Bulgarians in Germany
Total population | |
---|---|
429,665 (2022) | |
Languages | |
Bulgarian · German | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Bulgarians, Bulgarian diaspora |
Part of a series on |
Bulgarians Българи |
---|
Culture |
By country |
Subgroups |
Religion |
Language |
Other |
Bulgarians in Germany (Bulgarian: Българи в Германия, romanized: Bǎlgari v Germaniya; German: Bulgaren in Deutschland) are one of the sizable communities of the Bulgarian diaspora in Western Europe. According to German statistical data from 2016, the number of Bulgarian nationals in Germany on 31 December 2022 was 429,665 (up from 53,984 in 2008).[1]
History
The Bulgarian Empire was in contact with the German-speaking lands in medieval times, though the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans in the 14th and 15th centuries severed those ties. In the 16th century, Bulgarian Orthodox clerics were known to have been in contact with the German Lutherans and by the 18th century Bulgarian merchants in Leipzig were distinguished from other Balkan Christian merchants.[2]
It was not until the 19th century, however, that German–Bulgarian ties became once again more pronounced, and this was mainly owing to education. In 1825–1831, Bulgarian enlightener
After the
The Bulgarian–German Association was established in Berlin on 16 February 1918 and had branches in many German cities. Educational ties were preserved after World War I: in 1926–1927 alone, 302 people from Bulgaria studied in Germany.[4]
Today, there are Bulgarian Orthodox parishes in Berlin, Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Bonn, Munich, Stuttgart, Regensburg and Passau, with a bishop's seat and cathedral in Berlin.[5]
Demographics
Number of Bulgarians in larger cities | |||||||||
# | City | People | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Berlin | 30,824 | |||||||
2. | Munich | 13,636 | |||||||
3. | Duisburg | 12,143 | |||||||
4. | Bremen | 9,325 | |||||||
5. | Hamburg | 8,830 | |||||||
6. | Frankfurt | 8,509 | |||||||
7. | Cologne | 7,916 | |||||||
8. | Mannheim | 6,997 | |||||||
9. | Nuremberg | 5,801 | |||||||
10. | Offenbach | 4,884 | |||||||
11. | Hanover | 4,138 | |||||||
12. | Ludwigshafen | 3,656 | |||||||
13. | Dortmund | 3,416 | |||||||
14. | Kassel | 3,046 | |||||||
15. | Stuttgart | 3,041 | |||||||
16. | Wiesbaden | 2,843 | |||||||
17. | Essen | 2,471 | |||||||
18. | Gelsenkirchen | 2,155 | |||||||
19. | Mainz | 2,126 | |||||||
20. | Hamm | 1,944 |
Roma minority
Turkish minority
From the early 1990s Western Europe began to attract
Bulgarian Turks are to be found predominantly in the less protected sectors of the German labour market associated with ethnic businesses that require higher flexibility and tougher working conditions. They appear to rely for employment predominantly on co-ethnic networks established by German Turks. The majority of this group of Turks are relatively new in Germany which now consists of regular migrants who legalised their status largely through marriages of convenience to German citizens. Some members of this group have managed to bring their children to Germany whilst there are also a smaller number of people who have given birth in Germany.[7]
Notable people
- This list includes people of Bulgarian origin born in what is today Germany or people born in Bulgaria but mainly active in Germany.
- Ludmilla Diakovska(b. 1976), singer
- Dimiter Gotscheff (b. 1943), theatre director
- Dimitar Inkiow (1932–2006), writer
- Oda Jaune (b. 1979), artist
- Ari Leschnikow (1897–1978), first tenor of the Comedian Harmonists
- Mirco Nontschew (1969–2021), comedian
- Dobrin Petkov (1923–1987), conductor
- Eugen Philippow (1917–1991), electrical engineer, professor
- Ivan Stranski (1897–1979), physical chemist
- Ilija Trojanow (b. 1965), writer
- Edisson Jordanov (b. 1993), footballer
- Lukas Petkov, footballer
See also
Footnotes
- ^ "Ausländische Bevölkerung. Ergebnisse des Ausländerzentralregisters" (in German). Statistisches Bundesamt. 2016. p. 37. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
- ^ a b Колев 2005, p. 257.
- ^ Колев 2005, p. 258.
- ^ Колев 2005, p. 259.
- ^ "Архиeрeйско намeстничeство Бeрлин за Австрия, Гeрмания, Швeйцария и Лихтeнщайн" (in Bulgarian). Българска православна църква. 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ BalkanEthnology. "BULGARIAN TURKS AND THE EUROPEAN UNION" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
- ^ Smith & Eade 2008, pp. 166–179.
Bibliography
- Колев, Йордан (2005). Българите извън България (in Bulgarian). София: Тангра ТанНакРа. pp. 257–261, 423–424. ISBN 954-9942-73-2.
- Smith, Michael; Eade, John (2008), Transnational Ties: Cities, Migrations, and Identities, Transaction Publishers, ISBN 978-1-4128-0806-4.
External links
- Bulgarian embassy in Berlin (in Bulgarian, German, and English)