National Symbols of the Republic of Bulgaria

| flag | coat of arms | anthem |

National Flag

The national flag of the Republic of Bulgaria is a rectangle with three colors: white, green, and red, positioned horizontally top to bottom. The color fields are of same form and equal size. The rectangle's proportions are 3:5 (width:length) and can be of the following sizes: 18cm x 30cm, 24cm x 40cm, 90cm x 150cm, and 129cm x 215cm. When displayed vertically, the maximum length of the flag can reach five widths. The colors: white --- with degree of whiteness no less than 80%, green --- Pantone Textile #17-5936, and red --- Pantone Textile #18-1664. (You can see the exact Pantone colors here.)

This form of the flag was adopted on April 16, 1879 with the first Bulgarian Constitution. The Communist Constitution of December 6, 1947 added the the coat of arms (rampant lion) in the upper left corner (this was kept in the third Constitution of May 18, 1971). The current form has no coat of arms and was adopted in the fourth Constituion of July 13, 1991.

Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms of the Republic of Bulgaria is a state symbol of the sovereignty and independence of the Bulgarian people and state. The Coat of Arms is a crowned rampant golden lion on a dark red background with the shape of a shield. Above the shield there is a crown modelled after the crowns of the kings of the Second Bulgarian kingdom, with five crosses and an additional cross on top. Two crowned rampant golden lions hold the shield from both sides, facing it. They stand upon two crossed oak branches with acorns. Under the shield, there is a white band lined with the three national colors. The band is placed across the ends of the branches and the phrase "Unity Produces Strength" is inscribed on it.

The present Coat of Arms was adopted by the National Assembly on July 31, 1997, following almost a decade of bitter acrimony over the new symbol. The end result is simlar to the ceremonial form of the 1930-46 coat of arms, though much less ornamental and more stylized. If interested in the heraldry of the Bulgarian Coat of Arms, this site traces its development from the end of the 14th century to present.

National Anthem

The most moving and inspiring of all national anthems I have heard, the Bulgarian anthem is available in several formats:

• Full version (mp3, 1:26, 96kbit, 1.0MB)
• Instrumental (mp3, 2:18, 128kbit, 2.1MB)
• Instrumental (midi, 1:05, 7KB)

"Mila Rodino" (Dear Motherland), lyrics by Tsvetan Radoslavov. Here are the Bulgarian version (far left, you must have the Cyrillic encoding activated to read it), a version transliterated in the Latin alphabet (middle), and my literal English translation (far right). I have also supplied some explanatory notes at the bottom.

????? ????? ???????, ?? ??? ?????? ?????, ?????? ?????? ??????, ??? ?????? ????????. ??????: ???? ??????, ?? ?? ????? ???, ?????? ??????, ?????? ???????, ??, ?? ????? ????. ??????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ?????, ?????, ??? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ?? ?????????.

Gorda Stara planina, do nei Dunava sinei, sluntse Trakiya ogryava, nad Pirina plamenei. Pripev: Mila Rodino, ti si zemen rai, tvoita hubost, tvoita prelest, ah, te niyamat krai. Padnaha bortsi bezchet za naroda nash lyubim, maiko, dai ni muzhka sila putya im da produlzhim.

Stately Stara Planina, next to it the Danube blue, shining upon Trakiya, the sun burns over Pirin. Chorus: Dear motherland, you are paradise on earth, your beauty and your charm, ah, they have no bounds. Countless fighters gave thier lives for our beloved people. Mother, give us manly strength to carry on their course.

Notes:

• Stara Planina: (Old Mountain) the Bulgarian name of the Balkan mountains, extending 560 km (350 mi) from East Serbia, through central Bulgaria, and to the Black Sea. The Romans called it Hemus (Snow-capped Mountain), but most Bulgarians refer to it simply as the Balkan. The Balkans are usually associated with the struggle for independence from Ottoman yoke. Many famous Bulgarian poems are set in the Balkans or use them as a symbol or an index for Bulgaria. Hristo Botev's "Hadji Dimitur," which deals with the death of its eponymous hero, a freedom fighter; Dobri Chintulov's "Vyatur echi, Balkan stene" and "Stani, stani, yunak balkanski," both calls to arms against the Turks; the anonymous "Davash li, davash, Balkandji Yovo?" which tells of a brother refusing to yield his sister to the Turks even after they cut off his hands, legs, and blind him; and, of course, Ivan Vazov's "Tih bial Dunav se vulnuva" that depicts Hristo Botev's crossing of the Danube at the head of a small group of fighters (all subsequently killed in an engagement with the Turks).
• Trakiya: the Bulgarian name of Thrace, the 100,000 sq km region occupying the southern part of Bulgaria, as well as parts of Greece and Turkey. It extends from the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean to the south, to Stara Planina in the north, and from modern Macedonia in the west, to the Black Sea in the east. In the Bulgarian part, the Rhodope Mountains and river Maritsa are symbols associated with the long struggle for independence. Parts of the region were lost to neighboring countries after the Second Balkan War to Turkey (1913), after World War I to Greece (1919), and after the Treaty of Lousanne to Turkey (1923). The region also has some of the most spectacular scenery and cultural and historical heritage.
• Pirin: one of the most spectacular sections of the Rhodope Mountains, which comprises Pirin, Rhodope, and Rila. With its pristine lakes at high elevations, gorges, and almost impassable ranges, Pirin has long been associated with spirituality, beauty, and national pride, especially because it is the Macedonian part of Bulgaria.
• Motherland: somewhat loose translation (could have been "fatherland") of "rodino," which means "land of birth."