Varna, Bulgaria

This article is about a city in Bulgaria. See Varna (caste) for the Indian caste system.

Coat of Arms	Map
Varna's Coat of Arms	Varna on the map of Republic of Bulgaria
Data
Municipality (Oblast):	Varna (Варна)
Altitude:	41 m
Population:	320,668 (2001 census) 349,715 (2005 estimate)
Postal code:	9000
Dialing code:	052
Latitude:	43° 12' N
Longitude:	27° 55' E
Mayor :	Kiril Yordanov

Varna (Bulgarian: Варна, Greek: Βαρνα) has a population of 350,000, making it Bulgaria's third largest city after Sofia and Plovdiv. It is the capital of Varna Province. It is a port city in the eastern part of the country, located on the Black Sea coast. It is sometimes referred to as "The Sea Capital" or "The Summer Capital" of Bulgaria. The city was named Stalin, after Josef Stalin, from 1949 to 1956.

History

Varna was founded around 6,000 B.C. near the site of the ancient Greek trading colony ( apoikia), Odessos. which was founded about 580 BCE. The Roman city had baths, built in the 2nd century CE, that are the largest Roman remains in Bulgaria. The Byzantine city of Odessos was captured by the Ottomans in 1393.

Orthodox Cathedral, Varna, built in the late 19th century

Nearby, the Battle of Varna was fought in November 1444, when 30,000 crusaders assembled at the port to sail to Constantinople were attacked by a force of 120,000 Turks, led by the Sultan Murad II. The Polish King Ladislaus was killed in a bold attempt to capture the Sultan. The retreat made the fall of Constantinople all but inevitable.

Varna is called the sea capital of Bulgaria, because it is the biggest Bulgarian city on the seacoast. Varna was also the base of the Bulgarian Navy. Currently, there is a Naval Museum with a museum ship torpedo boat Draski. The archaeological museum contains some of the finds from the so-called "Gold of Varna", a cache of Chalcolithic grave-goods which are the oldest gold treasure in the world.

The oldest gold treasure in the world, ca. 4000 BC, found near Varna

In 1444, the Battle of Varna was fought here, with the Turks defeating a Crusader army led by Ladislaus III of Poland, who was killed, earning a nick-name Varnenchik. There is a mausoleum of Ladislaus III in Varna.

The current mayor of Varna is Kiril Yordanov.

In 1962, the 15th Chess Olympiad, also known as the World Team Championship, was held in Varna. In 1969, Varna was the host of the World Rhythmic gymnastics Championship.

Economy

Varna Bay, Bulgaria

Varna is an important economic centre for Bulgaria and the Black Sea region in general. Major industries include trade and transportation (see Port of Varna, Varna International Airport), shipbuilding, and manufacturing. Tourism is of great importance to the city, with the nearby resorts of Albena, Golden Sands, SS Constantine and Helena, Riviera and many others each year attracting millions of visitors from all over the world. Together with the nearby town of Devnya, Varna forms what is known as the Varna-Devnya Industrial Complex, home to some of the largest chemical, electrical and manufacturing plants in Bulgaria.

In September 2004, FDI Magazine proclaimed Varna "South-eastern Europe City of the Future", citing its strategic location, fast-growing economy, rich cultural heritage and high quality education.

Higher learning institutions

• Varna University of Economics
• Technical University of Varna
• Varna Medical University
• Chernorizetz Hrabar Varna Free University
• Vaptsarov Naval Academy

Entertainment

The residents of Varna have 2 primary sources of entertainment. The beaches of the Black Sea which provide refreshment on hot summer days and the football stars of Spartak Varna. Spartak Varna is one of Bulgaria's most famous football clubs and the people of Varna enjoy a long-going love affair with the club. Whether times are good or bad, the people of Varna flock to the stadium to see their heroes play for the pride of their city. Many a saturday night you will hear chants of "Varna! Varna!" echo around the small alleys of Varna's old town.

Twin cities of Varna

Varna's twin cities are:

• Aalborg, Denmark
• Dordrecht, Netherlands
• Kharkov, Ukraine
• Aqaba, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
• Odessa, Ukraine
• Malmö, Sweden
• Turku, Finland
• Bradford, England
• Miami, the USA
• Rostock, Germany
• Novorossiysk, Russia
• Pireus, Greece