The early impetus of Bulgarian traditions in the arts was cut short by the Ottoman occupation in the 14th century, and many early masterpieces were destroyed. Native artistic life emerged again in Bulgaria during the national revival in the 19th century. Among the most influential works were the secular and realist paintings of Zahari Zograph in the first half of the century and Hristo Tsokev in the second half. At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, Bulgarian painters such as Anton Mitov and the Czech-born Ivan Mrkvichka produced memorable works, many of them depicting the daily life of the Bulgarian people.

In the early decades of the 20th century, further development of both style and subject matter took place, and the foundations were laid for later artists such as Vladimir Dimitrov, an extremely gifted painter specializing in the rural scenes of his native country; Tsanko Lavrenov, a noted graphic artist and art critic who also painted scenes of old Bulgarian towns; Zlatyo Boyadjiev, noted for his village portraits; and Ilya Petrov, who painted scenes and themes from Bulgarian history. After World War II, Socialist Realism dominated Bulgarian artistic circles. Its influence was seen in the broad historical themes that were adopted by artists in genres ranging from cartoons to still-life paintings and regional landscapes. In the early 21st century the best-known contemporary Bulgarian artist was Christo, an environmental sculptor known for wrapping famous structures, such as the Pont Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin, in fabric and plastic.

The first performances of Bulgarian classical music date from the 1890s, and the earliest Bulgarian opera, by Emanuil Manolov, was performed in 1900. He, along with other Bulgarian composers, concentrated on solo and choral vocal works. Between World War I and World War II, several symphonies and works for ballet, in addition to choral and opera works, were created by such composers as Lyubomir Pipkov, Petko Stainov, and Pancho Vladigerov. Bulgarian composers in the second half of the 20th century experimented with new tonality in vocal and instrumental music. Recordings and concert tours abroad won much wider audiences for traditional Bulgarian vocal music.

Opera remains popular, and Bulgaria has produced many world-class performers, including bass singers Boris Christoff and Nikolai Ghiaurov. Pianist Milcho Leviev, saxophonist Yuri Yunakov, and clarinetist Ivo Papazov gained acclaim for their blending of American jazz with traditional Bulgarian folk music. In the 1990s the Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir achieved international stardom for the recording Le Mystère des voix bulgares, a collection of folk tunes sung a cappella in a style marked by strong dissonances and lack of vibrato.

The Bulgarian theatre is also a popular source of entertainment. World classics and modern foreign dramas are typically produced, as well as both modern and traditional Bulgarian plays, including those by Ivan Vazov and poet Peyo Yavorov (pseudonym of Peyo Kracholov).

Bulgaria’s literary tradition can be traced to the 9th century, when Saints Cyril and Methodius created an alphabet for Old Bulgarian, which is the basis of the Old Church Slavonic language. They translated most of the Old and New Testament into it and used it to write some original theological treatises. Both the Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets were in early use. During Ottoman domination, literature was preserved only in the monasteries and churches. With the national revival in the 19th century, Bulgarian literature flowered once more and was used as a spiritual means of supporting the country’s liberation.

At the end of the 19th century and again in the period between the two world wars, native authors attempted to fit the Bulgarian literary tradition into the European system of standards. Perhaps the most important work during the national revival was Vazov’s Pod igoto (1893; Under the Yoke, 1894), which detailed Bulgarian concerns under Ottoman rule and the events of the 1876 uprising. The writings of Vazov, who worked in a multitude of genres, served to define much of the Bulgarian character and influenced generations of Bulgarian writers. These included poets such as Pencho Slaveykov, Peyo Yavorov, and Dimcho Debelyanov, as well as such belletrists as Aleko Konstantinov, Yordan Yovkov, and Elin Pelin. Among those writers who gained fame in the second half of the 20th century were poet Atanas Slavov, novelist and playwright Yordan Radichkov, and Blaga Dimitrova, a poet and novelist who served briefly as the vice president of Bulgaria. Other contemporary Bulgarian writers of note included Maria Stankova, Emil Andreev, Georgi Tenev, and Milen Ruskov. (For further discussion, see Bulgarian literature.)

Bulgaria’s film industry expanded considerably following World War II, but it nearly collapsed in the mid-1990s. Bulgarian audiences take interest in both domestic and foreign films, and the country’s feature and documentary films have been widely exported. Animated cartoons also are popular. Many of the motion pictures are produced at the state-run Boyana Film Studios near Sofia. The successor to that historic institution, the Nu Boyana Film Studios, on the outskirts of Sofia, now draws filmmakers from all over the world to its facilities. Sofia also holds an annual international film festival.

Cultural institutions

Bulgaria has thousands of libraries. Among its major state libraries are the Cyril and Methodius National Library and the Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, both in Sofia. There are also a few thousand chitalishtes, cultural centres similar to reading rooms, which are found in even the smallest villages.

Some of the most notable of the country’s many museums are in Sofia: the National Archaeological Institute and Museum, the National History Museum, the National Art Gallery, the Museum of Socialist Art, and the National Ethnographic Museum. Other important archaeological museums are found in Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Burgas, and Varna. The highest research institution in the country, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, is involved in international cooperative projects and has cultural agreements with other European countries.

Sport and recreation

In international sports competition, Bulgarians have excelled in tennis, wrestling, boxing, and gymnastics, but the country’s greatest repute may be in weight lifting. Through the 1980s Bulgaria produced many world and Olympic champions in the sport, to the credit of coach Ivan Abadjiev, who developed innovative training practices. Several Bulgarian athletes have accomplished the rare feat of lifting more than three times their own body weight. Among them was Bulgarian-born Turkish champion Naim Suleymanoglu, who up until 1986 competed for Bulgaria.

Fans of association football (soccer), the most popular sport in Bulgaria, were buoyed by the success of the national team in the 1994 World Cup, when it advanced to the semifinal match behind the leadership of forward Hristo Stoichkov. The premier league in Bulgaria has 16 teams, of which four play in Sofia: CSKA, Levski, Slavia, and Lokomotiv.

Bulgarian athletes have considerable facilities at their disposal, including Vasil Levski Stadium, Universiada Hall, Festivalna Hall, and Students’ Sports Complex in Sofia and the Palace of Sport and Culture in Varna; many regional centres also have sports complexes for local use. The major sports event in the country is the National Spartakiad, which involves mass participation of teams, clubs, and individuals in athletics (track and field) and other activities. The Committee for Youth, Physical Education, and Sports is the main governmental body charged with sports administration in the country.

Media and publishing

Broadcasting is the responsibility of the Committee for Television and Radio. In addition to national and regional programs, Bulgarian Radio broadcasts in several languages to foreign countries. Bulgarian National Television produces a variety of programming, including news coverage and documentaries, sports broadcasts, and programs focusing on arts and education or aimed at children and youths or at visiting tourists. Since the end of 1989, mass media, including printed matter, have not been censored, and free media outlets (newspapers, radio stations, and private television channels) have flourished. In a one-year span, from 1999 to 2000, the number of radio and television stations doubled. Although print circulations declined in the 21st century, many news dailies continued to reach sizable audiences—especially among the Bulgarian diaspora—through online editions.