site.btaObservances: March 14-15

March 14

On this date in Bulgarian history:

• 1897: Act on Compulsory Wearing of Locally Made Apparel and Footwear by Civil Servants (passed on February 22, 1897) is gazetted, obliging State, municipal and regional officials and MPs to wear clothes and shoes made in Bulgaria when carrying out their official duties.
• 1916: Act on the Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar adopted. New calendar takes effect on March 31, 1916, by the omission of 13 days, April 1 being reckoned as April 14.
• 1924: Bulgarian National Bank Act is gazetted, ending central bank's right to issue banknotes backed by silver.
• 1929: Union for the Protection of Bulgarian Nature is established, marking beginning of organized nature conservation.

March 15

The world:

• National Day of Hungary (Day of Revolution and Struggle for Freedom, 1848).

On this date in Bulgarian history:

• 1882: First postal money order in Bulgaria issued.
• 1999: National Health Insurance Fund starts functioning officially.
• 2001: EU Justice and Home Affairs Council revokes regulation requiring short-stay Schengen visas for Bulgarian nationals.
• 2007: In Athens, Agreement on Cooperation in the Construction and Operation of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis Oil Pipeline is signed in presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Greek PM Kostas Karamanlis and Bulgarian PM Sergei Stanishev (abrogated by 41st National Assembly on March 12, 2013).