Climate

The climate in Northern Bulgaria is moderate continental, while the climate in Southern Bulgaria is intermediate continental tending to
Mediterranean. The climate in the regions with an altitude of 1900-2000 m above sea level is mountainous and along the Black Sea coast it is maritime. The climate of the seaside regions is milder in the winter and cooler in the summer than the climate of the interior of the country. The average annual temperature is 10,5°C, in winter about 0°C. The lowest temperature - 38,3°C - was measured in1947.
Marked by four distinct seasons, Bulgaria enjoys a generally favorable climate that is one of the country's best features. Although located at the same latitude as southern New England, Bulgaria's climate is noticeably more temperate. Summers are typically hot anddry, but rarely oppressive, with moderate relative humidity. Winters are cold but not bitterly so. In the south and Black Sea coastal regions, Mediterranean influences temper the harsher continental climate of the interior. The country's half-dozen mountain groups also play a significant part in determining regional variances.

History

The territory of modern Bulgaria was once part of the Roman empire, falling to the Byzantine half when the empire split in the fourth century AD. Between the fourth and sixth centuries Slavic groups began settling the area. The Bulgars, a Turkic people, followed them in the seventh century and soon began battling the Byzantines for control of the region.
In 870 a separate Bulgarian Orthodox Church was established, affirming Bulgaria’s emergence as a separate nation and culture and thus aiding the assimilation of the Bulgars by the Slavic majority they had conquered. But their empire overextended itself, and by 1018 Basil II, the Byzantine emperor, had reconquered the area.
In 1185 two brothers from Turnovo succeeded in throwing off the rule of Constantinople once again. Their empire lasted two hundred years—until the Ottoman empire expanded west, capturing Sofia in 1385 and all of Bulgaria by 1396.
Stirrings of nationalism began in the 18th century and gained strength as the power of the Ottoman empire waned through the 19th century. With Russia’s help, Bulgaria won independence in 1878, though Austro-Hungary and Britain intervened to ensure that the new state stayed weak. The break-up of the Turkish estates created a class of small landholders, but an urban elite took control of the government, turning the political system into a grab for raw power.
In the early 20th century two wars, one against the Ottomans and then a second against its former anti-Ottoman allies, left Bulgaria defeated, weakened, and desperate to regain lost territory. After initially declaring neutrality in the first world war, in 1915 Bulgaria allied with the central powers against its neighbors. During the second world war, Bulgaria sided with the Axis, despite the unpopularity of the alliance, once again hoping to gain territory from its neighbors. This was yet another devastating mistake: Soviet troops overran the country and then established a repressive communist government. Bulgaria remained in the Soviet sphere of influence until 1989.