A 1980 Summer Holiday in Слънчев бряг

Issued on the same day as the perforated stamps were six imperforate stamps in the same designs and values but in different colours. The imperforate stamps are catalogued by Michel as nrs. 1178 – 1183.

1960, 27 June, VIII Football World Cup, London

The final rounds of the VIII FIFA World Cup were hosted by London from 11 until 30 July 1966. Bulgaria was among the nine UEFA (Union of European Footbal Associations) countries that qualified for the tournament. England, as host, did not have to qualify. Bulgaria issued a set of six stamps to celebrate the occasion.

Five stamps (Michel nrs. 1633 – 1637) show actions from a football match: an attempt at goal, a duel between two opposing players, an overhead kick, a ‘header,’ and a keeper’s save. The sixth stamp depicts the ‘Coupe Jules Rimet’ that the tournament winner would receive. Although it does not show any characteristic of one, this sixth stamp is considered a miniature sheet (Michel nr. BL18).

The five stamps showing actions from a football match are inscribed ‘VIII World Cup London 1966’ (VIII световно първенство лондон 1966). The final stamp is the only one that identifies it as the world cup football (световно първенство футбол лондон 1966). Unlike the occasion that is inscribed in Cyrillic characters, this 50 st. stamp also has the inscription ‘JULES RIMET CUP’ in Roman characters. This stamp is imperforate. As before, the lower values show the name of the country and currency in Cyrillic characters and the higher values show them in Roman characters.

1968, 26 August, Lucanus Cervus

This lonely ‘бръмбар рогач’ (Stag Beetle, or Lucanus cervus) is one of five 1 st. stamps depicting insects, issued on 26 August 1968. The stag beetle is the largest terrestrial insect in Europe. Pliny the Elder noted that Nigidius called the beetle lucanus after the Italian region of Lucania where they were used as amulets. The scientific name of Lucanus cervus adds cervus, deer.

1970, 28 March, Birth Centenary of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

The hundredth birthday party of ‘Lenin’ (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov) turned out somewhat subdued. Of the three invited guests, only one attended. The hundredth birthday would have been 22 April 1970, on the Georgian calendar. The 2 st. stamp is the lowest of the three values issued to commemorate the day.

1970, 22 September, FIVB Women's World Championships Varna 1970



Bulgaria also hosted the FIVB Women’s World Championship, from 22 September until 2 October 1970. The women’s championships were hosted by the towns of Burgas, Sevlievo, Sofia and Varna. The eight top teams would play the finals in Varna. A further two stamps advertised the women’s world championships. The stamps were similar in design to that for the men’s championships but showing female volleyball players. They inscription read ‘световно първенство Варна 1970’ (World Championships Varna 1970). Colnect gives 22 September 1970 as issue date, whereas Stampworld gives 20 September as the issue date.



Edit: added caption.

It has been a journey of discovery for me. When we went there on holiday, in 1980, very few people visited Bulgaria. Times have changed. I returned to Bulgaria in 2016 and visited Blagoevgrad, making an excursion to the Rila Monastery, Veliko Tarnovo, making an excursion to Arbanasi, Plovdiv, making an Excursion to the Bachkovo Monastery, Nesebar (walking to Slanchev Briag), and Sofia. I thoroughly enjoyed that trip, even if I found Slanchev Briag has become a fairground. I never paid much attention to these stamps. Researching the subjects is fun.

I have a handful of sports-themed stamps left.

1971, 13 March, II European Indoor Championships – 1971 – Sofia

On 13 and 14 March 1971, Sofia hosted the second European Athletics Indoor Championships. Two stamps inscribed ‘Европейско Първенство на Закрито – 1971 - София’ (II European Indoor Championship – 1971 – Sofia) were issued on the first day of the event. The 2 st. stamp shows a man participating in a sprint event. The 4 st. stamp shows a woman putting the shot.

1971, 25 August, Semiconductor Plant – Botevgrad

Five stamps issued on 25 August 1971 depict socialist industrial facilities. The 1 st. stamp depicts the semiconductor plant of the Scientific and Production Combine (NPK) at Botevgrad (‘Завод за Полупроводници - Ботевград’). The ‘Заводът за полупроводниĸови прибори’ (plant for semiconductor devices) in Botevgrad was built in seventeen months between 1963 and 1965. It was opened by the country’s leader Todor Zhivkov. The plant bought the technology for production of diodes and transistors from the French Compagnie générale de télégraphie sans fil (CSF, currently Thales). The Bulgarian factory workers were hired from 1963 and trained by CSF in Grenoble. The company that owned the plant in Botevgrad went bankrupt in 1996.

The Rila Monastery is the highlight of a trip to Bulgaria, as are the ancient churches of Nesebur.
Another beautiful monastery is that of Bachkovo but quite different from that of Rila.
I did spot a stamp depicting the Rila Monastery.

1973, 23 October, History of the Second Bulgarian Empire

A somewhat strange theme for stamps issued by a European people’s republic was that issued on 23 October 1973. It commemorated the rulers of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185 – 1396) by depicting the tsars and other figures of the era and events in which they played a leading role in the empire and its wars against the Byzantines and Ottomans.



The 1 st. stamp depicts Tsar Todor Svetoslav (Цар Тодор Светослав) receiving the Byzantine envoys, in 1307. Todor Svetoslav ruled Bulgaria from 1300 until 1322. In 1299, he accompanied his brother-in-law in a Mongol invasion of Bulgaria. Plotting against his brother-in-law, he became ruler of Bulgaria and gained the favour of the Khan of the Golden Horde. When the Khan withdrew his armies from Bulgaria it gained its independence. In his early years as tsar, he consolidated his rule of Bulgaria which provoked interference from Byzantium. From 1303, he went on the offensive, expanding his empire. A peace treaty was signed in 1307 that was cemented with the marriage of Todor Svetoslav and Theodora, daughter of the Byzantine co-emperor.

Todor Svetoslav’s son and successor, Georgi Teter II, died in 1323, and a distant cousin Michael Asen was elected tsar of Bulgaria. The 2 st. stamp depicts Tsar Michael Asen III, also known as Michael Shishman (Михаил Шишман) who ruled Bulgaria from 1323 until 1330 at war with the Byzantines, in 1324. The Byzantines exploited the uncertainty caused by the sudden death of Georgi Teter II to capture parts of Thrace. Michael Shishman soon managed to march against the Byzantines and recapture much of the lost territories, in 1324. In the same year, he invaded Byzantium. A new peace treaty ensued that was cemented with the marriage of Michael Shishman with the widow of Todor Svetoslav. Michael Shishman died at the battle with the Serbs at Velbahzd.

Michael III Shishman was succeeded by his son he had with his first wife, the daughter of the King of Serbia. When he divorced her to marry the widow of Todor Svetoslav, she and their son were exiled. After the death of his father, Ivan Stefan acceded to the throne. He was deposed after 8 months. Ivan Alexander (Иван Александър), a nephew of Michael III Shishman ruled Bulgaria as tsar from 1331 until 1371. Tsar Ivan Alexander set out to consolidate his position and reconquer territories lost to the Byzantines by his predecessor. He concluded an alliance with the new King of Serbia. The 3 st. stamp depicts him at the Battle of Rusokastro where he overwhelmed the Byzantine army, in 1934. Initially, Ivan Alexander led his empire into a period of economic recovery and cultural and religious renaissance. From the 1340s, however, the Bulgarian Empire fell into decline.

St. Euthymius of Tarnovo (св. Евтимий Търновски), or Patriarch Evtimiy (Патриарх Евтимий) was patriarch of Bulgaria between 1375 and 1393. He was the last patriarch of the Bulgarian orthodox church and is considered one of the most important figures of mediaeval Bulgaria. He founded and ran the Tarnovo literary school. In 1393, when the Ottomans laid siege to the imperial capital of Tarnovo, Tsar Ivan Shishman was away from the city. Evtimiy was entrusted with the defence of Tarnovo. After three months of fierce defence, the Ottomans captured the city. The Patriarch Evtimiy was exiled, possibly to the Bachkovo Monastery near Plovdiv, where he is thought to have died between 1402 and 1404. The 4 st. stamp depicts Patriarch Evtimiy and the siege of a fortress identified as the Tsar’s Fortress of Tarnovo (Царевъград Трънове).

When Tsar Ivan Alexander died, his empire was divided between his sons Ivan Sratsimir in Vidin and Ivan Shishman in Tarnovo. The division further weakend the second Bulgarian Empire that was under threat from the Ottomans and Hungarians. Ivan Shishman (Иван Шишман) ruled the central part of the Bulgarian Empire from the imperial capital of Tarnovo from 1371 until 1395. He fiercely resisted the Ottoman incursions into Bulgaria. When his capital was captured in 1393, he was in Nikopol. There, he held out until the Ottomans captured the city in 1395. The 5 st. stamp depicts Tsar Ivan Shishman leading his troops against the Ottomans.

Momchil (Момчил) was a brigand who became a mercenary for the Byzantines. He made use of the internal struggles in Byzantium to become ruler of an area in the Rhodopes Mountains and western Thrace. Initially, he achieved successes against the Ottomans and Byzantines. This earned him a legendary status as fighter against the Ottomans in the southern Slav lands. He was killed in 1345. In 1344, he assisted the Byzantine nobleman John VI Kantakouzenos and Umur, Bey of Aydin, in the Byzantine civil war. He was approached by their opponents to turn against them. Believing his former allies were far away, he attacked their fleet of 15 Ottoman ships near Portolagos. Momchil and his attack on the fleet of Ottoman ships near Portolagos is depicted on the 13 st. stamp.

Ivan Sratsimir (Иван Срацимир) was the second son of Tsar Ivan Alexander. The divorce of Ivan Alexander from his first wife spoiled the relationship between father and son. The relationship deteriorated when Ivan Shishman was born out of the tsar’s second marriage. In 1355 the oldest son and co-tsar of Ivan Alexander died in battle against the Ottomans. Ivan Sratsimir would become the next in line for the throne. However, the tsar declared his youngest son, who was the first born after he had become tsar, as his heir to the throne. In 1356, Ivan Sratsimir was declared emperor in Vidin. He either was disinherited and declared himself tsar or he was denied the title of junior tsar and was made ruler of Vidin in compensation. In 1365, Hungarian King Luis I captured Vidin and imprisoned Ivan Sratsimir. He was restored as tsar in 1369. After the death of his father, he broke off all remaining links with the imperial authorities in Tarnovo. In 1381, he broke connections with the Bulgarian patriarchate. In the face of the Ottoman advances, he became a vassal of the Ottoman rulers and had to allow an Ottoman garrison in Vidin. In 1396, he joined Hungarian King Sigismund in a Christian crusade. When the Hungarian crusader army reached Vidin, he opened the town gates to the crusader army and surrendered the Ottoman garrison. The 18 st. stamp depicts Ivan Sratsimir opening the gates of Vidin to the Hungarian King Sigismund and his crusader army. The city, eventually, was captured by the Ottomans at the end of 1396 or beginning of 1397. Ivan Sratsimir was captured and imprisoned in Bursa, where he was probably killed.

The final, 28 st. stamp depicts Balik, Despot of Karvuna. During the Byzantine civil war of 1341 – 1347, he supported the regent of Byzantium, Anna of Savoy, against her opponent, John VI Kantakouzenos and Umur, Bey of Aydin. In the 1340s, Karvuna broke away from the Byzantine Empire. The region became known as Dobrudzha. In 1347, Umur undertook a battle on the Black Sea against Dobrudzha in which Balik and his brother Teodor died. After their death, Anna of Savoy appointed their brother Dobrotitsa head of a new province as a reward for the brothers’ help in gaining the Byzantine throne. The stamp depicts Balik (Балик) and his brothers Teodor (Теодор), and Dobrotitsa (Добротица) in a scene where Balik and Teodor sail into battle.

1974, 28 December, 1300 Years Bulgarian State

To commemorate 1300 years since the first Bulgarian Empire was established (ca. 680), eight stamps depicting artifacts from the period spanning the ninth to fourteenth centuries were issued on 28 December 1974. The stamps are described ‘Bulgarian State 1300 Years’ (Българска Държава 1300 Години), or ‘1300 Years Bulgarian State,’ depending on how you read the captions. The Bulghars were a nomadic tribe roaming the steppes from the northern Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. They settled in the region of modern-day Bulgaria, establishing the First Bulgarian Empire, in the late seventh century.



Most artefacts depicted on the stamps come from Preslav that was an important cultural and economic centre of the first Bulgarian Empire after Simeon the Great made it his capital. The 1 st. stamp depicts a ceramic icon of St. Teodor Stratilat (Св. Теодор Стратилат) from Preslav dated to the tenth century (Преслав X В). It was discovered during excavations in the ruins of the Saint Panteleimon Monastery near Preslav, around 1910.

Information on most of the artifacts depicted is scarce. The 2 st. stamp depicts a medallion (Медальон) form Veliko Tarnovo dated to the Second Bulgarian Empire that lasted from the twelfth until fourteenth centuries (Велико Търново XII – XIV В). The 3 st. stamp depicts a capital of a column (Капител От Колона) from Preslav dated to the ninth or tenth century (Преслав IX - X В). The capital may have come from the Round Church of Preslav from the early tenth century.

The 5 st. stamp depicts the silver chalice of Zhupan Sivin (Сребърна Чаша На Снвни Жупай) that was discovered in Preslav (Преслав), in the 1960s. The ornate chalice has the Greek inscription ‘Mother of God, help, Sivin, grand governor in Bulgaria’ that helped understand the importance of the artefact. Sivin was one of six Grand Zhupans of the council of Ministers of the first Bulgarian Empire. The chalice, probably, was made in Pliska the Bulgarian capital in the ninth century. When Simeon the Great moved his capital to Preslav, in 893, the provincial governor Sivin also moved to Preslav, where he was buried.

The 8 st. stamp depicts a clay chalice from Preslav dated to the tenth century (Преслав X В). Also from the tenth century is the torso of a lioness found in Preslav (Лъвица Торс - Преслав X В) depicted on the 13 st. stamp. The 18 st. stamp depicts a golden plate from the tenth century found in Preslav (Златеи Днскос – Преслав X В).

The final, 28 st. stamp depicts a stone relief of a double-headed eagle from Stara Zagora dated to the tenth or eleventh century (Двуглав Орел - Ст. Загора X – XI В).

1975, 3 February, Fruit Blossoms

On 3 February 1975, a set of five stamps depicting fruit blossoms was released. The stamps depict apricot blossom (1 st., Цвям на Кайсия), apple blossom (2 st., Цвям на Ябълка), cherry blossom (3 st., Цвям на Череша), pear blossom (19 st., Цвям на Круша), and peach blossom (28 st., Цвям на Праскова).

1975, 21 August, Balkanfila V

In 1965, the Union of Philatelists in Bulgaria decided to organise a Philatelic Exhibition with the name "Balkanfila." The invitation was open to collectors of all Balkan countries. This idea was accepted by Philatelic Federations from all Balkan countries. The decision was taken to organise an exhibition every two years and in a different city each time, with the intention that all countries will take turns hosting the event. Balkanfila V took place in Sofia, from 27 September until 5 October 1975. The participating countries were Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia.

Two stamps issued on 21 August 1975, and a miniature sheet issued on 22 August 1975 bore the exhibition’s logo: a map of the Balkan with the Bulgarian lion in its centre, crowned by the event’s name ‘БАЛКАНФИЛА V.’ The 13 st. stamp depicts the Byzantine Emperor (tsar) Constantine the Great and his mother Empress (tsaritsa) Flavia Julia Helena (Цар Константин И Царица Елена) with a Byzantine Cross. The stamp was designed by Nikola S. Klinkov (Никола С. Клинков) identified in the lefthand border.

1976, 1 March, XI Congress of the BKP

Every five years, the Bulgarian communist party (БКП, Българската комунистическа партия) held a congress. The eleventh congress (XI Конгрес) for the plan period 1976-1980 took place in Sofia from 29 March until 2 April 1976. It coincided with the twentieth anniversary of the plenum of the central committee of the party held from 2 until 6 April 1956. During this, the party had denounced Stalinism.

On 1 March 1976, three stamps and a miniature sheet advertising the eleventh congress of the BKP were issued. The 5 st. stamp commemorated the 20th anniversary of plenum of 1956.