On March 3, 1878 , the Peace Treaty of San Stefano was signed. The Peace Treaty of San Stefano marks the revival of the Bulgarian State, submerged under Ottoman rule since the end of 14th century. However, the actual live of independent Bulgaria started after the Berlin Congress, which took place a couple of months later in 1878 ...

Founded in 681, Bulgaria is one of the oldest European states. However, in spite of its 13-century-old tradition, it is an “infant” compared to the history of civilization in the present-day Bulgarian lands. These areas had been populated as early as the Palaeolithic period. Here, in the neighbourhood of the town of Montana, a 6800-year-old inscription has been discovered (cf. the ancient Egyptian script dates back to about the end of the 4th millennium A.D.). This is a stone tablet on which 24 signs (still undeciphered) are written in four lines. And near the Black Sea port of Varna the oldest (Copper Age) gold treasure in Europe was found in 1972. Among the articles, whose overall weight is 1516 g, there are some regal symbols, which means that even in most ancient times there existed some, though unknown, form of statehood. The ethnic identity of the people who had created these masterpieces is also obscure.

Location:	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Geographic coordinates:	43 00 N, 25 00 E
Area:	total: 110,910 sq km water: 360 sq km land: 110,550 sq km
Area - comparative:	slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:	total: 1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km
Coastline:	354 km
Maritime claims:	contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:	temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain:	mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m