Shumen.UK

The Bulgarian almanac

On This Day in Bulgaria

History here runs on more than one calendar. This permanent archive follows the dates that built the state, the saints and name days people still keep, the town days that fill local squares, and the seasonal traditions that survive beneath the official year.

100 dates published of 366. Every link below is a complete article. Unpublished dates stay visible without creating thin pages.

On This Day in Bulgaria: Dora Smedovska, the Lawyer Who Wrote Cartoons (23 August)

Today in Bulgaria

23 August

On This Day in Bulgaria: Dora Smedovska, the Lawyer Who Wrote Cartoons (23 August)

Born in Sofia on this day in 1934, Dora Smedovska took a law degree into a career writing animated films. Almost nobody remembers her name, which is exactly why she is worth five minutes of your Sunday. Plus: what to do if you know a Valko.

3 min read

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Every date in the Bulgarian year

Published dates are ordinary links and remain useful without JavaScript. On smaller screens, the controls enhance this full calendar into one month at a time.

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January

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February

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May

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June

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July

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August

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September

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October

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November

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December

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How the year works

Bulgaria through four overlapping calendars

State history

Liberation, Unification, constitutions, uprisings and wars supply the dates in textbooks and public ceremonies. Their meaning has often shifted with the state telling the story.

Orthodox feasts and name days

A saint's feast can matter more socially than a birthday. The religious calendar also carries folk customs that pre-date Christianity.

Town days

Municipalities choose anniversaries, patron saints and liberation dates as their own public day. A single date can therefore mean something quite different in Varna, Shumen or a Rhodope town.

Folk and seasonal time

Vine pruning, spring rites, harvest customs and winter visitors map the agricultural year. The date may be fixed, movable, or kept by local habit.

A necessary caution

Why Bulgarian historical dates sometimes differ

Bulgaria used the Julian calendar until 1916, then moved to the Gregorian calendar. A source may preserve the date recorded at the time, convert it to the modern calendar, or silently mix the two. Orthodox observance, regional custom, archival transcription and politically contested identity can introduce further differences. Where reliable sources disagree, the article says so and explains which date it uses. Apparent precision is not the same as certainty.

Ways into the archive

Landmark dates and overlooked Bulgarian lives

National anniversaries sit beside people who rarely reach English-language histories: teachers, translators, artists, athletes, local organisers and figures claimed by more than one national story. The aim is not a parade of famous birthdays. It is a fuller account of how Bulgaria was made and lived.

Statehood

  1. 16 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Georgi Markov the Literary Critic Dies (16 May)
  2. 18 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Yane Sandanski Is Born, Revolutionary Who Made Kidnapping for Freedom a Strategic Art (18 May)
  3. 19 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: The 1934 Coup That Banned All Political Parties (19 May)
  4. 20 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Dimitar Kirov Is Born, the Painter Who Covered Half the Country in Frescoes (20 May)
  5. 21 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: A Revolutionary Drowns Mid-Bridge, and 19 Forenames Throw a Party (21 May)
  6. 23 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Military Historian Petar Darvingov Is Born (23 May)

Arts and ideas

  1. 16 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Georgi Markov the Literary Critic Dies (16 May)
  2. 17 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Lilia Ignatova Is Born, and Two Towns Hold Their Municipal Days (17 May)
  3. 20 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Dimitar Kirov Is Born, the Painter Who Covered Half the Country in Frescoes (20 May)
  4. 21 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: A Revolutionary Drowns Mid-Bridge, and 19 Forenames Throw a Party (21 May)
  5. 26 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Revolutionary Panayot Volov Drowns Fleeing Ottoman Forces (26 May)
  6. 30 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Actor Boris Lukanov Dies, and a Nuclear City Throws a Party (30 May)

Sport

  1. 17 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Lilia Ignatova Is Born, and Two Towns Hold Their Municipal Days (17 May)
  2. 22 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Ludogorets Win the Cup (Again), and What That Means for European Football (22 May)
  3. 24 MayBulgaria's National Day: Cyril, Methodius, the Alphabet That Changed a Continent, and Eleven Towns (24 May)
  4. 25 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: The Battle of Lomtsi and Tanyu Voivoda's First Victory (25 May)
  5. 26 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Revolutionary Panayot Volov Drowns Fleeing Ottoman Forces (26 May)
  6. 1 JuneOn This Day in Bulgaria: A Football Match Nobody Remembers, Two Name Days, and Vratsa Throws a Party (1 June)

Faith and tradition

  1. 17 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Lilia Ignatova Is Born, and Two Towns Hold Their Municipal Days (17 May)
  2. 19 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: The 1934 Coup That Banned All Political Parties (19 May)
  3. 20 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Dimitar Kirov Is Born, the Painter Who Covered Half the Country in Frescoes (20 May)
  4. 21 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: A Revolutionary Drowns Mid-Bridge, and 19 Forenames Throw a Party (21 May)
  5. 24 MayBulgaria's National Day: Cyril, Methodius, the Alphabet That Changed a Continent, and Eleven Towns (24 May)
  6. 26 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Revolutionary Panayot Volov Drowns Fleeing Ottoman Forces (26 May)

Towns and everyday life

  1. 18 MayOn This Day in Bulgaria: Yane Sandanski Is Born, Revolutionary Who Made Kidnapping for Freedom a Strategic Art (18 May)
  2. 4 JuneOn This Day in Bulgaria: The 2005 Croatia Match and Марта's Name Day (4 June)
  3. 8 JuneOn This Day in Bulgaria: The Day Luxembourg Arrived in Sofia and Left with Eight Goals Against (8 June)
  4. 9 JuneOn This Day in Bulgaria: The 1923 Coup That Toppled an Elected Government (9 June)
  5. 14 JuneOn This Day in Bulgaria: The 1913 Earthquake That Levelled Veliko Tarnovo (14 June)
  6. 15 JuneOn This Day in Bulgaria: Bulgaria Beat Poland 4-1, and Three Name Days Quietly Go About Their Business (15 June)

Research method

Sources, corrections and the annual review

Each public date has one permanent URL. On its anniversary, that page is reviewed and substantively improved instead of being replaced by a new yearly URL. The original publication date remains intact; the modification date changes only when the page changes, and the previous edition is retained internally.

Claims are checked against the closest available source and links sit next to the material they support. Bulgarian spellings and useful aliases are retained. Conflicting dates, identities or classifications are stated rather than averaged away. Legacy pages without a matching structured generation and source hash receive a fresh full verification before their first annual update.

See something wrong? Read the corrections policy or email hello@shumen.uk. Last archive change: .