital Municipality. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of the mountain massif Vitosha, and is the administrative, cultural, economic, and educational centre of the country.
One of the oldest capital cities in Europe, the history of Sofia dates back to the 8th century BC, when Thracians established a settlement there. Sofia has had several names in the different periods of its existence, and remnants of the city's millenary history can still be seen today alongside modern landmarks. Sofia's development as a significant settlement owes much to its central position in the Balkans. It has been a centre of Christianity since the times of the Roman Empire.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/7
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Bogomilism (Bulgarian: Богомилство) is the Gnostic dualistic sect, the synthesis of Armenian Paulicianism and the Bulgarian Slavonic Church reform movement, which emerged in Bulgaria between 927 and 970 and spread into Byzantine Empire, Serbia, Bosnia, Italy and France.
The now defunct Gnostic social-religious movement and doctrine originated in the time of Peter I of Bulgaria (927–969) as a reaction against state and clerical oppression. In spite of all measures of repression, it remained strong and popular until the fall of Bulgaria in the end of the 14th century.
Bogomilism is the first significant Bulgarian "heresy" that came about in the first quarter of the 10th century in the area of today’s Plovdiv (Philippopolis). It was a natural outcome of many factors that had arisen till the beginning of 10th century. The forced Christianization of the Slavs and proto-Bulgarians by khan Boris I in 863 and the fact that the religion was practiced in Greek, which only the ‘elite’ knew, resulted in a very superficial level of understanding of the religion, if any understanding at all. Another very important factor was the social discontent of the peasantry.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/8
Simeon I (also Symeon) I the Great (Bulgarian: Симеон I Велики, transliterated Simeon I Veliki; IPA: /si.mɛ.ˈɔn ˈpɤr.vi vɛ.ˈli.ki/) ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe. His reign was also a period of unmatched cultural prosperity and enlightenment later deemed the Golden Age of Bulgarian culture. Tsar Simeon I has remained among the most highly valued Bulgarian historical figures, as indicated by popular vote in the Velikite Bǎlgari (a spin-off of 100 Greatest Britons) television programme, which in February 2007 placed him fourth among the greatest Bulgarians ever. The last Bulgarian monarch, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was named after Simeon I.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/9
The Banat Bulgarians (Banat Bulgarian: palćene or banátsći balgare; common Bulgarian: банатски българи, banatski balgari) are a distinct Bulgarian minority group which settled in the 18th century in the region of the Banat, which was then ruled by the Habsburg and after World War I was divided between Romania, Serbia and Hungary. Unlike most other Bulgarians, they are Roman Catholic by confession and stem from groups of Paulicians and Roman Catholics from modern northern and northwestern Bulgaria.
Banat Bulgarians speak a distinctive codified form of the Eastern Bulgarian vernacular with much lexical influence from the other languages of the Banat. Although strongly accultured to the Central European region, they have preserved their Bulgarian identity till date. Since the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, many returned to Bulgaria, and founded separate villages there.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/10
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Bulgarian: Българска православна църква, Bălgarska pravoslavna cărkva) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia. The recognition of the autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 927 AD makes the Bulgarian Orthodox Church the oldest autocephalous Slavic Orthodox Church in the world, which was added to the Pentarchy of the original Patriarchates - those of Rome (which became today's Roman Catholic Church after the Schism), Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem - and the autocephalous Georgian Catholicosate.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/11
Euxinograd (Bulgarian: Евксиноград [ɛf.'ksi.nu.grat], also transliterated as Evksinograd or Euxinograde) is a former late 19th-century Bulgarian royal summer palace and park on the Black Sea coast, 8 km north of the city of Varna. It is currently a governmental and presidential residence.
The construction of the palace began soon after the land which it occupies was given to Knyaz Alexander of Bulgaria as a present by the Greek bishopric on 16 March 1882. There had previously been small monasteries called St Demetrius and St Constantine at that place, the buildings of which were subsequently converted into another small residence.
Viennese architect Viktor Rumpelmayer designed the palace, which was named Sandrovo in 1885 after the Italian diminutive of Alexander's name — Sandro. Later the knyaz extended the estate to its contemporary area of 80 hectares.
Built after the French Château de Saint-Cloud, Euxinograd is often considered to be one of the best examples of post-Liberation architecture in Bulgaria. After the French chateau was destroyed in 1870, Ferdinand bought the pediment of its right-hand wing for the Euxinograd palace in 1890-1891. The palace was designed after the French 18th-century château style, with a high metal-edged French roof, figured brickwork and a clock tower.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/12
The Rhodopes (Bulgarian: Родопи, Rodopi, usually used with a definite article — Родопите, Rodopite, sometimes also called Родопа, Rodopa or Родопа планина, Rodopa planina; Greek: Ροδόπη, Rodopi, "red aspect") are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik (2,191 m), is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain. The region is particularly notable for the Karst areas with their deep river gorges, large caves and specific sculptured forms, such as the Trigrad Gorge.
The Rhodopes are spread over 14,737 km², of which 12,233 km² are on Bulgarian territory. The mountains are about 220 km long and about 100-120 km wide, with an average altitude of 785 m. 15 reserves have been established in the region, some of which under UNESCO protection.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/13 Gabrovo (Bulgarian: Габрово) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an international capital of humour and satire, as well as noted for its Bulgarian National Revival architecture. Gabrovo is also regarded as the longest town in Bulgaria, stretching over 25 km along the Yantra, yet reaching only 1 km in width at places.
During Ottoman rule, the rich tradesmen spent plenty of resources for the small town's public planning. The first Bulgarian secular school, the Aprilov Gymnasium, was founded in Gabrovo in 1835 with the aid of Vasil Aprilov and Nikolay Palauzov. Gabrovo was officially proclaimed a town by the Ottoman authority in May 1860.
Shortly before and after the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, Gabrovo developed as a centre of industry on the basis of its economic traditions. Joint-stock companies emerged, factories were constructed and connections to the large stock exchanges were created, prompting some to label the town "The Bulgarian Manchester".
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/14 The Bachkovo Monastery (Бачковски манастир, Bachkovski manastir) or Petritsoni Monastery in Bulgaria is an important monument of Georgian Christian architecture and one of the largest and oldest Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Eastern Europe. It is located on the right bank of the Chepelare River, 89 km from Sofia and 10 km south of Asenovgrad, and is directly subordinate to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
The monastery is known and appreciated for the unique combination of Byzantine, Georgian and Bulgarian culture, united by the common faith.
The monastery was founded by Prince Grigol Bakurianis-dze, prominent Georgian statesman and military commander in Byzantine service, in 1083. Since the 13th century, Georgians lost their domination over the monastery, but nevertheless, Georgian traditions were preserved until the beginning of 14th century.
During the time of the Second Bulgarian Empire, Bachkovo Monastery was patronized by Tsar Ivan Alexander, which is evidenced by an image of him on the arches of the ossuary's narthex. Since the 11th century, a school was housed in the monastery.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/15
Pleven (Bulgarian: Плевен) is the seventh most populated town in Bulgaria. It is located in the northern part of the country and is the capital of the Pleven Province as well as of the subordinate Pleven Municipality.
Pleven is located in an agricultural region in the very heart of the Danube Plain, the historical region of Moesia, surrounded by low limestone hills. Its central location in Northern Bulgaria defines its importance as a big administrative, economic, political, cultural and transport centre. The town is located 170 km away from the capital city of Sofia, 320 km west of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and 50 km south of the Danube.
The city was a major battle scene (see the Siege of Pleven) during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 that the Russian tsar Alexander II held for the purpose of liberation of Bulgaria. The joint Russian and Romanian army paid dearly for the victory, but it paved the path to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in this war, and the restoration of Bulgaria as a state.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/16
Hristofor Zhefarovich (original Cyrillic Христофоръ Жефаровичъ) was an 18th-century South Slavic painter, engraver, writer and poet and a figure of the Illyrian movement.
Born in the end of the 17th century, Zhefarovich descended from a priestly family from Dojran in Macedonia and became a monk himself. As a highly educated and well-learned vagrant monk he painted and traded with books, icons and church plate.
Zhefarovich's work of greatest importance for the South Slavic Revival was his Stemmatographia published in Vienna in 1741. Stemmatographia was illustrated by Zhefarovich with copper engravings and black and white drawings. It contains 20 images of Bulgarian and Serbian rulers and saints, as well as 56 coats of arms of Slavic and other Balkan countries with descriptive quatrains under them, regarded as the first example of modern secular Bulgarian and Serbian poetry. Stemmatographia had a crucial influence on the Bulgarian (particularly Paisius of Hilendar) and Serbian Revival and made a great impact on the entire Bulgarian heraldry of the 19th century.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/17
Saint John of Rila (Bulgarian: свети Иван Рилски, sveti Ivan Rilski) (876 – circa 946) was the first Bulgarian hermit and the founder of the Rila Monastery. He is today honoured as the patron of Bulgarian people and one of the most important saints of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
Originally a herd, Saint John of Rila became a priest at the age 25 and later dedicated himself entirely to a life of isolation in various locations in the Rila Mountains, where he prayed to God and deprived himself of an everyday life, settling in dark and cold caves in appalling conditions.
Saint John of Rila is also legendarily known to have performed a multitude of miracles in order to help people. This brought him fame throughout the country, which he did not desire and often tried to avoid contact with other people. With his growing number of followers, many young believers and supporters set up camps around his cave, seeking a blessing from him. This led the way to the creation of the Rila Monastery, which is considered to be the foremost monastery in Bulgaria.
Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/18
Veselin Topalov (IPA: [ve.se'lin to'pɑ.lof], Bulgarian: Веселин Топалов) (born March 15, 1975) is a Bulgarian chess player. He became the FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. Topalov was awarded the 2005 Chess Oscar. In the July 2006 FIDE rating list, he is ranked number one in the world with an Elo rating of 2813, the second highest rated person ever.
Topalov was born in Rousse. He was taught to play chess when he was eight years old by his father. In 1989 he won the World Under 14 Championship in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and in 1990 won the silver medal at the World Under-16 Championship in Singapore. He became a Grandmaster in 1992. His current trainer and manager is International Master Silvio Danailov.
On the strength of his rating, Topalov was invited to the 8 player, double round-robin FIDE World Chess Championship in San Luis, Argentina, in September-October of 2005. Scoring an extraordinary 6.5/7 in the first cycle, Topalov had virtually clinched the tournament at the halfway mark, before drawing every game in the second cycle to win by a convincing 1.5 points and become FIDE World Chess Champion. The average rating of the field in the championship was 2739, and Topalov's performance rating was an incredible 2890.
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