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| Featured
hotels in Varna |
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| Must see |
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| Varna |
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A place of extreme pride for Bulgarians is the Archeological Museum in Varna with the exhibit of the oldest treasure of gold artifacts in the world, a fabulous collection containing over 3000 articles of various sizes. Excavations in the Varna necropolis revealed that the inhabitants of these lands had the knowledge to process gold long before the craft was developed in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. |
The imposing remains of the Roman Baths in downtown Varna testify that contemporary Varna stands over ruins of an ancient settlement which has left a heritage of valuable ceramics, statues and public buildings dating from the 2nd century AD coinciding with the reign of Emperor Anthoninus Pius.
Covered by the shadows of old trees in the Maritime Gardens is the Aquarium, coupled with the Museum of the Black Sea - one of the most beautiful architectural structures in the city. A great variety of marine wildlife species, some on the verge of extinction, inhabit the Aquariums plate glass tanks. Further north in the direction of Golden Sands the modern structure of the Dolphinarium can be visited where children and adults can view a fascinating show performed by the dolphins Poppy, Dolly and Pippy, each an accomplished performer in their own right.
An old building at the southern edge of the city beach, adjoining the docks, harbors the Navy Museum with its collection of relics evoking the glories of nautical history, including an open-air show of ancient anchors salvaged by Bulgarian archeologists.
During a downtown stroll the visitor's attention is invariably attracted by the imposing edifice of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of Christ, the second biggest in Bulgaria after the Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia. It took decades of construction work before the Varna Cathedral was finally consecrated in 1910. Another remarkable ecclesiastical building is the Church of St Nicolas which juxtaposes the Cherno More Hotel. The church contains murals featuring the oldest effigies of St Nicolas in Bulgaria.
Right next to the entrance of the Maritime gardens a building of modernistic design, made of stone, plate glass and aluminum, catches the eye. This is the Festival and Congress Centre where the annual Varna International Summer Festival of Music is held. The Music Festival has a history stretching back over 80 years, which makes it one of Europes prominent cultural events. Every four years the festival program features an international ballet contest, one of the oldest of its kind worldwide.
Other landmarks of culture in Varna include the Drama Baths Stoyan Buchvarov and the city Arts Gallery, which includes some masterpieces of old European artists in its collection. A handsome mansion of the 19th century, located at the back of the Roman Baths, contains a collection of photos and other exhibits which recreate the history of the city from the liberation of Bulgaria in 1878 until the end of World War II. In the cellar of the mansion there is an exhibit of the finest wines from celebrated vineyard regions in Bulgaria, along with maps of the geographic locales where the main varieties of wine and rakiya (Bulgarian style brandy) can be explored.
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