Bulgaria Genealogy

EuropeBulgaria Guide to Bulgaria ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Country Information
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country situated in south-eastern Europe, bordering Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey and the Black Sea. Bulgaria ranks as the third largest country in Southeast Europe. Bulgaria is one of the oldest European countries and is the only one that hasn't changed its namе ever since it was founded. Its landscape is defined by several mountains and mountain ranges. In contrast, the plains represent Bulgaria's lowest and most fertile regions. The 378-kilometer Black Sea coastline covers the entire eastern bound of the country. To read more about Bulgaria see The World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Because of its proximity to Asia Minor, Bulgaria was the first of the European states to succumb to the Ottoman Turks and one of the last to be liberated from them. During five centuries of Ottoman rule (1396-1878), the country stagnated, untouched by any of the cultural, social, or political movements of Europe. The Russian army liberated Bulgarians from the Ottomans. Eastern Rumelia, the southeastern portion of Bulgaria, was added to the country in 1885 and additional territory was added to the southern end of the country during the Balkan wars in 1912-1913. Bulgaria allied itself with Germany in World Wars I and II. In 1944 the Red Army entered Bulgaria and installed a communist satellite regime. The communist regime lasted until 1990 when Bulgaria re-emerged as an independent nation.

Bulgaria Clickable Map
Administratively, Bulgaria is divided into 28 districts (or provinces). All take their names from their respective capital cities. The provinces subdivide into 264 municipalities. Sofia, with 1.4 million people, is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 15th largest city by population in the European Union. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha.



Jurisdictions
28 Provinces

Blagoevgrad Burgas Dobrich Gabrovo Haskovo Kardzhali Kyustendil Lovech Montana Pazardzhik Pernik Pleven Plovdiv Razgrad Ruse Shumen Silistra Sliven Smolyan Sofia City Sofia (province) Stara Zagora Targovishte Varna Veliko Tarnovo Vidin Vratsa Yambol

Research strategies give guidance on how to research or what records to search for first. Below are additional research strategy Wiki articles for Bulgaria.

More Bulgaria Research Tools
Research tools can include resources that assist in locating correct records to search and determining the correct locality to search in. Below are links and Wiki articles to research tools in Bulgaria.
 * Bulgaria Websites

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in resourcing your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records
 * Family History Center locator map