The Rila Cross, a wooden cross with 140 microscopic scenes from the
Bible featuring more than 1,500 figurines, the largest of them no
bigger than a grain of rice, was carved by a monk over a period of
12 years.
Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, the bacterium that is responsible for giving
Bulgarian yoghourt its unique flavour and consistency, can be found only
in Bulgarian air.
The Voyager spacecraft, launched in the 1970s on a voyage to meet and communicate
with other planets, carried a laser disc of ten songs believed to be representative
of Earth. One of these songs was the Bulgarian tune Izlel e Deliu Haidutin from
the Rhodopes region. |
The Rila Cross |
|
 |
The famous Bulgarian rose-oil, produced in the region of Kazanlak, is a
component of the French and of other world-famous perfumes. |
|
|
| One of the most famous opera bass singers (Boris Christov and Nickolai
Guaurov) and the beautiful soprano Raina Kabaivanska are Bulgarians. |
 Raina
Kabaivanska |
|
|
 |
Elias Canetti was born in Bulgaria.
1981 Nobel Laureate in Literature for writings marked by a broad outlook,
a wealth of ideas and artistic power.
1905-1994
Place of Birth: Rouse, Bulgaria
Residence: Great Britain |
|
|
| The inventor of the first electronic computer John Vincent Atanassoff
is of Bulgarian origin. |
Professor John Atanassoff, together with graduate student Clifford
Berry, built the world's first electronic digital computer, at Iowa
State University, between 1939 and 1942. The Atanassoff - Berry Computer
represented several innovations in computing, including a binary system
of arithmetic, parallel processing, regenerative memory, and a separation
of memory and computing functions. |
 |
|
|
|
The longest mountain range is Stara Planina, known also as
the Balkan Mountain (530km). The whole peninsula is named after
it.
The highest are the Rila mountains; the peak Moussala rises to an
altitude of 2,925 m above sea level. This is the highest point in
the Balkans. The first written evidence of the peak being climbed
refers to King Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great.
The largest lowland in this country, and in the Balkans, is Upper
Thrace. Plovdiv is the metropolis of the region. It is about 180km
long and 50km wide. Its overall area is 6,032 square km.
The largest bay is the Bourgas bay at the Black Sea coast. It stretches
31km into the land. At its widest, it measures 41km, and its deepest
point is 25m.
|
The largest coastal lake is Varna Lake, covering an area of 18 square
km. It is also the deepest at 19m.
The largest glacial lake is Smradlivoto in the Rila Mountains. It covers
21.2 hectares.
The highest glacial lake is Popovoto, in the Pirin Mountains, situated
at 2,715 m above sea level.
The longest river running across Bulgarian territory alone is the Iskar
(368km).
The highest waterfall is Raiskoto Praskalo (Paradise Sprayer) at 124m.
It is not far away from the Botev peak in the Balkan range. The total number
of falls in Bulgaria is nearly 300, 70 of which are looked after by the
state.
The mightiest karst spring is Glava Panega in the vicinity of the town
of Lovech. Its average capacity is 4,178 litres per second.
The greatest number of mineral springs is to be found in the town of Velingrad
(more than 70).
The only Bulgarian volcano, long extinct, is Kozhukh (281m above sea level).
It is not far from the south-western town of Petrich.
The longest cave is close to the village of Bosnek, in the Vitosha Mountains
near Sofia (over 15km). Six underground rivers have cut labyrinths in its
galleries. As many as 4,000 caves have been investigated and mapped in
Bulgaria.
The lowest temperature, measured in an inhabited locality, was registered
in the winter of 1947 in the town of Tran, west of Sofia (minus 38.3 degrees
centigrade).
The highest temperature was measured in the summer of 1916 in Sadovo, near
by Plovdiv (45.2 degrees centigrade).
The most rain was recorded on 21 August 1951 in the neighbourhood of the
port of Varna, where in only 24 hours there was rainfall of 342mm. By way
of comparison: the average annual precipitation for the country is 650mm.
The longest lasting fog occurred in December 1948 in Sofia (29 days and
nights). At that same time, the fogs in Plovdiv and Lom stayed for 28 days.
The capital of Bulgaria is also its foggiest city (33 days annually on
average).
The hottest mineral water is found in the village of Separeva Banya, near
the town of Dupnitza - its temperature is 103.8 degrees centigrade. According
to some sources, this is the hottest spring in Europe.
The oldest tree is an oak growing in the village of Granit in the vicinity
of Stara Zagora. Its age is estimated at about 1,650 years. The crown of
this oak tree covers 1,017 square metres, the circumference of its trunk
is 7.45m and its height 23.40m.
The tallest tree is the 62-metre Baikusheva Mura (white fir) in the Pirin
Mountains. Its age is about 360 years.
The tallest cactus grows in the botanical garden of the town of Balchik,
at the Black Sea coast. The height of this 'hedgehog' is 7 metres.
The last lion in Bulgarian lands was killed during the campaign of the
Persian king Xerxes (as evidenced by Xenophon).
The last lynx was shot in 1941, in the Rila Mountains.
The largest bear in Europe fell a victim to man in 1936, in the neighbourhood
of Brevets, a resort in the Rila Mountains. This record was recognised
at an international hunting exhibition in Berlin.
The last recorded snake bite that led to a human death occurred in 1936.
Bison in Bulgarian lands disappeared as early as the Middle Ages. In 1961
the reserve near the town of Razgrad acquired two pairs of bison, and settled
them in the Voden forest. Nowadays there are several dozen bison in different
Bulgarian preserves.
The largest amphibian is a turtle, which was caught and then set free near
the town of Krumovgrad in 1987. It weighed 5kg, was 35cm long, of the same
height, 29cm wide and 100-120 years old - i.e., at the age limit of European
fauna. Another turtle of similar dimensions was caught some 80 years ago
in the neighbourhood of Kotel, a town in Central Bulgaria.
The rarest animal species is the Black Sea seal, of which only 5 or 6 specimens
are left now. They inhabit the caves along the shoreline around the Black
Sea capes of Kaliakra and Masslen.
The farthest migration is that of the eels, which live in Bulgarian rivers,
but spawn as far away as the Sargasso Sea, east of Florida, U.S.A. |
|
|
