This city of 251,000 people is universally recognized as the , 'Queen of the Bulgarian Coast'. The town can look back on a long history, stretching over 2,500 years, for it was founded in the 6th century B.C. by Greek colonists from Asia Minor who called it Odessos. Subsequently it experienced all the trials and tribulations which beset the Balkan lands, passing consecutively into the hands of the Thracians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, not to mention various barbarian tribes that held it for a brief while. In 681 the Bulgarian Khan Asparouh captured it and then it became a Bulgarian town, receiving its present name of Varna. In the days of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (13th- 14th centuries) Varna was a brisk commercial centre which, according to reliable historical data, traded with the foremost ports at the time: Constantinople, Genoa, Venice and Ragusa. In the last dying days of Ottoman rule Varna assumed even greater importance. In 1866 the first railway line of the extensive Ottoman Empire was built from Varna to Rousse, connecting the port via the Danube and Bucharest with Central and Western Europe. The town is developing as an important seaport, a centre of shipbuilding and engineering and as the centre of a very extensive tourist region. It figures inevitably in the brochures of all major foreign travel agents and tourist companies. Every summer it greets hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers and tourists.
They should make a point of seeing:
The Seaside Park -considered by many to be one of Varna's finest.
The Roman Baths – mute witnesses dating from the 2nd century.
The Wladislaw Warnenczik Mausoleum— at the place where this Polish king fell in battle against the Ottomans in 1444.
The Karantinata picturesque locality — a favourite spot for strolls and recreation with the residents of Varna ephesus sightseeing.
The Archaeological, History and Natural Science museums, the Museum of the Bulgarian National Revival, the Museum of the Revolutionary Movement, the Aquarium and the Naval Museum.
Only 20 km from Varna (by car or bus) – are the ruins of the Roman town of Martianopolis. 30 km to the south by boat lies the Longoza locality and the estuary of the Kamchiya River with its tropical vegetation.
Hotels: Varna – tel. 2-53-12, Moussala – 2-39-25, Repoublika- 2-58-53, Preslav – 2-25-83, Kamchiya – 2-59-07, Orbita – 251-62.
BOURGAS
In the last few years it has become a serious rival of Varna.
A lively port, centre of the petrochemical and engineering industry and of an extensive international resort region. It has 144,0 inhabitants.
Bourgas is a well-laid-out town with large boulevards and straight streets, a beautiful city centre, new public buildings and housing development projects. Its theatre is one of the best in Bulgaria.
Sights:
Bourgas Baths — 16 km west of the town. The curative mineral springs and the modern baineosanatorium attract thousands of guests.
The Pirgos Fortress – on the bank of the Mandra Lake. The name of the town is derived from the fortress.
Bolshevik Island (former St Anastasia). The monastery church has been preserved where 43 communists were imprisoned after the 1923 Uprising.
From Bourgas one can easily reach Sozopol by ship – a town of artists and fishermen, close to the estuary of the beautiful Ropotamo River, about which many songs have been written.
Hotels in Bourgas: Briz – 229 beds, tel. 4-31-90, Primorets — 236 beds, tel. 4-41-17.
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