Bulgarian Flag
Bulgarian Flag
Occupied by
the Slays during the 6th century and then by the Bulgars during the 7th.
And
during the 9th century Bulgaria, under the rule of the Eastern Christian
Orthodox Czar Simeon (893-927), became a leading power in Southeastern
Europe. From the 11th century, however, and for the next 500 years,
Bulgaria was part of the Ottoman Empire. It became a principality in 1878
and an independent kingdom in 1908. The monarchy were abolished in 1946
and, the following year, a Soviet-style constitution was adopted. The
communist ruling powers collapsed in 1990, whereupon Bulgaria was
redefined as a republic.
During Ottoman Turkish rule, there was no national Bulgarian flag, but when it
became a principality it adopted a tricolor flag based on the Russian
flag at that time, but with a central, green stripe instead of a blue one
(red, white and blue are the Pan-Slavic colors). The top white band
represents peace, the central green one symbolizes the youthfulness of
the emerging nation and the bottom red stripe denotes the courage of the
Bulgarian people. With the formation of the People's Republic of Bulgaria
in 1947, a coat of arms was added to the white stripe, near to the hoist,
depicting a lion rampant, the red star of communism and a cog wheel,
symbolizing industry. Following the fall of communism in 1990, the arms
were removed from the flag of Bulgaria.
