General information and infrastructure
Territory - 237.5 sq. km.
Number of population centers - 7
Population - 349,645
Administrative center - Varna city
The geographic location and the existing infrastructure determine the favorable development of the Municipality and its administrative center. The well organized water and cargo transport, ferryboat, convenient warehousing facilities, railway stations make the city a crossing point between the East and West. The major factors affect the infrastructure layout of the city and predetermine the parameters of Varna transport junction, namely: Varna port, Varna international airport, and the telecommunications network.
Varna port
It offers opportunities for combined carriages and is the crossing point of four European transport corridors. It shortens the distance for cargoes transported between the Danube and the black Sea by means of the railway bridge Varna-Rouse. There is a railway ferryboat line to Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. Varna is the only passenger terminal in Bulgaria. The port has a very well devised and regularly updated Master Layout Plan, which underlies the investments program for the port. Investors are sought for the construction of three new terminals: Ro-Ro terminal, grains terminal and containers terminal. Pre-feasibility studies have been carried out to explore the possibilities for the construction of such terminals. According to the updated Master Plan two new terminals should be built in Varna Zapad (west) port - a terminal for liquid chemicals and a terminal for cement and clinker.
Varna International Airport
Varna International Airport has a direct bearing on the economic situation in the city and the region. It services mostly tourist operators and offers also regular charter flights to over 35 countries and 101 cities. In order to implement its main priorities - safe flights and high quality of service - the airport needs considerable investments accompanied by a new Master Plan to be prepared by an internationally recognized company. In the near future a new SAT II system for aircrafts taking off and landing in poor atmospheric conditions is going to be introduced; this system alongside with the construction of the new grounds and runways for Boeing aircrafts will contribute to improvement of the port's image on the international aviation market.
Communications network
Beside the port, the international airport and the good railway and road transport connections, Varna has a communications network, which is among the best developed ones. The number of telephone subscriber lines is 472 per 1,000 citizens, hence in terms of this indicator Bulgaria ranks among the leading countries in Central and Eastern Europe. At present there are three digital telephone exchanges of highest technological standard in Varna, manufactured by Siemens and Erickson. The telephone network has been digitalized 21.7% compared to 7.8% in the rest of Bulgaria. Two international optic-cable rings have been installed in Varna: KAFOS connecting Varna, Istanbul (Turkey) and Mangalia (Romania) and also connecting the telecommunications infrastructure of Bulgaria to the European countries; and BSFOCS - optic cable connecting Varna, Odessa (Ukraine) and Novorossiysk (Russia). This project allow the integration with the telecommunication structures of the countries of the Middle East, Asia, Western Europe and USA. Since the early 1990s Varna has been the country's major Internet junction along the Black Sea Coast. All major Internet suppliers in the country also provide services in the city of Varna. There are a large number of software and hardware companies. The city has the potential to become an offshore software developing centre.
Natural sights and monuments of culture
The most ancient traces of human presence are the Pobitite Kamani (a fossil forest) - a unique natural phenomenon, a specific wood of hollow limestone poles, which were formed 50 million years ago. Thousands of tools have been found - microliths, which comprise one of the rarest collections of Mezolithic artifacts in Europe. In the Varna necropolis, 5 - 4 millennium BC, sensational artifacts made of high purity gold have been found among the tomb gifts and the are an evidence of the existence of a highly developed prehistoric civilization, which had come into existence much earlier than Mesopotamia and Egypt. In the land near Odessos numerous finds evidencing the Thracian presence there have been found - mounds, tomb vaults, rock necropolises, sanctuaries, bronze and stone plastic art, etc. Evidence of the further development of Odessos of the antique and Roman times are the Golden Adornments of 5 - 1 c. BC, the Roman thermae of the beginning of the 3 c., sculpture tomb slabs, etc. The following are early-Christianity monuments: the unique set of three feretories of 4 - 5 c. found in a basilica near Varna; a golden treasure of 5 - 6 c. The Archeological Museum exhibits the largest collection of specimen of the Bulgarian ceramics art and metal plastic art, as well as rich collections of golden and silver adornments found in the region. The mural paintings in Aladzha Monastery are of the same period. The town is known also with the battle lead by Vladislav Varnenchik in 1444. The collection of knights' weapons and gear date back to the same period.
Some of the symbols of Varna are: The drama and opera theatre - designed by architect N. Lazarov in 1912; The city clock tower built in 1889 -1890 after a design of architect S. Dimitrievich; The gate to the Marine Garden built in 1938; The Military Marine Club; The Aquarium. The biggest Roman public baths in Eastern Europe are in Varna - the Roman thermae of 2 - 3 c. AD. There are numerous temples in the Municipality - orthodox churches, Armenian, catholic, Muslim and other places for prayers. The Virgin Mary's Holy Assu cathedral arouses interest with its icons and mural paintings made by Russian master-artists. The oldest preserved church is the Most Holy Virgin Mary's Panagia Assu church. The St. Paraskeva church, 1785, was built initially as a private chapel in the home of a Varna trader. St. Athanasios church was built on the place of an old medieval church. The first church of the new Bulgarian history is the St. Archangel Michael church. The St. Sarkis Armenian church has been built in Asia Mina style. The St. Virgin Mary catholic church services the needs of the catholic community. Some of the larger museums in Varna are: the Archeological Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, the Museum of Renaissance, and the Museum of New History. At 18 km distance to the northeast of Varna city is Aladzha monastery - medieval Bulgarian rock monastery with a museum and an exhibition of medieval mural paintings. Other places of interest are the Vladislav Varnenchik Museum-park and the Military Marine Museum, the Museum of History of Medicine, the Museum of Natural Science.
Tourism
Varna is the third biggest city in Bulgaria, occupying an area of 205 sq. km. The location of the city on the northern Black Sea coast, as well as the abundant monuments of culture and natural resources make it one of the most widely known resort centers in Europe and the biggest one in the Black Sea region. The climate and the nature create favorable conditions for development of industry, trade, tourism and communications in the region. Varna is the ideal place for investments for investors, who wish to conduct activities on the Balkans. The city was declared a resort in the beginning of the 20 c. The expansion of modern construction in the recent decades has marked the appearance of the modern resorts of Golden Sands, St. St. Constantine and Elena, Kamchia, the Beach Lines. The renovated and upgraded resorts offer luxury ambiance for summer and year-round recreation - hotel complexes, restaurants, entertainment establishments, sports facilities, attractions and animation, etc. Zlatni Pyassatsi (the Godlen Sands) resort complex is at 18 km to the north of Varna. Its beach line is of 3.5 km length and 100 m width. The average air temperature in summer is 27ϗ, and the water temperature is 24-25ϗ. The complex has over 80 hotels offering 25,000 - 28,000 beds. There are about 80 catering establishments. There is a Chapel, a street of craftsmen and artists, tennis courts and other sports facilities. St. Constantine resort complex is the oldest resort in Bulgaria. It is situated 8 km to the north of the municipal center Varna. Alongside with the mineral water pools in it of interest are also the ancient belfry and chapel of the St. St. Constantine and Elena Monastery.
Associations, memberships, twin-cities and partnerships
Alborg, Denmark; Dodrecht, the Netherlands; Kharkov, Ukraine; Southern Administrative District of Moscow, Russia; Akaba, Jordan; Odessa, Ukraine; Malmu, Sweden; Turku, Finland; Bradford, England; Miami, USA; Rostok, Germany; Novorossiysk, Russia, Piraeus, Greece.
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Bulgarian
