For many of the people who fall in love with Bulgaria, it’s the fact that it harbours so many diverse and relatively unknown attractions that draws them into its charming spell.

From its spectacular mountain ranges, to the glorious white sand beaches of the Black Sea coast, Bulgaria’s natural beauty is enough to captivate anyone from the moment they arrive on their first visit.
 
Besides its stunning scenery the country also offers a wealth of Balkan culture and history, wonderfully decorated churches, tranquil mountain monasteries, and perfectly preserved rural villages.

Contrary to the poor image Bulgaria suffered in its pre-1989 Communist days, it is a country where enjoying life is a high priority – an aim that is helped along by a wealth of fine local wines, a rich culture of folk music, and a whole host of traditional festivals.

The incredibly low cost of living makes it easy to take full advantage of all that the country has to offer. With a three course meal and wine for two rarely exceeding £7, beers for as little as 30p, and delicious wine at £1 a bottle it’s too tempting to pass up. Public transport in urban areas comes to around £1 for a taxi ride and 25p flat fare for bus journey. It is possible to traverse the whole country on intercity buses and trains for under £10.

Bulgaria’s long hot summers and cold winters please sunseekers, walkers and skiers alike, but most areas are rarely overrun with tourists.

The Republic of Bulgaria, or Bulgaria, is a country in the southeast of Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the east, Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north along the river Danube.

In the late 7th century a branch of the Bulgars led by Khan Asparuh migrated into the northern Balkans, where they merged with the local Slavic population and possibly remnants of the Thracian population to form the first Bulgarian state in 681 AD. This was the first Slavic nation-state in history. The Bulgarian state was crushed by an assault by the Rus' in 969 and completely subdued by a determined Byzantine assault under Basil II in 1018.

It was re-established in 1185 and continued to be an important power in the European south-east for two more centuries by fighting to assert its place in the region with the Byzantine Empire, imposing defeats on the Crusader states in Greece, as well as Hungary. By the end of the 14th century the country was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. A liberation attempt by the Polish-Hungarian forces under the rule of Wladislaus III of Poland was crushed in 1444 in the battle of Varna.

An autonomous Bulgarian principality in its ethnic borders was proclaimed by the Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878, following the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78. The treaty was, however, not accepted by the Great Powers for fear that a large Slavic country on the Balkans would serve Russian interests. This led to the Treaty of Berlin (1878) which provided for an autonomous Bulgarian principality comprising Moesia and the region of Sofia. Most of Thrace was included in the autonomous region of Eastern Rumelia, whereas the rest of Thrace along with the whole of Macedonia was returned under the sovereignty of the Ottomans. After uniting with Eastern Rumelia in 1885, the principality was proclaimed a fully independent kingdom in 1908. The struggle for liberation of the Bulgarians in the Adrianople Vilayet and Macedonia continued throughout the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century culminating with the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising organised by the IMARO in 1903.

In 1912 and 1913 Bulgaria became involved in the Balkan Wars, entering into conflict first against the Ottoman Empire and then against its former Balkan allies in desperate effort to achieve its national unity. After being defeated in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria lost most of the territory conquered in the first war, as well as Southern Dobruja. During World War I, Bulgaria found itself fighting on the losing side after its alliance with the Central Powers. The defeat led to new territorial losses (the Western Outlands to Serbia, Western Thrace to Greece and again the re-conquered Southern Dobruja to Romania. The Balkan Wars and World War I led to the influx of over 250,000 Bulgarian refugees from Macedonia, Eastern and Western Thrace and Southern Dobruja. After regaining control over Southern Dobruja in 1940, Bulgaria allied with the Axis Powers in World War II. Bulgaria, however, did not participate directly in the war. It also saved the lives of its own 50,000 Bulgarian Jews from the Nazi death camps by refusing to comply with a 31 August 1943 resolution, which demanded their deportation to Auschwitz.

Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence after World War II and became a People's Republic in 1946 and Moscow's staunchest ally. From the late 1970s it began normalising its relations with Greece and from the 1990s with Turkey. Communist domination ended in 1989, when Bulgaria again held multiparty elections, but economic difficulties and a tide of corruption led to over 600,000 Bulgarians, most of them qualified professionals, to emigrate.

Bulgaria joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and is set to join the European Union at the earliest on 1 January 2007 after signing the Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005.

Executive
 
The Parliament in downtown Sofia.The president of Bulgaria is directly elected for a 5-year term with the right to one re-election. The president serves as the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. The president is the head of the Consultative Council for National Security and while unable to initiate legislation, the President can return a bill for further debate, though parliament can overturn the president's veto with a simple majority vote.

The Council of Ministers is chaired by the Prime Minister, and is the principal body of the Executive Branch and presently consists of 20 ministers. The Prime Minister is nominated by the largest parliamentary group and is given a mandate by the President to form a cabinet.

The current governmental coalition is made of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), National Movement Simeon II (NMS), and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (representing mainly the Turkish minority).

Legislative

The Bulgarian unicameral parliament, the National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie, consists of 240 deputies who are elected for 4-year-term stretches by popular vote. The votes are for party or coalition lists of candidates for each of the twenty-eight administrative divisions. A party or coalition must garner a minimum of 4% of the vote in order to enter parliament. Parliament is responsible for enactment of laws, approval of the budget, scheduling of presidential elections, selection and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers, declaration of war, deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements.

The last elections took place on June 2005. The next elections are planned for summer 2009.