A concise history of Bulgaria for those visitors to the country who would like to learn more about its people and history. The book is a real mine of information, represented clearly, rich in illustrations and tables revealing the parallel events in the western world.

The Rose of the Balkans is not an academic work. Its aim is to present to the public a contemporary version of Bulgarian history in the light of recent analyses and reflections of historians from the Balkans, Bulgaria and abroad.

It notifies the travelers of the origins of the country and gives them knowledge of the most recent events, so that they will find sufficiently broad outlines. At the same time it prunes supernumerary details and final judgments.

Foreign countries’ attitude to Bulgaria is usually based on the knowledge of our own history. We therefore sought to situate events of Bulgarian history in the context of the Francophone countries. The reader will observe strike reports, similarities or coincidences between the processes that took place simultaneously at both ends of Europe.

To avoid the risk of bias, we referred to the evidence of French observers, who have got information about the original aspects of the country, the character and customs of its inhabitants.

The book is published in French with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of France in Bulgaria and the French Institute.