Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarians set clocks one hour back for winter time

Photo: BGNES

At 4 a.m. this morning Bulgaria switched to winter (astronomical) time. The hands of mechanical clocks had to be turned back an hour and show 3 o'clock. Most computers and mobile phones did this automatically.

The so-called winter time is what we use from October to March.

Daylight saving time is used to get a better match between the daylight hours and the active hours of workers and students.

Switching of the clocks in Europe was introduced in 1976 at the request of France. In Bulgaria, this practice came into force in 1979.

By decree of 1997, daylight saving time time begins at 3:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of March.

The idea of ​​changing the time first came to Benjamin Franklin. He wrote a letter to the editor of the Paris Journal newspaper in 1784, suggesting that Parisians rise and go to bed earlier. In practice, the idea was implemented by the German government during the First World War in the period 30 April - 1 October 1916 as a measure to save fuel in a military environment. Britain was the second country to introduce daylight saving time initially from 21 May to 1 October 1916. The US followed suit in 1918.

In March 2019, the European Parliament voted to abolish the seasonal time change.

Member States decide on their own whether to switch entirely to summer or winter time.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Egg dyeing workshops take place hours before Easter

Various events are held across the country hours before we welcome the Resurrection of Christ. In Sofia, the "It's Up to Us" Foundation invites children to a "Big Easter Egg Dyeing" from 11:00 to 15:00 at Canyon Park in Mladost 3..

published on 4/19/25 11:22 AM

Patriarch Daniil to lead the Divine Liturgy for the Resurrection of Christ

Today, on Holy Saturday, which is the last day of Holy Week preceding Easter, Christians commemorate the burial of Jesus Christ and his descent into hell to break its chains and reopen the gates of heaven for people. The Divine..

published on 4/19/25 9:45 AM

National Gallery – Square 500 presents unique collection of Western European tapestries

For the first time, a unique collection of Western European textile panels (tapestries) is on display at the National Gallery – Square 500. The exhibits were added to the collection in the 1960s by the Bulgarian National Bank as part of the..

published on 4/19/25 6:10 AM