Bulgaria trivia: 46 questions and answers

Sofia. Sofia is the capital and largest city, at the foot of Mount Vitosha in the west of the country. Veliko Tarnovo was the capital of the medieval Second Bulgarian Empire.

True. True. On 1 January 2026 the euro replaced the Bulgarian lev, and Bulgaria became the 21st member of the euro area.

The Bulgarian lev. The euro replaced the Bulgarian lev, which had been Bulgaria's currency since 1880. The Romanian leu has a similar name but is Romania's currency.

Musala. Musala, 2,925 m in the Rila mountains, is the highest peak in Bulgaria and in the whole Balkan Peninsula. Vihren in the Pirin mountains is Bulgaria's second highest.

False. False. Bulgaria borders Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece and Turkey, with the Black Sea to the east. Romania and Serbia lie between Bulgaria and Hungary.

681. 681. After Khan Asparuh's Bulgars defeated a Byzantine army, a treaty of 681 recognised their state, the beginning of Bulgaria.

Boris I. Boris I was baptised in 864 and made Orthodox Christianity the religion of his state. Asparuh founded the state in 681, Ivan Asen II ruled in the 13th century and Ferdinand declared independence in 1908.

A history of the Bulgarians. He wrote a history of the Bulgarians, the Slavonic-Bulgarian History. Copied by hand and passed around, it helped wake a new national pride under Ottoman rule.

Veliko Tarnovo. Veliko Tarnovo, then called Tarnovo. Prince Ferdinand proclaimed independence at the Holy Forty Martyrs Church in the old royal capital and took the title of tsar.

False. False. The uprising was crushed and up to 30,000 people were killed. The massacres shocked Europe, and Bulgaria was freed only after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 and 1878.

True. True. The Treaty of San Stefano, signed on 3 March 1878 after the Russo-Turkish War, created a Bulgarian principality. The day is now Liberation Day.

True. True. A referendum on 8 September 1946 ended the monarchy, and the young Tsar Simeon II had to leave the country.

Grated white sirene cheese. Grated white sirene cheese covers the chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and peppers like a layer of snow.

A filo pastry pie with eggs, yogurt and white cheese. Banitsa is a filo pastry pie with eggs, yogurt and white cheese, often eaten for breakfast. The grilled meat is kebapche, the cold soup is tarator and the Easter bread is kozunak.

False. False. Tarator is a cold summer soup of yogurt, water, cucumber, garlic and dill, served chilled.

True. True. Kebapche is minced pork and beef with cumin and pepper, cooked on the grill and often served with chips, white cheese and beer.

Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Lactobacillus bulgaricus, discovered by the Bulgarian Stamen Grigorov in 1905. Streptococcus thermophilus is the other main yogurt bacterium, but its name has nothing to do with Bulgaria.

True. True. St. George's Day is celebrated with roast lamb. St. Nicholas' Day in December is the day for fish, usually carp.

True. True. Coins, small dogwood twigs or wishes on paper are hidden in the New Year's banitsa, and whoever finds one can look forward to luck, health or success.

Plovdiv. Plovdiv was a European Capital of Culture in 2019. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, with a Roman theatre still used today.

Veliko Tarnovo. Veliko Tarnovo, then called Tarnovo, was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire from 1185. Pliska and Preslav were capitals of the First Bulgarian Empire.

True. True. Its elegant 19th-century buildings earned Ruse the nickname Little Vienna.

Shumen. Shumen, in the north-east. The huge Monument to 1300 Years of Bulgaria was built on the plateau above the city in 1981.

Saint John of Rila. Tradition names the hermit Saint John of Rila, Bulgaria's patron saint. The monastery bears his name, and his followers built it near the cave where he lived.

True. True. The horseman is carved about 23 metres up a sheer cliff near Shumen, spearing a lion, with a dog running behind him.

1259. 1259. The church owes its fame mainly to its lifelike frescoes of that year, among them the portraits of its patrons Kaloyan and Desislava.

True. True. The cathedral, built mostly between 1904 and 1912, honours the Russian soldiers who died in the Russo-Turkish War, which freed Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.

False. False. As of 2026, Bulgaria's World Heritage Sites include the Rila Monastery, Boyana Church, Nessebar and the Madara Rider, but not the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

A landslide uncovered it. A landslide uncovered it. The theatre, built in the 1st century AD, had been hidden under the earth, and today it is used again for concerts and opera.

True. True. Traditionally a shake of the head means yes and a nod means no. If you are unsure, ask for a spoken 'da' or 'ne'.

At Preslav, in the First Bulgarian Empire. At Preslav, in the First Bulgarian Empire, followers of Cyril and Methodius developed the Cyrillic alphabet. Russians and many other peoples later adopted it.

Stamen Grigorov. Stamen Grigorov discovered it in a laboratory in Geneva in 1905. The bacterium is now called Lactobacillus bulgaricus.

1 March. 1 March, Baba Marta (Grandma March) Day. People wear their martenitsa until they see a stork, a swallow or a tree in blossom.

True. True. The Rose Festival has been held since 1903, on the first weekend of June, in the heart of the Rose Valley.

True. True. Because Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, the newer euro notes show EURO in Latin, ΕΥΡΩ in Greek and ЕВРО in Cyrillic.

False. False. 'Da' means yes and 'ne' means no, even though a Bulgarian may shake the head while saying 'da'.

Thank you. Blagodarya (благодаря) means thank you. Goodbye is dovizhdane, excuse me is izvinete and cheers is nazdrave.

To the left. Nalyavo (наляво) means to the left. To the right is nadyasno, and tomorrow is utre.

Nazdrave!. Nazdrave! means cheers, or to your health. Dovizhdane is goodbye, Pomosht is help and Leka nosht is good night.

The bill, please. Smetkata, molya means the bill, please. Smetka is the bill and molya means please.

True. True. Dobar den means good day, and it is the polite greeting for most of the day, in shops and with strangers.

112. 112 reaches all three emergency services. The older numbers each reach only one: 166 is the police, 150 the ambulance and 160 the fire service.

At the Bulgarian National Bank. At the Bulgarian National Bank, free of charge and with no end date. Commercial banks and post offices may charge a fee after 30 June 2026.

True. True. The vignette is a road toll bought online before the journey. Driving without one can bring a fine.

True. True. Lights must be on during the day as well, and traffic police can give on-the-spot fines.

False. False. Service is not added to the bill. A tip of 5 to 10% is welcome if you were happy with the service.