Bulgaria has won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest with Darina Puleva's song "Bangaranga" in Vienna. This triumph has turned the spotlight on Bulgaria, making it a subject of curiosity for the European public. The most read newspaper on the continent, the German "Bild," has published 20 interesting facts about Bulgaria that captivate foreigners.

The Eurovision triumph has opened up a broader conversation about Bulgaria's place in the European imagination, shifting focus from themes of poverty, political instability, and corruption to a narrative of culture, music, history, and talent.

Here are 20 interesting facts about Bulgaria according to "Bild":

  • Bulgaria has the oldest continuous name of a state in Europe, dating back to 679 AD.
  • Sofia, Bulgaria's capital with about 1.2 million inhabitants, is older than Rome. Plovdiv, the second-largest city, is considered the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, dating back 7,000 years.
  • The oldest gold treasure in the world is located in Varna, on the Black Sea coast.
  • Cyrillic script originated in Bulgaria and became the third official alphabet of the European Union when Bulgaria joined on January 1, 2007.
  • Bulgaria, with about 6.5 million inhabitants, is the poorest country in the EU, with an economic power of around 60% of the EU average.
  • Despite this, Bulgaria is an EU member state and adopted the euro at the beginning of the year.
  • Bulgaria lies on the banks of the Danube, just like Vienna and Budapest, forming a 450-kilometer border with Romania.
  • In Bulgaria, nodding the head means "yes," and shaking it means "no," often leading to humorous misunderstandings among visitors.
  • Fermented dairy products, such as yogurt, are believed to have originated in Bulgaria, with the key ingredient being Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
  • Viticulture in Bulgaria dates back 3,000 years, making it one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world.
  • In some Bulgarian villages, people live past 100 years and drink fruit brandy daily.
  • The "chushkopek," a traditional cooking device for roasting peppers, remains popular in Bulgaria today, having been invented in 1974.
  • Bulgaria has much more to offer musically than "Bangaranga." The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir won a Grammy in 1989 with "Mystery of Bulgarian Voices."
  • Bulgarian folk music was sent into space on the Golden Record of Voyager in 1977, alongside recordings of Bach and Mozart.
  • The wrapping of the Reichstag in 1995 was the work of Bulgarian artist Christo, whose full name is Christo Vladimirov Javachev, who passed away in 2020.
  • In Bulgarian mythology, there are both good and evil dragons that can take human form.