Bulgarien: TravelGuide

Country located in the southeast of the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria is lined in the North by Rumania, by the East by Black Sea, in the South by Turkey and Greece, by the West by Serbia and Macedonia. Quadrangle 500 km long on 300 km wide, the country covers a 110 912 km surface , is approximately... More

Country located in the southeast of the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria is lined in the North by Rumania, by the East by Black Sea, in the South by Turkey and Greece, by the West by Serbia and Macedonia. Quadrangle 500 km long on 300 km wide, the country covers a 110 912 km surface ², is approximately the fifth of the Balkan peninsula. Two mountain ranges cross the country from west to east: in the North, the mountain Balkan, extends of Serbia in the Black Sea, composed of Stara Planina ( old mountain) and Sredna Gora ( average mountain). The Valley of Rose is a series of ponds enclosed between both. In the South, the chain(channel) of Rhodope, vast irregular massif, trains(forms) a geographical and climatic barrier with Greece. In its western extremity, the mountain Pirin peaks in 2 917 m (peak Vikhren) and the massif of Rila peaks in the peak Musala (2 925 m), the highest summit of the Balkans. The main plains are situated in the North, along the Danube, which marks the border with Rumania (plain of Dobroudja) and in the center where a series of depressions cross the country from west to east between Balkan and Rhodope: the plain of Sofia, then the big plain of Thrace. More than 30 % of the Bulgarian territory is covered with forests of conifers and with void. The main rivers of Rumania are the Danube and its tributaries: Iskar (300 km), Jantra (150 km), Kamcija (180 km) which throws(casts) itself into the Black Sea and the Struma and the Mesta which(who) flow(sink) to the Aegean Sea. The climate is essentially continental with warm summers (23,5°C on average) and dry (rains take place especially at the beginning of the summer) and cold winters (-1,3°C on average) and covered with snow (the onslaught of the cold begins generally in December). The winter is more rigorous than in the other European countries situated under the same latitudes. A Mediterranean climate prevails in valleys situated in the South of Rhodope, with dry summers and winters soft and wet. In Sofia, the climate is dry, with an annual average pluviometry of approximately 50 mm. Main cities A) Sofia Capitale of the country since 1879 ( 1 200 000 inhabitants) and administrative center of the province of Sofia, situated in a plain at feet of the mountain Balkan, in 8 km of the banks of Iskar, on the West country. The city is the first administrative and commercial center of the country, as well as a big industrial pole (steel industry, metal industry, mechanical, textile engineerings). Sofia is one of the most active crossroads of communication of the Balkans. She(it) is connected(bound) with the rest of the country, as well as with Athens, Belgrade, Bucharest and Istanbul by a very dense road, railroad and river network. University town, it counts numerous cultural institutions (Bibliothèque Nationale(national library) Cyrille and Method) and museums (archaeological museum, ethnographical museum, national Gallery of art, etc.). The former(ancient) buildings, especially religious (church Saint Georges, church saint-Sophie, mosque of Baths), are next(go alongside) to the neo-classic sets(groups) and those built during the communist period (house of the Party, the Balkan hotel, etc.). The city underwent numerous destructions during the Second World War, and was almost completely reconstructed after 1945. B) Plovdiv is located in the South of the country, on Maritsa, administrative centre of the district of Plovdiv ( 370 000 inhabitants). Commercial and industrial place(square) within an agricultural region dedicated to the culture of the tobacco and to the breeding. Textile, chemical, metallurgical industries, food-processing industries, joineries(joiner's workshops), factories of cigarettes count among the most important activities. Capital of the Roman province of Thrace, the city knew numerous successive invaders and keeps(preserves) many former(ancient) monuments and the vestiges of a Turkish market. C) Varna is located on the West by the country ( 300 000 inhabitants), on the coast(rib) of the Black Sea in the region of Dobroudja. Administrative centre of the region of Varna. Main commercial port(bearing) of the country (in particular for the exports of dairy products, cereal, meats), it is also a big industrial area (food-processing industry, shipbuilding, mechanical engineering, metal industry, textile(textile industry)). The seaside tourism is very developed in the surrounding stations(resorts). Burgas Capitale of the province of the same name, Burgas is also the second seaport of Bulgaria ( 220 000 inhabitants). The city is situated in an essentially agricultural region. She(it) is connected(bound) by railroad line with the whole European network. Industrial area, Burgas shelters flour-mills, sugar refineries, as well as industrial fishmonger's shops which treat(handle) the quasi-totality of the fruit of the Bulgarian peach(fishing). The city is the place of numerous artistic and sports manifestations (dance, regatta, failures(chess)). Less