How to Read a Bulgarian Address: A Guide to Blocks, Entrances and Apartments
Understanding how Bulgarian addresses are structured can save you time when finding a home, visiting friends or receiving post. This guide explains street names, blocks, entrances and apartment numbering.
Illustration: AI-generated image
Moving around Bulgaria, you will quickly notice that addresses follow a pattern quite different from those in the UK or the US. Once you understand the logic, finding a home, a shop or a friend's flat becomes much simpler.
The Basics of a Bulgarian Address
A typical address in a Bulgarian city includes the street name, a building number, and then a block number, entrance letter, floor and apartment number. For example: ul. Vitosha 12, bl. 5, vh. B, et. 4, ap. 12. In Bulgarian, 'ul.' stands for ulitsa (street), 'bl.' for blok (block), 'vh.' for vhod (entrance), 'et.' for etazh (floor), and 'ap.' for apartament (apartment).
Street names are usually written before the number, and in many cases the word 'ulitsa' is shortened to 'ul.' on signs and envelopes. In villages, many houses do not have numbers at all; instead, people use neighbourhood names or landmarks, so be ready for directions like 'the yellow house past the school'.
Blocks and Entrances
In urban areas, large residential buildings are known as 'bloks'. Each blok has a number, often displayed on the front near the entrance. Within a blok, there are several entrances, usually labelled with letters: A, B, V, G (the Cyrillic letters А, Б, В, Г). When you see 'vh. B', it means entrance B. Sometimes the entrance is marked with a Cyrillic letter, but most people will understand if you use the Latin equivalent.
It is common for a blok to have six or more entrances, each leading to a stairwell that serves two or three apartments per floor. The entrance letter is essential; without it, you could end up at the wrong stairwell, and there is often no connecting corridor inside.
Floors and Apartments
Bulgarian floors are counted from the ground floor as the first floor. So what Brits call the ground floor is 'parter' (or 'et. 1' sometimes), and what Brits call the first floor is 'et. 2'. Be careful: if you are invited to a flat on the fourth floor, that is three flights up from the street. The apartment number is usually unique within the entrance, not the whole blok, so you may find Ap. 3 in every entrance.
When writing an address, the order is typically: street, number, block, entrance, floor, apartment. For example: ul. Ivan Vazov 25, bl. 3, vh. A, et. 5, ap. 7. On envelopes, the postal code goes before the town or city name, which is standard.
Practical Tips for Newcomers
If you are using a sat nav or a map app, enter the street and number first, then look for the block and entrance on site. Many buildings have their block number painted near the roofline or on a plaque by the door. When receiving post, ask friends to write your address exactly as it appears on your rental contract or utility bill, because variations can confuse the postal service.
In older neighbourhoods, some blocks have no entrance letters, just numbers: vh. 1, vh. 2, etc. In newer complexes, entrances might be labelled with letters only. When you visit someone, it is polite to buzz the apartment number on the intercom; the person inside will then press a button to unlock the main door.
Finally, remember that many Bulgarian addresses use the Cyrillic alphabet. If you need to write an address for a form or a delivery, it helps to copy it in Cyrillic from an official document. Once you get used to the pattern, navigating Bulgarian cities becomes a breeze.
