WorldTravelGate.net® - Culture of Varna,Bulgaria

Varna - Culture

Varna is the centre of an active cultural life, which, especially in summer, attracts the attention not only of the whole country but also of cultural circles in Europe. The citizens of Varna cannot imagine their city without the regular productions of the drama theatre and its annex, of the opera, the puppet theatre, the concerts of their philharmonic orchestra.

Varna has no rival in Bulgaria as a venue of international cultural events in the summer season. Since 1964 an International Ballet Competition, the first of its kind in the world, has been regularly held there, and has become widely popular. The international Varna Summer music festival, which first took place in 1967, has since become established and attracts famous musical ensembles: the Bolshoi Theatre, the opera companies of Bolgona, Bucharest, Kiev, Odessa; orchestras from Moscow, Leningrad, Warsaw.

Another important Varna cultural institution is the Varna boys and youths choir. This is a choir with a great tradition and that has earned many prestigious international awards. Varna boys choir have been taking part (and some times won first place prizes) in very important festivals and competitions all over the world. In recent years it has proven more difficult to maintain and finance a choir. Even with the difficulties, however, the Varna Boys Choir has maintained its high level. A chorist from the school in the older youth section told us in 2002 that "... we are now singing together with the boys, preparing "Requiem#150" by W.A.Mozart, "Gloria" by Vivaldi and "Carmina burana" for our participation in an international choir festival in Poland in May."

The look of the city has changed. Squares and streets have been re-designed, re-surfaced and widened. Varna is one of the biggest centres of international tourism in Bulgaria - it has an impressive base of hotels, places of entertainment, sports grounds and aquatic sports facilities.

The Archaeological Museum is housed in a building that used to be a school during the Revival. Here visitors can see miniature models of pile dwellings from the Palaeolithic period; the hall to ancient arts and means of living; the hall to antique arts one of the biggest and most impressive collections in the country; some objects and church plate from the early ages of Christianity; objects of cult from the ancient Bulgarian ethnicity; the hall with exponents from the 13th-14th century, where the development of crafts at that time could be traced; the hall of Bulgarians applied arts and a lapidarium, where sarcophagi, tombstones, steles and tomb columns are displayed. The museum holds some rare objects from Egypt, Greece, Babylon and the Mediterranean countries, which were transported to ancient Odessos via the trade routes.

The Museum of National Revival is housed in a building from 1861, which was proclaimed a cultural monument. Patriotic citizens and scholars arranged the museum exhibition in 1959 and it has been enriched and extended many times. The original arrangement of St. Archangel Mihail Church can be seen on the ground floor. An impressive exhibition shows the struggle for religious enlightenment, national independence and the epic battles during the Russian-Turkish War of Liberation.

The Naval Museum is in the Sea Garden Park and possesses all the important documents and equipment of Bulgarian Navy from its foundation in 1878 up to the present. The great scientist Karel Shkorpil founded it in 1923. There are cannons, old anchors, and sea vessels and so on in the yard of the museum.

The Vladislav Varnenchik Park-Museum is to the north-east of the city, near the crossroads for Sofia and Dobrich. It was built in honour of the historical battle in 1444 when Czechs, Poles, Croatians, Hungarians and Bulgarians tried to resist the Turkish invasion in Europe. A mausoleum to Vladislav Varnenchik was built in 1934 on the foundations of an ancient Thracian tomb.

The Ethnographic Museum is housed in a Revival house from the 19th century. A typical arrangement of the house of Varna in that time is shown. Many kinds of jewellery are displayed, as well as clothing, formal national costumes, everyday life items and goods manufactured goods in the city and its vicinities.

The Museum of Nature and Science was founded in 1960 and it displays species typical of the Bulgarian flora and fauna. Geological and speleological miniature models show the stages of the formation of the lithosphere. There is a small board with the main kinds of stones and minerals. The exponents are displayed in three specialised halls - geology, flora and fauna.

The Aquarium and the Black Sea Museum were opened in 1932 - the first and the only marine biological station in the country. In 1954 the Scientific Research Institute on searelated issues, fishing and industrial fishing was opened with the Aquarium. Hundreds of fish species are gathered here: molluscs, actinides, crabs, periwinkles as well as species of the fresh water rivers. A special place is occupied by the natural resources derived from the Black Sea, such as sea salt and oil.

The Museum of Medicine is the only one on the Balkan Peninsula. Medicinal plants and herbs are here on display, as well as surgical and other medical tools and clothing used in ancient times up till now. It was founded in 1869 as a private hospital with a small museum.

The Museum of Art and History of Varna has an exceptionally rich collection, one of its exhibits being the Gold Treasure of Varna - dating back 6000 years ago it is the oldest processed gold found in the world. 281 tombs were found in a necropolis dating back to the Halcolith Age. One of them contained more than 3000 golden articles (statehood attributes, jewellery, adorning, etc.), of the total 6 kg weight.

The Art Gallery was opened in 1950. It possesses paintings by the most outstanding Bulgarian artists as well as pieces of work by numerous foreign artists, donated to the gallery by private persons. A branch of the museum is the Georgi Veltchev Museum-House, where canvases by the prominent artist of Varna are displayed. An exhibition of icon-paintings from the Revival is arranged in the St. Atanas Church, built in the 13th century near the Roman spa. The church itself is very original with its mural paintings and icons and with its carved altar and bishop's throne. There is a collection of wood-cuts, etchings, liturgical and canon books from Bulgarian Revival.

We thank Bulgarian Properties.com for their contribution regarding the Museum part of this page

click to go back

Back to Europe

Back to WTG