site.btaObservances: February 19

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1882: Cornerstone laid for St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia.

1886: Peace treaty signed in Bucharest ending Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885.

1897: Agreement signed with Serbia on territorial status quo in the Balkans and on cooperation in church and school matters in Macedonia.

1951: First Bulgarian trolley bus goes into operation in Sofia.

1991: Interbank currency market set up. Fixed US dollar/lev exchange rate abolished.

1999: Parliament passes act on re-denomination of the lev, resolving that 1,000 old leva will exchange for one new lev, effective July 5, 1999.

2016: Parliament votes 130 against, with five abstentions, to reject motion of no confidence in Boyko Borissov government, tabled over alleged failures in healthcare policy by 69 MPs from BSP Left Bulgaria and Movement for Rights and Freedoms, and two independent MPs.