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Bulgaria

Ancient culture, endless beaches and an emerald sea, high mountains with marvellous gorges and caves, clear lakes and rivers, wide valleys, healing springs, hospitable people, tempting cuisine and wines, diverse flora and fauna…Explore this land!

Mentioning Bulgaria, the thing that many visitors think of is the Black Sea with endless sunny beaches, emerald waters and modern resorts.

Bulgaria is not only generously gifted with natural and cultural beauty spots but it also offers a number of opportunities for an active vacation whether it's biking, hiking, hunting, fishing, skiing, sailing or surfing.

The economic facts are very promising as well.  In 2005, Bulgaria expects more than 4.4 million visitors with an associated revenue of €2 billion according to the Ministry of Finance.

Bulgaria real estate prices are by far the lowest in Europe.  The acceptance of Bulgaria into the EU provides unprecedented growth potential, that will certainly boost the real estate market.  The Bulgarian real estate market is still unexplored and undeveloped to a certain extent, which makes it very attractive and profitable.

Investment in real estate in Bulgaria has doubled in the last two years, with seaside resorts, like Sunny Beach, being favourites.  The supply of land is limited so this is the only limit to the growth possibilities in this sector.  Highest capital appreciation was recorded in 2003 (Source: International Monetary Fund).

Bulgaria is considered the hottest location for real estate Investment in Europe.   


Sunny Beach Area Guide

Sunny Beach lies 35 km north of Burgas City.  This excellent beach resort was awarded the prestigious Blue Flag.  Sunny Beach has more than 150 hotels, over 400 catering establishments: restaurants, taverns and bars with floorshows, night clubs, casino, disco and cafes, providing culinary pleasures.

Sunny Beach has a wide circular bay facing east, with an 8 km long strip of beach with fine golden sand, natural dunes, a clean and gently sloping sea reach as far as Nessabar to the south.  Nessabar, an ancient town lies on a small peninsula to the south.  It is an architectural and historic monument of Bulgarian and World Culture.  The slopes of the Balkin Mountains, to the north, protect Sunny Beach. The average daily temperature in summer is 27 degrees C.

As the largest resort on the Bulgarian black sea coast, Sunny Beach has plenty of activities and entertainment for all.  There is every conceivable opportunity for sports such as surfing, water-skiing and paragliding, hang gliding, sailing, rowing, tennis, volley ball and mini golf.  There are also several gyms available to use on the resort and is equally great for those who just want to relax.

At such a low cost to eat out, taste the delights of Bulgarian cuisine among menus that are full to the brim with delicious dishes, an average 3 course meal will set you back a mere €5 - €10 which includes a bottle of wine.  A visit to a tavern is a must, they provide excellent entertainment of folk music, songs and dances and simply soak up the atmosphere and friendliness shown to all who visit Sunny Beach.

The property prices on the Black Sea coast have increased by 30% in the past 12 months, following a long period of depreciation during the 1990’s.

Predominant forecasts suggest that property prices in Bulgaria and especially Sofia and the Black Sea resorts, will continue to rise at a more moderate rate of 20% - 30% per annum in the coming years.

Sunny Beach is considered one of the hottest locations for real estate Investment in Bulgaria.


Bulgarian airports  Sofia, Bourgas and Varna

Direct flights, from London to Sofia all year round.  Sofia is a three-hour drive from Black sea coast.  Direct flights from Dublin and London to Bourgas from April through to September.  Bourgas International Airport is a 30 minute drive from Sunny Beach.  Note: Bourgas International Airport has recently tendered for major refurbishment and the tender is expected to be awarded in 2005.


Climate

The predominant climate in Bulgaria is moderate and transitional continental, with four yearly seasons.  With dry, hot summers, average temperature (April - September) is 23°C and cold winters with snowfalls, average temperature is 0°C.

A Mediterranean climate, with dry summers and mild, humid winters, prevails in the valley of the south-western Rhodope Mountains. The northern limits of the climatic zone are the Balkan Mountains.

The average January temperature in Sofia ranges between -4°C and 2°C. The July temperature ranges between 16°C and 27°C. Along the Black Sea, the average January temperature ranges between -1°C and 6°C, and the July temperature ranges between 19°C and 30°C.

The soft transitional-Mediterranean climate and the fertile soils are very suitable for growing the famous Bulgarian attar yielding rose, a valuable raw material for perfumery, medical and the food, wine and tobacco industries.


Location of Bulgaria

The republic of Bulgaria is situated in the south-east part of Europe and more precisely in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula.  On the north it has a common boundary with Romania and on the west with Yugoslavia.  On the south-west it is conterminous with Macedonia while on the south-east it is contiguous to Turkey.  On the east, the country is bounded by the Black Sea.  The total length of the Bulgarian border-line is 2245 km, 1181 of which are land frontier, 686 km river and 378 km sea-frontage.


Population 8,000,000 (according to the census taken in 2000)

Capital city Sofia, with 1,188,000 inhabitants

Larger cities Plovdiv (350,000 inhabitants), Varna (300,000 inhabitants), Bourgas (200,000 inhabitants), Stara Zagora (150,000 inhabitants), Rousse (140,000 inhabitants), Pleven (120,000 inhabitants)

Monetary unit Lev (approx 1.95 Lev = 1 Euro)
with bank-notes (bills) of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Lev

Current local interest rates for loans range from 12% to 20%, with the EU comes lower interest rates and demand is expected to increase considerably with access to cheaper finance.

Official language Bulgarian

Religion Orthodox Christianity  

Measures and scales  metric system

Time zone GMT +2


Sea and rivers

On the east, Bulgaria borders on the Black Sea.  The common length of the sea frontage from the north (Romania) to the south (Turkey) is 378 km.  The rivers in Bulgaria flow into the Black and the Aegean Seas.  The biggest and the longest rivers take their sources from the Rila mountain.  The longest river is the Danube covering 609 km of the Bulgarian northern boundary.  Harbours on the Black Sea include, Varna, Bourgas, Balchick, Nessebur.  On the river Danube they include,  Vidin, Lom, Oriakhovo, Nickopol, Svishtov, Rousse, Toutrackan, Sillistra.


Protection of nature

Protection of the natural world is one of the country’s major concerns.  There are 49 protected territories in Bulgaria, there are 17 bio spherical reserves (the greatest recorded number in Europe), 7 national parks , 82 reserves, 3055 protected natural sites, 63 protected plants and 419 protected animals.  The air and water resources of the country are some of the purest in Europe.


History

The Bulgarian people are one of the most ancient.  The Bulgarian state was founded on the present day territory of Europe in 681 and ever since that time the name of the country has always been the same.  What follows are some of the most significant dates and events in the history of Bulgaria:

• 885 - Cyril and Methodius created the Slavonic script
• 864 - 866 - Bulgaria adopted Christianity
• 1018 - 1185 - Bulgaria fell within the limits of the Byzantine Empire and rule
• 1185 - Restoration of the Bulgarian state
• 1396 - 1878 - Bulgaria was under the Turkish Yoke
• 1878 - 1944 - Bulgaria was a constitutional monarchy
• 1944 - 1989 - Bulgaria was a people’s republic, governed by the communist party