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Varna is the largest city in Northeastern Bulgaria, located on
the shores of the Black Sea and Lake Varna and is the administrative
center of the municipality and district of the same name. It is the
largest city in Northern Bulgaria and on the Bulgarian Black Sea
coast. The population of the city according to NSI as of December
31, 2019 is estimated at 336,216 people, which puts Varna in third
place in Bulgaria (after Sofia and Plovdiv). The Admiralty of the
Bulgarian Army is located on its territory. Varna is often called
the "sea capital" or "summer capital of Bulgaria" and is an
important tourist and educational center, a starting point for the
resorts on the North Black Sea coast.
The city keeps a gold
treasure from the Chalcolithic, which until recently was considered
to be the oldest gold treasure in the world, which gave its name to
the so-called Culture Varna. After excavations were made in the City
of Birds near Pazardzhik, it was established that the processed gold
found there is 200-300 years older than the objects in the Varna
Chalcolithic necropolis. But what makes Varna unique, apart from
being one of the oldest golden treasures in the world, is the Varna
International Ballet Competition, held every two years at the Varna
Summer Theater during the summer season.
Varna is a candidate
for European Youth Capital 2016 and European Capital of Culture
2019. Wins the competition for European Youth Capital in 2017. Among
the international cultural events held in the city are the festivals
Varna Summer, Love is Madness, The Golden Dolphin , August in the
arts, Videoholics and others.
In ancient times the city was called Odessos. It is so called by
Theophanes Odesopolis, and in other authors it is also found as
Ulysopolis. After the 6th century, the name Odessos disappeared from
historical documents. During the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14-27),
the city was briefly called Tiberiopolis. In his research, the
archaeologist Pavel Georgiev points out that there is an inscription
from 557, in which, after the death of his wife Theodora, Emperor
Justinian dedicated a city to her, which he named Theodoriada,
located on the northern shore of Lake Varna. During the reign of
Empress Irina at the end of the VIII century, he also briefly bore
her name - Irinopolis.
It is assumed that its current name
comes from the Old Bulgarian * varna - "black, crow". Another theory
connects the name with the word "lime", meaning water and mineral
spring. The first mention of the name Varna is in the chronicles of
the offensive of the ruler Asparuh and his troops, who "... came to
the so-called Varna, near Odessos ... ”and the settlement of the
proto-Bulgarians in these places, but it is not clear whether the
name refers to a district, settlement or river. Theophanes writes
that in 774 Emperor Constantine V went by sea on a campaign against
the proto-Bulgarians, but when he came to Varna he got scared and
returned. K. Irecek believes that this name did not belong to the
old town of Odessos, but to an area in the vicinity, to the Provadia
River and Lake Devnya. Constantine Porphyrogen writes that Varna is
a river, the same is the opinion of A. Vretos. On the other hand, in
765 Nicephorus reported that the Kavkhan of Khan Umar had been
killed by his servants in Varna. This assassination could not take
place in old Odessos, as it is still considered a Byzantine
possession. Maybe Varna is a village around Devnya Lake. According
to the Shkorpil brothers, there was a Thracian settlement named
Varnas on the shore of the lake, in the area below Janavara, where
many archeological materials are still found today. Dimitar Dimitrov
believes that Varna was a settlement in the western part of today's
city, where there are necropolises from the time of the
Chalcolithic. The Shkorpil brothers are looking for the Thracian
root of the name Varnas. At the beginning of the 20th century,
Archimandrite Innocent mentioned in his research that the name Varna
comes from the Hunno-Avar word varosh, meaning city. Krastyu Mirski
suggests that the name comes from lime, limestone, having in mind
that "in Varna and its surroundings the earth and the stones are
calcareous ..."
Between December 20, 1949 and October 20,
1956, Varna was named Stalin, after Joseph Stalin.
Location
The city of Varna is located on the northern and
western shores of Varna Bay and near Lake Varna. The southernmost
and central part of the city are connected by the Asparuhov Bridge.
Varna covers an area of 238 km².
South of the strait
connecting the bay and the lake are the Asparuhovo and Galata
neighborhoods. On the north coast are the industrial zone and the
port complex. Northeast of them are the central part of the city
with the historic center (the so-called "Greek Quarter") and the
central beaches.
Around the town an agglomeration is
gradually formed with the villa zones near Evksinograd, Vinitsa
district, all the way to Golden Sands. The territory in the
direction of the town of Aksakovo is also under construction.
Within the city are the resorts of St. St. Constantine and
Helena and Golden Sands. The city has sandy beaches and hot mineral
springs with a temperature of 35 - 50 ° C.
The climate of Varna is maritime and continental. The average
January temperature is 1.9 ° С, the average July temperature is 22.4
° С, the average annual temperature is 12.2 ° С, the absolute
minimum temperature is –19 ° С, the absolute maximum is 41 ° С. The
average annual rainfall is 540.3 mm.
The longest sunshine in
Varna is observed in July and August, respectively 300.7 and 299.2
hours.
In 1972, during construction works, the Varna Chalcolithic
necropolis was discovered, which dates back to around 4200 BC. In
this necropolis was found what was considered until recently the
oldest golden treasure in human history, as well as other objects
made of silver, copper, bronze, flint and clay. It is known that on
the shores of Varna Bay, where the old part of the city is now
located, was the fortress of Odessos. It was founded by Greek
colonists from the Ionian city of Miletus during the reign of the
Median king Astyages (around 570 BC) near an old Thracian settlement
in the region of Varna. In the following centuries, the city was an
independent community (polis), which became one of the main trade
centers in the Black Sea. In 341 BC. Philip II of Macedon besieged
Odessos, but did not capture it due to a truce. Only about 10 years
later, his son Alexander the Great managed to conquer the city,
which remained a Macedonian possession until the death of Lysimachus
in 281 BC, after which he regained his independence. Regardless of
its rulers - Greeks, Thracians, Macedonians, and later Romans -
Odessos always remains a city with self-government, with a developed
culture, trade and crafts, as well as a village with traditions in
coinage.
In 15 the city became part of the newly created
Roman province of Moesia, and in the 2nd century it was surrounded
by a new fortress wall by the Romans. One of the monuments of
ancient Odessos is the Roman baths. They are the largest ancient
public building discovered in Bulgaria and the largest bath area on
the Balkan Peninsula. The remains are located in the southeastern
part of today's Varna.
After the division of the Roman Empire
in 395, the city remained within the borders of the Eastern Roman
Empire, also known as Byzantium. The attacks of the Goths from the
north, as well as the ensuing socio-economic crisis, dealt serious
blows to the city. During the reign of Emperor Justinian I, the city
experienced an economic and cultural boom. At the beginning of the
7th century Odessos was destroyed by the invasions of the Avars and
Slavs and was abandoned by its inhabitants, and in the time of
Emperor Heraclius the city no longer existed. The name Varna was
first mentioned in the Byzantine chronicles by Theophanes the
Confessor and Patriarch Nicephorus in 680 in connection with the
taking of control of the lands across the Danube by the Asparuhov
Bulgarians and their victory at the Ongala over the Romans.
Chroniclers write:
"And the Bulgarians reached the so-called
Varna near Odessos"
At the end of the 8th century Varna was
already within the borders of the Bulgarian state, when Khan Kardam
was in power. About 970 Varna was conquered by Byzantium, but in
1190 Tsar Ivan Asen I liberated it. Varna remained permanently in
the Bulgarian state from the spring of 1201, when Tsar Kaloyan
regained the city. In the 13th - 14th century in Varna there were
not only Bulgarian, but also Venetian, Roman, Genoese, Dubrovnik and
Florentine merchants. In 1369, Tsar Ivan Alexander ceded Varna to
the Dobrudzha despot Dobrotitsa as a sign of gratitude for the help
he provided for the return of Vidin to the borders of the Bulgarian
state. From 1372 to 1391 Varna was included in the Karvun
principality of Balik.
In 1389 Varna was conquered by the
Ottoman Turks. On November 10, 1444, near Varna, the combined
Polish-Hungarian crusading troops of King Wladyslaw III Varnenchik
and the Transylvanian voivode Janos Hunyadi were defeated by the
Ottomans, ending the anti-Ottoman crusade. Varna became a typical
oriental city during the Ottoman rule in the city, but retains its
strategic and commercial significance. In the 18th century - 19th
century Varna was liberated twice in a short time by Russian troops:
in 1773 and 1828.
In 1738 the population of Varna, as in all
important cities in the European part of the Ottoman Empire, was
predominantly Turkish.
In May 1854, an allied conference of
the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain and France was held in Varna,
which together fought against Russia during the Crimean War
(1853-1856). During this war, a telegraph line was laid through
Varna, and in 1866 the railway line Ruse - Varna was completed,
which helped revive trade. A municipality, a bank, a hospital, a
school, a church and a community center were established in Varna,
which helped to revive the Bulgarian spirit. On March 12, 1860, ten
years before the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate, a church
service was held for the first time in Bulgarian. On May 24, 1862,
St. Cyril and St. Methodius were honored for the first time in
Varna.
After the Crimean War, Crimean Tatars arrived in Varna and
quickly took over local trade. In 1866 thousands of Circassians
arrived. The people of Varna have to feed them, build houses for
them and finally supply each family with a pair of oxen, an Arab and
wheat seeds.
After the Polish uprising of 1863/64, refugees
from Poland arrived in Varna. On July 27, 1878, Russian troops
entered the city under the San Stefano Preliminary Peace Treaty of
March 3, 1878, and the Berlin Treaty of July 13, 1878. After the
Liberation, Varna became an important administrative, economic, and
cultural center. The Eighth Marine Regiment, Naval Staff and other
military units are stationed in the city. In 1892 the first shipping
company was founded in Varna, and in 1894 the beginning of the
Bulgarian navy was set.
In 1906 the new port of Varna was
solemnly opened with a breakwater. From December 20, 1949 to October
20, 1956, the city was named Stalin, after Joseph Stalin. Varna
hosted the World Chess Olympiad in 1962, and in 1969 - the World
Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships.
In 2007 and 2008 Varna won
the ranking "The best city to live in Bulgaria".