Special event station signing LZ06KM was active on all bands and modes between 1 and 31 May 2006 to celebrate national St. Cyril (Kiril) and Methodius day - founders of Cyrillic alphabet. Operators were: LZ1BJ, LZ3FN, LZ4BU, LZ1PM, LZ3HI. Were made 9,696 QSOs.

QSL LZ1PJ, direct (Ivan Ivanov, P.O.Box 15, BG-1324 Sofia, Bulgaria) or bureau (e-mail requests for bureau cards can be sent to lz1pj@qsl.net).

The Bulgarian language belongs to the South Slavic branch of the Slavic languages and uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

The history of the language covers three periods: old (9th century - 11th century), middle (12th century - 14th century), and modern (15th century through present day). The modern literary language was formed during the Bulgarian National Revival (18th - 19th centuries).

The Bulgarian language is unique among the Slavic languages for several reasons. The definite article is added as a suffix, coming after the noun. It has lost the case system from Common Slavic and prepositions have replaced cases to show the relationships between parts of a sentence. The language has 9 tenses, but the infinitive verb form no longer exists.

The Cyrillic alphabet was developed by St. St. Cyril and Methodius and they have created the alphabet on which the modern languages of Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and of the former Soviet republics are based.

Cyril and Methodius were two brothers, who lived during the 9th century (over a thousand years ago!), when Bulgaria was being shaped as a country. The people spoke in Bulgarian but didn't have an alphabet and couldn't write.

Before the 9th century Bulgaria and other parts of the area around the Mediterranean and Black Sea, were parts of the Roman Empire. While the Romans were losing power (3rd to 4th Century), tribes from Asia started an invasion of Europe. One of these tribes, called the Bulgars, reached this area and gradually mixed with the local population. The Bulgar king united all the different tribes into the first Bulgarian empire in 681.

Cyril and Methodius lived at that time. They were Christian monks of the Orthodox Church, who taught their students a new alphabet that they could use to read and write in Bulgarian. In 863 they created the alphabet by mixing Latin and Greek letters, which became the basis of the Bulgarian language.

The "Cyrillic alphabet," as it is now called, became very popular in the 9th through 11th centuries, when it helped spread Christianity to other parts of Eastern Europe. "Old Church Slavonic", another name for the early alphabet, is an important part of the literature of the Orthodox Church.

The Bulgarians are very proud of the two brothers, who have created the base of the modern Bulgarian language. One of the biggest Bulgarian holidays celebrates the honor of Cyril and Methodius. May 24th is also known as "Day of Bulgarian Culture" and is a time for concerts and celebrations.