The flag of Bulgaria consists of three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red. The white represents peace, green represents the fertility of the Bulgarian lands, and red stands for the courage of the people.
Originally the flag used the Pan-Slavic colours, which were derived from the Pan-Slavism of 19th century Europe. The central band was blue, and so the flag was similar to the flag of Russia. However after Bulgarian independence in 1878, the central band was replaced with green due to Bulgaria’s development as an agricultural country. The flag of Eastern Rumelia, a former Turkish province now part of Bulgaria, also originally consisted of the same colours.