Bulgaria保加利亚

Curatorial Note

The national atlas tradition of Bulgaria, as represented in this collection, spans nearly four decades, from the socialist era to the post-communist period. The first atlas, published in 1973 under the title 'Atlas. People's Republic of Bulgaria,' reflects the state-sponsored cartographic enterprise typical of Eastern Europe during the Cold War. It was a comprehensive thematic atlas, designed to showcase the country's physical geography, economy, population, and culture within the ideological framework of the time. The second atlas, 'Bulgaria. Geographical Atlas' (2010), produced by the private publisher ТАНГРА ТанНакРа, marks a significant shift. It adopts a more modern, objective approach, emphasizing geographical accuracy and educational utility over political messaging. Together, these two volumes illustrate the evolution of Bulgarian cartography from a centralized, state-driven project to a market-oriented, independent endeavor. While no contemporary reviews are recorded in this collection, the 2010 atlas is notable for its role in updating the nation's geographical self-image after the political changes of 1989. These atlases serve as valuable historical documents, capturing Bulgaria's changing landscape and its shifting relationship with cartographic representation.