The lev was introduced as the national currency of Bulgaria soon after the country regained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. Its name means lion, and it was initially valued equal to the French franc, in keeping with the Latin Monetary Union standards of the time. The lev underwent several redenominations and periods of severe inflation, most notably in the early 1990s and in 1996 and 1997, after which it was fixed to the German mark and later the euro. It was replaced by the euro when Bulgaria joined the eurozone at the start of 2026, closing almost a century and a half of history for the currency.
Before and after
- from 1880 to 1910Rise of Arts and Crafts movement
- 26 January 1880Birth of Douglas MacArthur
- April 1880Founding of National Bank of Romania
- 8 May 1880Death of Gustave Flaubert
- 4 June 1880Introduction of Bulgarian lev
- 27 June 1880Birth of Helen Keller
- 6 October 1880Founding of University of Southern California
- 15 October 1880Construction of Cologne Cathedral
- 26 October 1880Kimigayo
More in Society, economy & sport
- from 10 June 1815 to 24 August 1866Founding of German Confederation
- 17 February 1863Founding of International Committee of the Red Cross
- 17 May 1865Founding of International Telecommunication Union
- 19 September 1893New Zealand becomes the first country where women vote
- 29 November 1899Founding of FC Barcelona
- 30 June 1908Tunguska event
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.