Bulgaria–Germany relations are the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Bulgaria has an embassy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, a general-consulate in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and an office in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. Germany has an embassy in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. As EU members, the Bulgarian government views Germany as its key strategic partner in the EU. Some Bulgarian government ministers and former President Plevneliev speak German. German experts have been and still are active in an advisory capacity in Bulgarian government ministries as part of continuing implementation measures connected with the country's EU accession. Both countries are full members of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. Germany gave full support to Bulgaria's applications for membership in the

and

Political History

All Bulgarian monarchs after the liberation of Bulgaria and establishment of the third Bulgarian State– beginning with

Alexander of Battenberg Alexander Joseph (; 5 April 1857 – 17 November 1893), known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince (''knyaz'') of the autonomous Principality of Bulgaria from 1879 until his abdication in 1886. The Bulgarian Grand National Assembl ...

(reigning 1879–1886 as Prince of Bulgaria), his successor

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria; 26 February 1861 – 10 September 1948) was Prince of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1908 and Tsar of Bulgaria from 1908 until his abdication in 1918. Under his rule, Bulgaria entered the First Worl ...

(1887–1908 Prince of Bulgaria and 1908–1918

Tsar of Bulgaria The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled Bulgaria during the medieval First Bulgarian Empire, First ( 681–1018) and Second Bulgarian Empire, Second (1185–1422) Bulgarian empires, as well as during the modern Principality of Bulgaria, Principality (1879 ...

), his son

Boris III of Bulgaria Boris III (; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier), was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until his death in 1943. The eldest son ...

(1918–1943 Tsar of Bulgaria) and his son

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, Tsardom of Bulgaria as Simeon II from 1943 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished by a 1946 Bu ...

(1943–1946 Tsar of Bulgaria) – were all German. Simeon went into exile after the establishment of the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...

in 1946. He returned after 1990 and became

Prime Minister of Bulgaria The Prime Minister of Bulgaria () is the head of government of Bulgaria. They are oftentimes the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament, known as the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unica ...

in 2001. He left office four years later.

Military history

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Tsardom of Bulgaria fought alongside the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

as a member of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

and signed in 1915 the initially secret Bulgaria–Germany treaty. In the aftermath of its defeat and territorial losses in the Balkan Wars Bulgaria felt betrayed and turned against its former ally Russia. Bulgaria in 1914–15 was neutral. In 1915 Germany and Austria realized they needed Bulgaria's help in order to defeat Serbia militarily thereby opening supply lines from Germany to Turkey and bolstering the Eastern Front against Russia. In return for war, Bulgaria insisted on major territorial gains, especially Macedonia, which Austria was reluctant to grant until Berlin insisted. Bulgaria also negotiated with the Entente, who offered less generous terms. In 1915 the government of liberal prime minister

Vasil Radoslavov Vasil Hristov Radoslavov () (27 July 1854 – 21 October 1929) was a leading Bulgarian liberalism, liberal politician who twice served as List of Prime Ministers of Bulgaria, prime minister. He was premier of the country throughout most of W ...

therefore aligned Bulgaria with the Central Powers even though this meant becoming an ally of the Ottomans, Bulgaria's traditional political and religious enemy. While Bulgaria now had no land claims against the Ottomans, it resented Serbia, Greece and Romania (allies of Britain and France) for seizing lands with majority Bulgarian population. Bulgaria signed an alliance with Germany and Austria in September 1915 that envisioned that Bulgaria would dominate the Balkans after victory in the war.Richard C. Hall, "Bulgaria in the First World War," ''Historian,'' (2011) 73#2 pp 300–315 In 1941, Bulgaria signed the

Tripartite Pact The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano, and Saburō Kurusu (in that order) and in the ...

, allying itself with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

. During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the

and the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

were both members of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

alliance, until the

Reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...

in 1990.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Bulgaria has an embassy in

and consulates-general in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and

. * Germany has an embassy in

. File:Be Bulgarian Embassy 05.jpg, Embassy of Bulgaria in Berlin File:Embassy of Germany, Sofia.jpg, Embassy of Germany in Sofia

References

External links

Bulgarian embassy in Berlin (in German and Bulgarian only)

German Foreign Ministry about relations with Bulgaria

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulgaria-Germany relations

Bilateral relations of Germany

Political History

Military history

Resident diplomatic missions

See also

References

External links