Bulgaria made its first steps as an independent state in the distant 681.
It is one of the oldest European countries that have retained its name
unchanged through the centuries. Its geographical position on the Balkans,
the crossing of roads from and to Europe, Africa, and Asia, determined
the difficult historical destiny of the Bulgarian state. The hardest ordeal
for the Bulgarians was the annihilation of their state by the Ottoman Empire
during the 14th century. For nearly five centuries Bulgaria did not exist,
but the Bulgarians managed to preserve their national identity. During
the second half of the 19th century the Bulgarian state once again appeared
on the map of Europe and tried to catch up with the other European countries.
The 20th century brought new hardships because Bulgaria was on the side
of the defeated alliances in both World Wars and then became a part
of the Eastern Bloc. At the end of the 20th century the Bulgarians
once again had to go through deep changes, caused by the end
of the Cold War. Bulgarian citizens and politicians joined efforts and
on January the 1st 2007 Bulgaria became a full member of the European Union.