| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 891 (2011 census; restricted exclusively to those who declared Romanian ethnicity); 1,643 (2021 census; including all groups designated as "Vlach-speakers", i.e. Romanians,Aromanians andVlax andBoyashGypsies)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| NorthernBulgaria, primarily along theDanube | |
| Languages | |
| Romanian (native),Bulgarian | |
| Religion | |
| Eastern Orthodoxy (Bulgarian Orthodox Church andRomanian Orthodox Church) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Aromanians in Bulgaria |
| Part ofa series of articles on |
| Romanians |
|---|
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Native communities |
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TheRomanians in Bulgaria (Romanian:români orrumâni;Bulgarian:румънци,rumŭntsi, orвласи,vlasi), are a small ethnic minority inBulgaria. In the country, Romanians live in several northern regions, mostly along theDanube. This includes a region between the city ofVidin and theTimok river; these Romanians form a continuous community with theRomanian community in theTimok Valley ofSerbia. Another region with a high density of Romanians is located between the towns ofOryahovo andSvishtov. Another goes fromTutrakan to theBulgaria–Romania border atNorthern Dobruja. There also are scattered groups of Romanians within the interior of Bulgaria, such as inPleven or aroundVratsa. The Romanians in Bulgaria are not recognized as a national minority, and they lack minority rights such as schools or churches in their ownRomanian language. Many are subject toassimilation.[2]
In Bulgaria, the local Romanians are commonly referred to as "Vlachs". This term is also applied to theAromanians of the country,[3] as well as to Romanian-speakingBoyashGypsies.[4] The German linguistGustav Weigand dealt in the most detailed and concrete way with the Vlach population south of the Danube. In 1905 he undertook a special trip through Bulgaria to establish where the Vlach settlements are located and to characterize their language. According to Weigand, the largest group of Vlach population moved to the Bulgarian lands in the 1830s, when the so-called Organic statute (1831), was introduced in Walachia, by virtue of which men were subject to mandatory military service. Using the data from the population census in the Principality of Bulgaria in 1900, he pointed out that, at the end of the 19th century, 86,000 Vlachs were registered in Bulgaria, of which 11,708 (about 15%) were born north of the river, which means that they moved south of the Danube in the second half of the 19th century.[5]
The Romanians of Bulgaria have several organizations of their own, one of them being the AVE Union of Romanian Ethnicities of Bulgaria (AVE Uniunea Etnicilor Români din Bulgaria), presided by Ivo Gheorghiev, which often organizes cultural events.[6] One example are celebrations for theRomanian Language Day organized inVidin by this organization.[7] According to theTreaty of Craiova of 1940, Bulgaria and Romania exchanged a large part of the minorities living on their territory.[8]
The following are historical census results showing the presence of Romanians in Bulgaria:
| Year | "Vlachs" | Romanians |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 | 49,063[9]a | |
| 1905 | 73,773[2] | |
| 1910 | 79,429 | |
| 1926 | 69,080 | |
| 1937 | 16,405 | |
| 2001 | 10,566b | 1,088 |
| 2011 | 3,684[10] | 891 |
| 2021 | 1643 |
^a This number shows those who identified their native language as "Vlach"; the 1881 census did not have a question about ethnicity.
^b The 2001 census recorded 10,566 "Vlachs", most of whom are Romanian-speakers, but the figure includes someAromanian-speakers as well.
Out of 3,598 self-identified Vlachs, 165 declared their mother tongue as Bulgarian, 1,462 as Vlach, 1,964 as Romanian and 4 as "other" in 2011.[10]Out of 866 self-identified Romanians, 37 declared their mother tongue as Bulgarian, 3 as Vlach, and 822 as Romanian in 2011.[10]
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