Lonely Planet Romania & Bulgaria

by Lonely Planet

  Among the 20th century's most internationally famous Bulgarian artists were Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Born in Gabrovo, Christo Javacheff (b 1935) studied at Sofia’s Fine Arts Academy in the 1950s and met his French-born wife, Jeanne-Claude (1935–2009), in Paris in 1958. They worked in collaboration, creating their first outdoor temporary installation, Stacked Oil Barrels, at Cologne Harbour in 1961. Thereafter, the couple, who moved to New York in 1964, crafted (usually) temporary, large-scale architectural artworks, often involving wrapping famous buildings in fabric or polypropylene sheeting to highlight their basic forms. In 1985 they created The Pont Neuf Wrapped, covering the Parisian landmark in golden fabric for 14 days, while in 1995 the Reichstag in Berlin was covered entirely with silver fabric. In 2005, The Gates, an impressive installation consisting of 7503 vinyl gates spread over 32km of walkways, was unveiled in New York’s Central Park. Learn more about their artistic legacy at www.christojeanneclaude.net.

  The remarkable late-9th-century ceramic icon of Sveti Teodor, found in Veliki Preslav, is regarded as one of the masterpieces of early Bulgarian art.

  Pottery

  One of Bulgaria's oldest crafts is pottery, and the most distinctive style is known as Troyanska kapka, literally translated as 'Troyan droplet', after its town of origin and the runny patterns made by the paint on the glazed earthenware body. Developed in the 19th century, it's still produced both for everyday domestic consumption and as souvenirs. Everything from cooking pots, plates and jugs to vases, ashtrays and more decorative items can be bought at market stalls, and from souvenir shops and independent workshops. Easily identifiable, the pottery comes in a few basic colours, including a lovely cobalt blue, green, brown and yellow, and pieces are decorated with concentric circles, wavy lines and teardrops.

  For news about the angelic-voiced Sofia Boys' Choir, see www.sofiaboyschoir.altpro.net.

  Carpets

  Fabrics have been woven in Bulgaria as long ago as the neolithic era, as evidenced by fragments of weighted spindles found in archaeological digs. Carpets and rugs were spun in earnest during the 9th century, but were most popular and creative during the Bulgarian National Revival period. Today, weaving is a dying art, practised only by a dwindling band of elderly village ladies. Troyan and Oreshak remain excellent places to understand this fading art, as well as to buy authentic samples.

  Carpets and rugs made in the southern Rodopi Mountains are thick, woollen and practical, while in western Bulgaria they’re often delicate, colourful and more decorative. The carpet-making industry began in Chiprovtsi around the late 17th century, with patterns based mainly on geometric abstract shapes. The more popular designs featuring birds and flowers, commonly seen in tourist shops today, were developed in the 19th century.

  Music

  From serene choral harmonies to sexy, sweaty folk-pop, Bulgaria's music scene couldn't be more diverse. Bulgaria's millennium of ecclesiastical music continues to leave a strong impact, while traditional folk isn't confined to twee tourist restaurants: it enlivens village festivals and can be heard across the country. Meanwhile, folk's spin-off genre, chalga, is an energetic, Turkish-influenced pop style that dominates the airwaves.

  Choral Music

  Bulgarian ecclesiastic music dates back to the 9th century and conveys the mysticism of chronicles, fables and legends. To hear Orthodox chants sung by a choir of up to 100 people is a moving experience. Dobri Hristov (1875–1941) was one of Bulgaria’s most celebrated composers of church and choral music, and wrote his major choral work, Liturgy No 1, for the Seven Saints ensemble, Bulgaria’s best-known sacred-music vocal group, based in Sofia’s Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church.

  The Sofia Boys' Choir, formed in 1968, brings together boys from various schools in the capital, aged 8 to 15, and has performed around the world to great acclaim. As well as their traditional Easter and Christmas concerts, they are known for their Orthodox choral music and folk songs.

  Music from Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares was included in the capsule aboard the Voyager 2 space probe in the hope of reaching alien ears.

  Folk Music

  Bulgarian folk music gives an instant aural impression of the country. Some is jauntily melodic, featuring traditional instruments such as the gaida (bagpipes), gadulka (a bowed stringed instrument) and kaval (flute). Other folk songs feature arresting polyphonic harmonies, or vocals that float in a haunting minor key. As in many peasant cultures, Bulgarian women were not given access to musical instruments, so they usually performed the vocal parts. Women from villages in the Pirin Mountains are renowned for their unique singing style, best enjoyed at festivals such as Pirin Sings. Preserved historic villages, such as in Etâr, have a rich calendar of folk music concerts.

  Beyond the suggestive rhythms of chalga, Bulgarian pop artists include sweet-voiced Mariana Popova, rock band FSB, and Poli Genova, whose song If Love Was a Crime won Bulgaria their highest-yet Eurovision Song Contest position (number four) in 2016.

  RECOMMENDED LISTENING

  AGadna Poroda (2011) Pop-folk performed by Bulgaria’s biggest chalga star, Azis.

  AGladiator (1988) Frenetic hair-metal and heavy guitars by Impulse, a band who once toured with The Scorpions.

  AVkusut Na Vremeto (1982) Psychedelic rock anthems by Shturcite, the 'Bulgarian Beatles'.

  AFolk Impressions (2012) Traditional folk songs from the renowned Sofia Boys' Choir.

  ABulgarian Rhapsody Vardar By Pancho Vladigerov; arguably the composer’s most popular work.

  Chalga

  Turn on a radio or TV in Bulgaria and it won't be long until chalga struts, vibrates and hip-thrusts your way. This unavoidable, love-it-or-hate-it genre fuses Balkan, Turkish, Arabic and flamenco rhythms to produce fast-paced pop music. Concerts and music videos almost unerringly feature shining bare torsos, minuscule bikinis and intense seductive stares. Big names include the silver-haired, always sparkling Azis, who has used his fame to fight for gay rights, and legendary Ruse-born diva Gloria.

  Despite being loosely translated as 'Bulgarian pop-folk', most modern chalga gives only the vaguest nod toward folk music, preferring instead to focus on rippling synthesisers, warbling vocals and the all-important bikini girls. While many Bulgarians distance themselves from this brash musical genre, plenty of clubs around Bulgaria play little else. We guarantee you'll tap your toes to chalga at least once on your travels in Bulgaria.

  The Bulgarian People

  Philosophical, sceptical and with a brooding sense of humour, Bulgarians can initially appear reserved – but this soon gives way to warmth and wit. Having seen their national identity crushed over centuries of brutal foreign occupation, most Bulgarians are fiercely proud of their history and weave it into modern daily life. Look out for young people wearing T-shirts emblazoned with 19th-century heroes such as Vasil Levski, or attaching martenitsi, ancient pagan good luck charms, to their iPhones.

  The National Psyche

  After five gruelling centuries of occupation under the Ottoman Empire came the National Revival, under which Bulgaria’s culture and language freely flourished. More recently, four decades of totalitarian communist rule fell away, necessitating another phoenix-like renaissance. The hardships endured by generations of Bulgarians have sharpened national pride and tinged the country’s psyche with a worldly-wise, cynical outlook on life, while high levels of corruption and uneven economic fortunes have taught them not to expect too much of politicians and bureaucrats.

  On the whole, Bulgarians are welcoming and hospitable. Most are eager that you leave their country with good impressions, though in many places, a hint of Soviet inflexibility colours the service industry. Still, most Bulgarians are informal and easy-going, and delight in social get-togethers fuelled by plenty of alcohol. Bulgarians have rather freer attitudes toward personal space than most Western Europeans; don't be surprised if strangers ask to join you at tables in restaurants if no other seats are available.

  Young people are especially curious about visitors to thei
r country; they are usually highly engaged with European and worldwide politics.

  In Street Without a Name, Bulgarian-born travel writer Kapka Kassabova recalls her childhood under communism and offers a thought-provoking perspective on Bulgaria today.

  Daily Life

  Like many other Eastern European nations, Bulgaria remains a largely conservative and traditional society. Macho culture prevails. Attitudes toward women can be old-fashioned, especially in rural areas – despite women in these communities carrying clout in agricultural and domestic decision-making. Cities are more progressive, though excessive chivalry is occasionally used as a form of chauvinism.

  Hostility toward the LGBT community is not uncommon. Many Bulgarians believe gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals should remain closeted; there is even less understanding of transgender people. Fortunately, younger, urban Bulgarians are bucking the trend, though change is slow.

  Rural life goes on much as it has done for the last century or so. You'll still see headscarfed old women toiling in the fields and donkeys pulling carts along the dirt tracks running through tumbledown villages. Meanwhile, in cities Western boutiques, casinos and strip clubs have proliferated. Pouting, scantily clad women are popular motifs used for advertising everything from alcohol to shopping centres, while a profusion of strip clubs and escort agencies has appeared in the big cities, colourfully touted in tourist magazines alongside reviews of restaurants and museums.

  Most Bulgarians celebrate the feast day of the saint after whom they are named as well as their birthday.

  Multiculturalism

  Despite invasions and occupations throughout its history, Bulgaria remains a fairly homogenous nation, with around 80% of the population declaring themselves Bulgarian.

  In the mid-1980s the government mounted a program to assimilate the country’s Turkish inhabitants (then 10% of the country) by forcing them to accept Bulgarian names. Mosques were also closed down and even wearing Turkish dress and speaking Turkish in public were banned. Mass protests erupted, and in early 1989 about 300,000 Turkish Bulgarians and Pomaks left for Turkey (though many subsequently returned to Bulgaria when the repressive policies were overturned).

  Relations between Bulgarians and the ethnic Turkish minority have improved since, but racial tensions remain. Far-right political parties have received increasing support over recent years and new ones established, like the 2013-founded Nationalist Party of Bulgaria, which has drawn comparisons to Greece's extremist Golden Dawn. Their aggressively nationalistic rhetoric has been directed against both Turkish Muslims and Roma. There have also been violent attacks on Roma neighbourhoods, while Syrian refugees have also suffered xenophobic attacks.

  Bulgaria’s Roma, who form roughly 4% of the population, suffer disproportionate rates of unemployment, social deprivation, illiteracy, poverty and prejudice. They tend to live in ghettos and can be seen begging on the streets all over the country. Along with other East and Central European nations, Bulgaria signed up to the Decade of Roma Inclusion program from 2005–15. In terms of employment opportunities and raising awareness of Roma exclusion, some inroads were made, but effects are slow to trickle down (particularly for remote communities) and prejudice remains widespread.

  Bulgaria is home to about 200,000 Pomaks, the descendants of Slavs who converted to Islam during the Ottoman occupation in the 15th century. In the past, they have been subjected to the same assimilatory pressures as the Turks. Some villages in the Rodopi Mountains are almost entirely Pomak, and there are small communities around Ruse and Lovech.

  Bulgarians wear red and white threads to celebrate Baba Marta Day on 1 March, tying them to tree branches when they first see a stork or blossom. The custom is thought to welcome spring and bring good luck.

  Religion

  Orthodox Christianity has been the official religion since 865, though modern Bulgaria is a secular state that allows freedom of religion. The majority of the population – around 60% – still professes adherence to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, although only a fraction of this number regularly attends church services.

  In the 2011 census, about one-quarter of Bulgarians did not declare a religion, most of them young people from cities such as Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna. Protestant and Catholics together formed less than 2% of the Bulgarian population.

  Roughly 10% of the population is Muslim – ethnic Turks, Pomaks and many Roma. Over the centuries the Islam practised in Bulgaria has incorporated various Bulgarian traditions and Christian beliefs and has become known as Balkan Islam.

  There’s also a tiny Jewish population, mainly living in Sofia.

  The Orient Within by Mary Neuburger investigates the story of Bulgaria’s Muslim minority population, their relationship with the modern state and ideas of national identity.

  Bulgarian Wine

  Bulgaria’s excellent wines are a product of its varied climate zones, rich soil and proud tradition. Foreign interest and investment in recent years have made Bulgarian wines increasingly known and appreciated abroad. Wine-loving travellers can sample them at rustic wineries, in gourmet urban restaurants and bars, and even at roadside stands. The tourist offerings of local wineries vary enormously; if you are keen to sample wine, check ahead, join an organised wine-tasting tour, or head for well-trodden wine towns like Melnik.

  History of Winemaking in Bulgaria

  Bulgaria's winemaking tradition goes back to the Thracians, who worshipped wine god Dionysus and planted grape varietals still cultivated today. Roman, Byzantine and medieval Bulgarian civilisations continued the tradition. While the Muslim Ottomans discouraged vintners, the 18th- and 19th-century National Revival period saw aristocratic mansions (some still in use) doubling as wine salons. After a damaging late-19th-century phylloxera outbreak, French experts recommended which endemic varietals to continue (such as Mavrud, Pamid and Gamza). Today, modern techniques and know-how have helped make Bulgarian wines increasingly visible in foreign supermarkets.

  Winston Churchill used to order Melnik red wine by the barrel.

  Winemaking Regions

  Bulgaria has five wine-producing regions, each with unique microclimates and grape varietals.

  Thracian Lowlands (South Bulgaria)

  Beginning south of the Stara Planina range and extending to the Sakar Mountain and Maritsa River, this region enjoys hot, dry summers, while the mountains protect it from cold northern winds. This region produces one of Bulgaria’s most famous wines, the red Mavrud, plus merlot, cabernet sauvignon, muscatel and Pamid.

  Wineries

  Todoroff Wine & Spa Your every movement, from sleeping to sipping to spa treatments, can be in reverence to juicy Thracian wines at this fabulous winery-hotel in Brestovitsa, 15km southwest of Plovdiv. Surrounded by rolling meadows and vineyards, even the hotel's banisters are decorated with wrought-iron grapes. Book well ahead for the excellent wine tastings in Todoroff's atmospheric underground wine cellar (14 to 30 lv, or 44 to 50 lv with a meal).

  Bessa Valley Winery More than 3500 years ago, the Bessian tribe of ancient Thrace kept a sanctuary to the god of wine amid these verdant meadows. These days Bessa Valley Winery, 30km west of Plovdiv, likes to think it's playing a part in preserving this heritage. Its quality merlot, syrah and cabernet sauvignon are sipped across Bulgaria and beyond. Book well in advance for tasting tours of the impressive facilities.

  Struma River Valley (Pirin Mountains)

  In Bulgaria’s southwest, bounded by the River Struma and the Pirin Mountains, this region is marked by an arid, Mediterranean climate and soil. Signature wines include Shiroka Melnishka Loza from Melnik, and Keratzuda from Kresna, a village between Blagoevgrad and Sandanski.

  Wineries

  Shestaka Winery Shestaka (‘six-fingered’) Winery in Melnik is named after its founder, Iliya Manolev, who had an extra finger (as does his descendant Mitko). You can visit the wine cellar dug into the rocks (admission 2 lv), or drink a glass outside, with views toward Melnik. Mitko can help to organise longer
winery tours; enquire via the website.

  Damianitza Leading Melnik wine producer Damianitza has a shop poised on the main road, shortly after you enter Melnik village. Tastings are free, and no hard sell is required once you've tasted its dry red Uniqato or oaky No Man's Land Cabernet Sauvignon. At the time of writing, Damianitza's wine tours were on hiatus for a renovation, but check its website.

  Eastern (Black Sea Coastal)

  Running down the Black Sea coast from Romania to Turkey, this region's long summers and mild autumns create ideal conditions for grape growing. Almost one-third of Bulgaria’s vineyards are here, with varietals ranging from Dimyat, Traminer, Gewürztraminer, riesling, Muscat Ottonel and sauvignon blanc.

  No time to join a winery tour? Stock up on bottles of Bulgaria's best at Vino Orenda in Sofia.

  Wineries

  Chateau Euxinograde Book well ahead for group tastings (minimum seven people) at this 19th-century palace featuring elaborate period furnishings and verdant gardens. The winery is known for good whites and a French-style brandy, Euxignac.

  Di Wine Browse an extensive wine list at this inventive restaurant in Varna.

  Northern (Danube Plain)