Varna

Varna is the third largest city in Bulgaria, a large Black-Sea centre, "the summer capital", and is located along the east borderline of the country, at 470 km from Sofia. The population of Varna is 375 000 people.

Varna and its surrounding areas were inhabited by prehistoric people. It is in the Varna necropolis where the oldest worked gold in the world was found: dated 4 000 years B.C. The treasure consists of 2 000 items exhibited in the Varna Historical Museum.

The Odesos colony was founded in 585 by ethnic Greeks.

During Roman rule Odesos became one of the most significant commercial centres of the Roman Empire. The ruins of the Roman Baths are an evidence of the highly-developed culture of this epoch.

The name of the town of Varna first appeared in the IV century and is undoubtedly of Slavonic origin. The remnants of the fortified walls, preserved to present times, prove that the town was once a fortress and was subjected to numerous furious attacks. During XII - XIV centuries Varna was the chief port of Bulgaria and the centre of an affluent agricultural region.

In 1393, first of all towns along the Black Sea cost, Varna came under the Turkish yoke. During the 500-year yoke, the town fortresses played major part in the defensive system of the Ottoman Empire. Under the Pope's pressure who was worried about the future of Christianity, in 1443 the Polish-Hungarian king Vladislav III took the field, an attempt which ended unsuccessfully at the walls of the fortress of Varna. During XVIII and XIX centuries Varna was a lively trade and port centre. Some consular sections were opened in Varna in 1840: of England, Belgium, Russia, etc. An English company finished the construction of the first railroad from Varna to Ruse (1865), joining Istanbul and Bucharest with Central Europe. After the liberation from the Turkish yoke in 1878 trade developed even more intensively which led to the construction of the harbour (1906).

Modern Varna is the largest port in Bulgaria, a centre of the county and has a rich experience in the sphere of international tourism.

Sights of interest on the territory of the city are: The Archaeological Museum, the Ethnographical Museum, the Roman Baths, the Dolphinarium, the Planetarium, the Sea Garden, the Festival Complex, etc. [more information about the museums and other places of interest]

[Internet page with information about Varna]