The Coat of Arms of Bulgaria were adopted in 1997. This coat of Arms was the first one used by Bulgaria since Communist rule was ended in that nation in the early 1990s. Agreeing on the coat of arms was a source of great controversy in the Bulgarian government as different parties argued over what to put in the arms.

The emblem, as it is now has two lions supporting a shield with a lion on the shield. At the top is a crown. At the bottom of the shield is the Bulgarian national motto, "Power Through Unity", in the native language.

The three lions represent the three major portions of Bulgaria - Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia. The crown on top of the shield, and thus upon the shielded lion is not that of the last Bulgarian monarchy, but that of the older Bulgarian monarchy, specifically that of Ivan Shishman. Shishman established the monarchy that would rule the Bulgarian empire in the 12th century, after it was freed from Byzantine control, and before it was subjugated by the Ottomans.

External link

• History of the Bulgarian Coat of Arms (In Bulgarian) (http://tribal.abv.bg/gerb/)

de:Wappen Bulgariens