Bulgarian Culture

Situated at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Bulgarian territories have been inhabited by many different cultures, such as the Thracians, the Slavs and the proto-Bulgarians, who have left their marks upon the world's cultural treasure house.

The Thracians and their ancestors have left evidence of their highly-developed culture in hundreds of vaults. Well-known all over the world is the necropolis found in Varna, dating back to 4000 years B.C., which has preserved the oldest worked gold in the world. The Thracian vaults nearby Kazanluck, Sveshtari, Starosel and Alexandrovo, as well as the numerous Thracian gold treasures are also well-known all over the world.

There are also numerous Greek, Roman and Byzantine monuments that date back to Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

Bulgarians have inherited, enriched, preserved and developed further their culture up to the present day. And on their part, they have given the world their own calendar, the first alphabet in Slavic language, created by St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the Slavonic translation of the Holy book, the Madara horseman.

Bulgarian folk art has preserved its freshness in folk songs, customs and handicrafts. Contemporary Bulgarian culture is remarkable for its great achievements in the fields of literature, art, music and architecture.

Baba Marta

A decoration with "martenitsi" is the most typical and unique Bulgarian tradition. The advent of spring, Baba Marta, is celebrated on March 1st when peasant house-holds brush out the winter cobwebs with a traditional spring clean, and people offer each other tokens of good luck called martenitsas.

The red and white colours on a Martenitsa are to please Baba Marta, not to make us cold. In doing so, we hope the spring will come as soon as possible. Once we have those tokens, which we put on our cloths or wrists, pets and animals, we wear them until we see a stork. After seeing this bird, we have to take away the tokens, because the stork is showing us that the spring is already here. In the different parts of the country, however, the process of taking away the token is different. Some ties it on a fruit tree,  thus giving the tree the health and luck that we had while having the token. Others are putting it under a stone.

Nowadays "martenitsa" symbolizes new life, conception, fertility, and spring, harmony in nature and in people's lives. This is a holiday  for joy, health and long life.

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