Eighty years separate the two August 13 milestones in Bulgaria’s history gathered here: a pioneering flight above the capital in a homegrown aircraft, and a quiet diplomatic handshake with a newly independent neighbour.
August 13, 1912 — Bulgaria’s First Homegrown Flight Over Sofia
Lieutenant Simeon Petrov climbed into the cockpit of a Blériot XI, the aircraft Bulgaria had purchased from France just days earlier, and became the first Bulgarian pilot to fly over Bulgarian skies in a Bulgarian-owned plane. Petrov had trained at Louis Blériot’s own flying school outside Paris alongside two fellow officers, where he had already made history by safely landing an aircraft after its engine failed mid-flight — a technique later adopted into pilot training.
Weeks later, he would fly combat missions in the Balkan Wars as one of the country’s first six military pilots.
August 13, 1992 — Bulgaria Recognises Croatia
Bulgaria and the newly independent Republic of Croatia established diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level, formalising ties as Croatia emerged from the breakup of Yugoslavia.
The relationship would grow over the following decades into close cooperation on regional stability and Western Balkan integration, alongside Bulgaria’s continued support for the Bulgarian minority community living in Croatia.
Nearby in the series: August 12 and August 14. If aviation history caught your eye, our Bulgaria From Above series shows the country from the sky.
