Bulgarians ( ro, bulgari) are a recognized minority in Romania ( bg, Румъния, ''Rumaniya''), numbering 7,336 according to the 2011 Romanian census, down from 8,025 in 2002., Despite their low census number today,

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

from different confessional and regional backgrounds have had ethnic communities in various regions of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, and during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Bulgarian culture has exerted considerable influence on its northern neighbour. According to one Bulgarian estimate, Romanian citizens of Bulgarian origin number around 250,000.Павлов. Historically, Bulgarian communities in modern Romania have existed in

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

( bg, Влашко, transliterated: ''Vlashko''),

Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( ro, Dobrogea de Nord or simply ; bg, Северна Добруджа, ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, bordered in the south ...

( bg, Северна Добруджа, translit. ''Severna Dobrudzha'') and

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

( bg, Седмиградско, translit. ''Sedmigradsko''). Currently, however, the Bulgarian community in present-day Romania that has retained most efficiently its numbers, social integrity and strong ethnic identity is that of the

Banat Bulgarians The Banat Bulgarians ( Banat Bulgarian: ''Palćene'' or ''Banátsći balgare''; common bg, Банатски българи, Banatski balgari; ro, Bulgari bănățeni; sr, / ), also known as Bulgarian Roman Catholics and Bulgarians Paulician ...

, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

minority in the

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

who account for the bulk of the Bulgarian-identifying population of Romania. In Wallachia, there are only few Bulgarians who have preserved their national identity, though the numbers of those who speak Bulgarian and affirm to have Bulgarian ancestors is still high. Much of the

Torlak Torlakian, or Torlak is a group of South Slavic dialects of southeastern Serbia, Kosovo, northeastern North Macedonia, and northwestern Bulgaria. Torlakian, together with Bulgarian and Macedonian, falls into the Balkan Slavic linguistic ar ...

-speaking

Krashovani The Krashovani ( ro, Carașoveni, hr, Krašovani) are a Croat community inhabiting Carașova and Lupac in the Caraș-Severin County within Romanian Banat. They are Catholic by faith and speak the Torlakian dialect. Glottolog lists "Karashevski" ...

who today form a part of the Croatian minority in Romania had declared themselves Bulgarian during the rule

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. The population of undisputed Bulgarian origin aside, Bulgarian researchers also claim that the Hungarian minority of the Székely in central Romania is of Magyarized

Bulgar Bulgar may refer to: *Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia *Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars * Oghur languages Bulgar may also refer to: *Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria *Bulgur, a wheat product * Bulgar, an Ash ...

(Proto-Bulgarian) origin and the

Șchei ''Șchei'' ( bg, шкеи, ''shkei'') was an old Romanian and Albanian exonym referring to the Bulgarians, especially in Transylvania and northern Wallachia. As a name, it has been preserved in the names of towns colonized in the 14th century by ...

of Transylvania were Romanianized Bulgarians (a view also supported by

Lyubomir Miletich Lyubomir Miletich ( bg, Любомир Милетич) (14 January 1863 – 1 June 1937) was a leading Bulgarian linguist, ethnographer, dialectologist and historian, as well as the chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences from 1926 to ...

and accepted by Romanian writers).

Names

While the modern Romanian word for Bulgarians is "''bulgari''", throughout the history they have been known by other names. The old Bulgarian population—which existed in Romania by the time of the founding of the principality of Wallachia and the inclusion of Transylvania in the Hungarian Kingdom—was referred as ''

''. This word, currently obsolete, derives from the Latin word ''sclavis'', referring to all South Slavs. Currently, the word appears in many place names in Wallachia and Transylvania, among which,

Șcheii Brașovului Șcheii Brașovului ( hu, Bolgárszeg, german: Belgerei or more recently ''Obere Vorstadt''; traditional Romanian name: ''Bulgărimea'', colloquially ''Șchei'') is the old ethnically Bulgarian and Romanian neighborhood of Brașov, a city in southe ...

, a neighborhood of Braşov. The Bulgarians who migrated during the 19th century were known as ''sârbi'' (Serbians). This word may have been used by Romanians to refer to all

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, Hu ...

, but it has also been proposed that they used this ethnic identification to prevent the Ottomans from demanding the Wallachian authorities to return the refugees to their place of origin. Even today, the Bulgarians from Wallachia are called "sârbi" (=Serbians) though they speak Bulgarian and define themselves as "bulgari" (=Bulgarians).

History

Antiquity and medieval Bulgarian Empire

In Antiquity, both

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and Romania were inhabited by

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

tribes, contributing to the ethnogenesis of the

Romanian people The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Romanian c ...

and possibly the Bulgarian people (along with

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

and

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...

), although this is a matter of dispute. During the

Migration Period The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...

, both the Slavs and the Bulgars crossed what is today Romania to settle in the plains south of the Danube, establishing the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...

in the 7th century. In the

, the lands between the Danube and the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

were scarcely settled, but they were often at least nominally under Bulgarian control in the 9th and 10th century, as well as during some periods of the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

. The Golden Age of Bulgarian culture under Simeon I exerted considerable influence on the empire's transdanubian possessions.

Old Bulgarian Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...

was established as the language of liturgy and written communication along with the

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, ...

created in Bulgaria, which was used for the Romanian language until the 1860s; the first written text in the Romanian language, Neacşu's letter of 1512, illustrates this trend: it was written in Cyrillic, intermixed with Bulgarian sentences and phrases. To this day, a notable part of Romanian's core vocabulary is of Latinized South Slavic origin, although much of it was replaced by

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

and

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later periods ...

loanwords in the 19th century.

Under the Ottomans

As the Second Bulgarian Empire fell under full-scale Ottoman rule in the 14th-15th century whereas the lands north of the Danube were still contested between the Europeans and the Ottomans and then came under Ottoman

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

, but retained their internal autonomy, many Bulgarian fled the Ottoman occupation in various periods and settled in what is today Romania. These included both

Bulgarian Orthodox The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...

and some Roman Catholics (either former

Paulicians Paulicianism (Classical Armenian: Պաւղիկեաններ, ; grc, Παυλικιανοί, "The followers of Paul"; Arab sources: ''Baylakānī'', ''al Bayāliqa'' )Nersessian, Vrej (1998). The Tondrakian Movement: Religious Movements in the ...

from the central Bulgarian north or from

Chiprovtsi Chiprovtsi ( bg, Чипровци, pronounced ) is a small town in northwestern Bulgaria, administratively part of Montana Province. It lies on the shores of the river Ogosta in the western Balkan Mountains, very close to the Bulgarian-Serbian bo ...

in the northwest). The migratory waves were particularly strong after the

Austro Austro may refer to: * Austro-, a prefix denoting Austria * Austro (automobile), an Austrian cyclecar manufactured 1913–1914 * Austro Engine, an aircraft engine manufacturer * Ēostre () is a West Germanic spring goddess. The name is ref ...

-Turkish and

Russo Russo may refer to: *Russo (surname) * Russo (footballer, 1915–1980), full name Adolpho Milman, Brazilian football forward and manager * Russo (footballer, born 1976), full name Ricardo Soares Florêncio, Brazilian football defender *Russo brothe ...

-Turkish Wars of the 17th-19th century. The Orthodox Bulgarians settled all around the

Principality of Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

; however, many of them gradually lost their Bulgarian identity and became Romanianized. Catholics primarily migrated to the Austrian-ruled Banat and Transylvania, establishing still-extant communities in modern

Timiș County Timiș () is a county ('' județ'') of western Romania on the border with Hungary and Serbia, in the historical region of Banat, with the county seat at Timișoara. It is the westernmost and the largest county in Romania in terms of land area. T ...

and

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( judeţ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative center ...

; some former Paulicians also settled around

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, in Cioplea and Popeşti-Leordeni. The Transylvanian city of Braşov (''Kronstadt'') grew into an international merchant centre attracting Bulgarian merchants ever since the 14th century (it was given trade rights in Bulgaria by

Bulgarian tsar The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled the country during three periods of Bulgaria's history as an independent country: from the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 to the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria in 1018; from the Uprising of Asen ...

Ivan Sratsimir Ivan Sratsimir (), or Ivan Stratsimir ( bg, Иван Страцимир), was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Vidin from 1356 to 1396. He was born in 1324 or 1325, and he died in or after 1397. Despite being the eldest surviving son of Ivan Alexand ...

's '' Braşov Charter'' of 1369–1380) and rivalled

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

and

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

in importance, particularly for the people from northern Bulgaria, with many Bulgarian merchants opening offices and shops in the city. As early as 1392, Bulgarian settlers arrived in the city, contributing to the construction of the city church, today known as the

Black Church The black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian congregations and denominations in the United States that minister predominantly to African Americans, as well as their ...

, and populating the once-Bulgarian city neighbourhood of

. After the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

, thousands of Greeks and

ethnic Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understoo ...

fled Greece. Many were evacuated to Romania. A large evacuation camp was established in the Romanian town of Tulgheș. In the mid-19th century the cities of southern Romania such as Bucharest,

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

, Galaţi and

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2011 Romanian census there were 180,302 pe ...

attracted many Bulgarian revolutionary and political

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followi ...

s, such as

Sophronius of Vratsa Saint Sophronius of Vratsa (or Sofroniy Vrachanski; bg, Софроний Врачански; 1739–1813), born Stoyko Vladislavov ( bg, Стойко Владиславов), was a Bulgarian cleric and one of the leading figures of the early Bul ...

Petar Beron Dr. Petar Beron ( bg, Петър Берон) (c. 1799, Kotel – 21 March 1871) was a Bulgarian educator. He created the first modern Bulgarian primer, known as the '' Fish Primer'' (Рибен буквар, ''Riben bukvar'') due to a dolphin ...

Hristo Botev Hristo Botev ( bg, Христо Ботев, ), born Hristo Botyov Petkov (Христо Ботьов Петков; – ), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and poet. Botev is considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and nationa ...

Lyuben Karavelov Lyuben Stoychev Karavelov ( bg, Любен Стойчев Каравелов) (c. 1834 – 21 January 1879) was a Bulgarian writer and an important figure of the Bulgarian National Revival. Karavelov was born in Koprivshtitsa. He began his ed ...

Georgi Rakovski Georgi Stoykov Rakovski ( bg, Георги Стойков Раковски) (1821 – 9 October 1867), known also Georgi Sava Rakovski (), born Sabi Stoykov Popovich (), was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary, freemason, writer and an impo ...

Panayot Hitov Panayot Ivanov Hitov ( bg, Панайот Иванов Хитов) (November 11, 1830 – February 22, 1918) was a Bulgarian ''hajduk'', national revolutionary and voivode. Born in 1830 in Sliven (known as İslimiye at the time), he became a haj ...

Evlogi Georgiev Evlogi Georgiev () (3 October 1819 – 5 July 1897) was a major Bulgarian merchant, banker and benefactor. The main building of the Sofia University was built with a large financial donation by him and his brother Hristo Georgiev (patron), Hris ...

and Hristo Georgievi. In his 1883 novelette ''Nemili-Nedragi'' ("Unloved and Unwanted"), Bulgarian national writer

Ivan Vazov Ivan Minchov Vazov ( bg, Иван Минчов Вазов; – 22 September 1921) was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley of ...

(1850–1921) describes the life of poor and nostalgic Bulgarian revolutionaries in Wallachia known as ''hashove'' (хъшове). Romania also turned into a centre for the organized Bulgarian revolutionary movement seeking to overthrow Ottoman rule: the

Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee The Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee ( bg, Български революционен централен комитет, ''Balgarski revolyutsionen tsentralen komitet'') or BRCC was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded in 186 ...

was founded in Bucharest in 1869. In the same year, the Bulgarian Literary Society (modern

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy ...

) was established in Brăila. Some of the

Bessarabian Bulgarians The Bessarabian Bulgarians ( bg, бесарабски българи, ''besarabski bǎlgari'', ro, bulgari basarabeni, uk, бесарабські болгари, ''bessarabski bolháry'') are a Bulgarian minority group of the historical region o ...

were also ruled by

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

/Romania between 1856 and 1878 (during this time, in

Bolgrad Bolhrad ( uk, Болгра́д, Bolhrad, ; bg, Болград, Bolgrad; ro, Bolgrad, Gagauz: ''Bolgrad''), is a small city in Odesa Oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Budjak. It is the administrative center o ...

the first Bulgarian gymnasium has been opened: the

Bolhrad High School The Georgi Sava Rakovski Bolhrad High School ( uk, Болградська гімназія імені Г.С. Раковського, ''Bolhrads′ka himnaziya im. H.S. Rakovs′koho''); bg, Болградска гимназия „Георги С ...

), and all of them were under Romanian rule between 1918 and 1940. Today, they live in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

. According to one estimate, the Bulgarian-originating population of the

Romanian Old Kingdom The Romanian Old Kingdom ( ro, Vechiul Regat or just ''Regat''; german: Regat or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia ...

and Transylvania (not including Bessarabia) by the time of the

Liberation of Bulgaria The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishmen ...

in 1878 may have numbered up to one million. According to official data from 1838, 11,652 Bulgarian families lived in Wallachia, meaning up to 100,000 people.

After the Liberation of Bulgaria

Following the Liberation, members of all Bulgarian communities moved to the newly established

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ende ...

, but a significant Bulgarian population remained in Romania. Although set to be ceded to Bulgarian as per the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Treaty of San Stefano (russian: Сан-Стефанский мир; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-187 ...

, the region of

was awarded to Romania by the

Congress of Berlin The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...

of 1878. The region had a compact Bulgarian population in the

Babadag Babadag (; tr, Babadağ, "Father Mountain"), formerly known as Babatag, is a town in Tulcea County, Romania, located on a small lake formed by the river Taița, in the densely wooded highlands of Northern Dobruja. One of the several tombs ...

region, with Northern Dobruja Bulgarians numbering 35–45,000 in the late 19th century. Romania also ruled the Bulgarian-majority Southern Dobruja between 1913 and 1940, when it was ceded back to Bulgaria, with a

population exchange Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration, often imposed by state policy or international authority and most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion but also due to economic development. Banishment or exile is a ...

between the Bulgarians of Northern Dobruja and the Romanian, Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian colonists in Southern Dobruja. Today, as an officially recognized ethnic minority, Bulgarians have one seat reserved in the Romanian

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

. There exist several organizations of the Bulgarians in Romania.

Towns and communes with the largest Bulgarian population percentage

Dudeștii Vechi Dudeștii Vechi (until 1964 Beșenova Veche; hu, Óbesenyő; german: Altbeschenowa; Banat Bulgarian: ''Stár Bišnov''; sr, Старо Бешеново, Staro Bešenovo) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: ...

( bg, Стар Бешенов; Banat Bulgarian: ''Stár Bišnov'') — 61.1% **

Denta Denta ( hu, Denta; german: Denta or ''Tenta''; sr, Дента, Denta) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Breștea ( hu, Berestye; Banat Bulgarian: ''Brešća''), Denta, Rovinița Mare (until 1964 Omor; hu, O ...

— 16.06% **

Sânnicolau Mare Sânnicolau Mare (; hu, Nagyszentmiklós; german: Großsanktnikolaus; sr, Велики Семиклуш, Veliki Semikluš; Banat Bulgarian: ''Smikluš'') is a town in Timiș County, Romania, and the westernmost of the country. Located in the Ba ...

( bg, Сънниколау Маре; Banat Bulgarian: ''Smikluš'') — 2.98% ** Deta ( bg, Дета) — 1.93% *

Vinga Vinga is a commune in Arad County, western Romania, south of the county seat of Arad, with a population of 5,828 inhabitants (as of 2011). Vinga is located in the northern section of the Banat. The people in Vinga are mainly Romanians, the sec ...

( bg, Винга) — 5.41%

Notable figures

: ''This list includes people of Bulgarian origin born in what is today Romania or people born in Bulgaria but mainly active in Romania.'' *

Vasile Lupu Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (; 1595–1661), was a List of Moldavian rulers, Voivode of Moldavia of Albanians, Albanian origin between 1634 and 1653. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and man ...

(1595–1661) — ruler of the

Principality of Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Central ...

(born in Arbanasi, of likely

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

ancestry) *

Manuc Bei Manuc Bey (the common Romanian rendering of ''Manuk Bey'', the Armenian name of Emanuel Mârzayan; 1769–1817) was an Armenian merchant, diplomat and inn-keeper. Life He was born in Rousse (modern Ruse, Bulgaria) as a subject of the Ottoman ...

(1769–1817) — Bulgarian Armenian merchant, diplomat and innkeeper *

Stefan Bogoridi Prince ('' Knyaz'' or ''Bey'') Stefan Bogoridi (born Стойко Цонков Стойков, ''Stoyko Tsonkov Stoykov''; ; ; ; ; 1775 or 1780–August 1, 1859) was a high-ranking Ottoman statesman of Bulgarian origin, grandson of Sophron ...

(1775/1780–1859) — ruler of the Principality of Moldavia *

Anton Pann Anton Pann (; born Antonie Pantoleon-Petroveanu , and also mentioned as ''Anton Pantoleon'' or ''Petrovici''; 1790s—2 November 1854) was an Ottoman-born Wallachian composer, musicologist, and Romanian-language poet, also noted for his act ...

(1790s–1854) — composer, musicologist, poet and author of the music to the Romanian anthem (born in

Sliven Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...

, of disputed ancestry) * Colonel Stefan Dunjov (1815–1889) — revolutionary, participant in the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although th ...

and member of

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

's forces during the

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

Nicolae Vogoride Prince Nicolae Vogoride (Romanian language, Romanian version; Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Никола or Николай Богориди, ''Nikola'' or ''Nikolay Bogoridi''; Greek language, Greek: Νικόλαος Βογορίδης, ''Nikolao ...

(1820–1863) — ruler of the Principality of Moldavia *

Eusebius Fermendžin Eusebius Fermendžin (also ''Fermendzhin, Fermendjin''; bg, Евсевий, Еузебий, Еусебий, or Еусебиус Ферменджин) (21 September 1845 – 25 June 1897) was an Austro-Hungarian high-ranking Roman Catholic cleric ...

(1845–1897) — historian, high-ranking

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

cleric, theologian, polyglot and active member of the

Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...

* Carol Telbisz (1853–1914) — long-time mayor of Timișoara (1885–1914) *

Paraskev Stoyanov Paraskev Ivanchov Stoyanov ( bg, Параскев Стоянов; ro, Paraschiv Stoian; January 30, 1871November 14, 1941) was a surgeon, anarchist, historian and professor. He is considered one of the fathers of Bulgarian and Romanian anarch ...

(1871–1941) — surgeon, anarchist, historian and professor *

Christian Rakovsky Christian Georgievich Rakovsky (russian: Христиа́н Гео́ргиевич Рако́вский; bg, Кръстьо Георги́ев Рако́вски; – September 11, 1941) was a Bulgarian-born socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevi ...

(1873–1941) — communist revolutionary and diplomat *

Panait Cerna Panait Cerna (; Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Панайот Черна, ''Panayot Cherna'', born Panayot Stanchov or Panait Staciov; August 26 or September 25, 1881 – March 26, 1913) was a Romanian poet, philosopher, literary critic and tr ...

(1881–1913) — poet and translator *

Iorgu Iordan Iorgu Iordan (; also known as ''Jorgu Jordan'' or ''Iorgu Jordan''; –September 20, 1986) was a Romanian linguist, philologist, diplomat, journalist, and left-wing agrarian, later communist, politician. The author of works on a large variety of t ...

(1888–1986) — linguist, philologist and politician *

Boris Stefanov Boris Stefanov Mateev (also known as Boris Ștefanov, Draganov or Dragu; bg, Борис Стефанов Матеев, ''Boris Stefanov Mateev''; October 8, 1883 – October 11, 1969) was a Romanian communist politician, who served as general se ...

(1893–?) — communist politician and general secretary of the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...

Petre Borilă Petre Borilă (born Iordan Dragan Rusev; Bulgarian: Йордан Драган Русев, ''Yordan Dragan Rusev''; 13 February 1906 – 2 January 1973) was a Romanian communist politician who briefly served as Vice-Premier under the Communist r ...

(1906–1973) — communist politician and vice-premier of Romania *

Dumitru Coliu Dumitru Coliu (born Dimitar Kolev, ro, Dimităr Colev, bg, Димитър Колев; November 7, 1907 – 1985) was a Romanian Communism, communist activist and politician. An Bulgarians, ethnic Bulgarian, he was born in Preselentsi, Vasil ...

(1907–1979) — communist politician

Gallery

Image:Star beshenov cyrkva.JPG, Roman Catholic church in Dudeştii Vechi (''Stár Bišnov'') Image:Star beshenov liturgiq.JPG, Liturgy in the Bulgarian church in Dudeştii Vechi Image:Roman Catholic church Vinga.jpg, Roman Catholic church in Bulgarian-inhabited

Image:Sigla UBBR Vinga.jpg, Plaque in Banat Bulgarian on the Bulgarian Cultural House in Vinga Image:Biserica Cioplea Bucuresti.jpg, Bulgarian Roman Catholic church in Cioplea, Bucharest (1811–1813) Image:Sfantul ilie bucuresti.jpg, Bulgarian Orthodox Church of Saint Elijah the Prophet, Bucharest (1954-2009) Image:Bulgarian merchant selling milk, 1880.jpg, Bulgarian milk merchant in Bucharest (1880) Image:Petocile Brasov.JPG,

, the once-Bulgarian-inhabited neighbourhood of medieval Braşov (''Kronstadt'') Image:Baratia bucuresti (2).JPG, Inscription from 1666 on the Bucharest Bărăţia saying it was built by

franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

from the "Province of Bulgaria" Image:P6140009.JPG, The Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi tomb in the Bellu cemetery of Bucharest

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * *

External links

The website of Banat Bulgarian publications ''Náša glás'' and ''Literaturna miselj''
offers

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

versions of both publications, as well as information about the Banat Bulgarians (in Banat Bulgarian)
The webpage of the historically Bulgarian Roman Catholic parish in Cioplea, Bucharest
(in Romanian)

(in Romanian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulgarians In Romania

Ethnic groups in Romania