Editing Varna, Bulgaria (section)

== History ==
{{see also|Timeline of Varna}}

=== Prehistory ===
{{See also|Varna Necropolis}}
Prehistoric settlements are best known for the [[Chalcolithic]] [[Varna Necropolis|necropolis]] (mid-5th millennium BC radiocarbon dating), a key archaeological site in world prehistory, eponymous [[Varna culture]] and internationally considered the world's oldest large find of gold artefacts, existed within modern city limits. In the wider region of the Varna lakes (before the 1900s, freshwater) and the adjacent [[karst]] springs and caves, over 30 prehistoric settlements have been unearthed with the earliest artefacts dating back to the [[Middle Paleolithic]] or 100,000 years ago.

=== Thracians ===
Since late [[Bronze Age]] (13th–12th c. BC) the area around Odessos had been populated with [[Thracians]]. During 8th–9th c. BC local [[Thracians]] had active commercial and cultural contacts with people from [[Anatolia]], [[Thessaly]], [[Caucasus]] and the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. These links were reflected in some local productions, for example, forms of bronze [[Fibula (brooch)|fibula]] of the age, either imported or locally made. There is no doubt that interactions occurred mostly by sea and the bay of Odessos is one of the places where the exchanges took place. Some scholars consider that during the 1st millennium BC, the region was also settled by the half-mythical [[Cimmerians]]. An example of their, probably accidental, presence, is the [[tumulus]] dated 8th–7th c. BC found near [[Belogradets]], Varna Province.

The region around Odessos was densely populated with Thracians long before the coming of the Greeks on the west seashore of the Black Sea. [[Pseudo-Scymnus]] writes: "...Around the city [Odessos] lives the Thracian tribe named Crobises." This is also evidenced by various ceramic pottery, made by hand or by a [[Potter's wheel]], bronze ornaments for horse-fittings and iron weapons, all found in Thracian necropolises dated 6th–4th c. BC near the villages of Dobrina, Kipra, Brestak and other, all in [[Varna Province]]. The Thracians in the region were ruled by kings, who entered into unions with the [[Odrysian kingdom]], [[Getae]] or [[Sapaeans]]—large Thracian states existing between 5th–1st c. BC. Between 336–280 BC these Thracian states along with Odessos were conquered by [[Alexander the Great]].

Archaeological findings have indicated that the population of northeast Thrace was very diverse, including the region around Odessos. During 6th–4th c. BC the region was populated with [[Scythians]] who normally inhabited the central [[Eurasian Steppe]] (South Russia and Ukraine) and partly the area south of river Istros (the Thracian name of lower [[Danube]]). Characteristic for their culture weapons and bronze objects are found all over the region. Scythian horse ornaments are produced in "animal style", which is very close to the Thracian style, a possible explanation for the frequent mixture of both folks in northeastern Thrace. Many bronze artefacts give testimony for such process, for example, applications and front plates for horseheads, as well as moulds for such products in nearby and more distanced settlements. Since the 4th c. BC the region had been populated by more [[Getae]], which is a Thracian tribe populating both shores around the [[Danube Delta]].

[[Celts]] started populating the region after their invasion of the [[Balkan peninsula]] in 280 BC. All over northeast Bulgaria and even near Odessos were found a significant number of bronze items with Celtic ornaments and typical weapons, all quickly adopted by Thracians. Arkovna, 80&nbsp;km near Odessos, was probably the permanent capital of Celts' last king Kavar (270/260–216/210 BC). Probably after the downfall of his kingdom, Celts blended with the greatly numbered Thracians in the country.
Between the 2nd–1st c. BC in present [[Dobruja|Dobrudja]] land between Dyonissopolis ([[Balchik]]) and Odessos were created many small Scythian states. Their "kings" minted their coins in [[Mint (facility)|mints]] located in cities on the west Black Sea coast, including Odessos.

The Thracians in northeast Thrace seem to be underdeveloped compared to their counterparts in South Thrace. The people lived in two types of settlements: non-fortified, located in fertile lands near water sources and stone-built fortresses in hard to reach mountain environment, where were usually located the kings' residences. Thracians engaged in farming, wood processing, hunting and fishing. Among their art crafts is metal processing—especially weapons, excelling processing of bronze, making of bracelets, rings, Thracian type of fibulas, horse ornaments, arrowheads. Local goldsmiths used gold and silver to produce typical Thracian plate armour, ceremonial ornaments for the horses of the kings and the aristocracy, as well as valuable [[patera]]s and [[Rhyton|ritons]].

Despite ethnic diversity, numerous internal and external conflicts, and cultural differences, the populations of northeastern Bulgaria and the cities along the seashore have demonstrated stable tolerance to each other. Conservatism is easily noticed in ceramic items and in religion. The highest deity of all was the [[Thracian horseman]], who had different names and functions in different places. Water-related deities were honoured as well, such as [[Charites|The Three Graces]] or the water [[Nymph]]s and [[Zalmoxis]] by the [[Getae]].
During the centuries, especially by the end of the [[Hellenistic period]] (2nd–1st c. BC), Thracians adopted the more elaborated Hellenistic culture, thus acting as an intermediate for the continental Thracians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeo.museumvarna.com/en/category/list?category_id=6&id=7|title=Odessos, Thracians|publisher=Archaeological Museum Varna|access-date=23 February 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223213142/http://www.archaeo.museumvarna.com/en/category/list?category_id=6&id=7|archive-date=23 February 2017}}</ref>

=== Antiquity ===
[[File:VarnaRoman.JPG|thumb|Remains of [[Ancient Rome|ancient Roman]] Odessos]]
[[File:Warna ruiny.jpg|thumb|[[Roman Thermae (Varna)|Roman Thermae]] west [[apodyterium]] with [[Athanasius of Alexandria|St. Athanasius]] church bell tower in the background]]

'''Odessos''' or '''Odessus''' ({{langx|grc|Ὀδησσός}})<ref>{{Cite Strabo|vii. p. 319}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Diodorus|19.73, 20.112}}</ref><ref>[[Appian]], ''Ill.'' 30; [[Arrian]], ''Per.'' 24; {{Cite Ptolemy|3.10.8, 8.11.6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Stephanus|''s.v.''}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Mela|2.2.5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Pliny|4.18}}</ref><ref>[[Ovid]], ''Trist.'' 1.9.37</ref> is one of the oldest ancient settlements in Bulgaria. Its name appears as '''Odesopolis''' (Ὀδησόπολις) in the ''[[Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax]]''; and as Odyssos or Odyssus in the [[Synecdemus]] and in [[Procopius]].<ref name=DGRG>{{Cite DGRG|title=Odessus}}</ref> It was established in the second quarter of the sixth century BC (585–550 BC) by [[Miletus|Miletian]] [[Greeks]] on the site of a previous Thracian settlement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeo.museumvarna.com/en/category/6|title=Odessos, Antiquity|publisher=Archaeological Museum Varna|access-date=23 February 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224131354/http://www.archaeo.museumvarna.com/en/category/6|archive-date=24 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Minchev |first=Alexander |title=Ancient Theatres and Theatre Art of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and Thracian Hinterland |date=2019 |work=Ancient Theatre and Performance Culture Around the Black Sea |page=183 |editor-last=Braund |editor-first=David |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/ancient-theatre-and-performance-culture-around-the-black-sea/ancient-theatres-and-theatre-art-of-the-bulgarian-black-sea-coast-and-thracian-hinterland/FE58543D28375B1D2CF4E672909A872E |access-date=2024-09-25 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781316756621.010 |isbn=978-1-107-17059-9 |editor2-last=Hall |editor2-first=Edith |editor3-last=Wyles |editor3-first=Rosie}}</ref> The Miletian founded an ''apoikia'' (trading post) of Odessos towards the end of the 7th c. BC (the earliest Greek archaeological material is dated 600–575 BC), or, according to [[Pseudo-Scymnus]]'', ''in the time of [[Astyages]] (here, usually 572–570 BC is suggested), within an earlier Thracian settlement. The name ''Odessos'' could have been pre-Greek, arguably of [[Carian]] origin. It was the presiding member of the Pontic [[Pentapolis]], consisting of Odessos, [[Constanța|Tomi]], [[Callatis]], [[Mesembria]], and [[Sozopol|Apollonia]].<ref name=DGRG/> Odessos was a mixed community—contact zone between the [[Ionia]]n [[Greeks]] and the [[Thracians|Thracian]] tribes ([[Getae]], [[Krobyzoi]], [[Terizi (Getae tribe)|Terizi]]) of the [[hinterland]]. Excavations at nearby Thracian sites have shown uninterrupted occupation from the 7th to the 4th century BC and close commercial relations with the colony. The Greek alphabet has been used for inscriptions in [[Thracian language|Thracian]] since at least the 5th century BC. 
{{See also|Derzelas}}

Odessos was included in the assessment of the [[Delian league]] of 425 BC. In 339 BC, it was unsuccessfully besieged by [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II]] (priests of the Getae persuaded him to conclude a treaty) but surrendered to [[Alexander the Great]] in 335 BC, and was later ruled by his [[Diadochi|diadochus]] [[Lysimachus]], against whom it rebelled in 313 BC as part of a coalition with other Pontic cities and the Getae. Nevertheless, at the end of the 4th c. BC the city became one of the strongholds of Lysimachus. The city became very prosperous from this time due to strong sea trade with many of the Mediterranean states and cities supported by a wide range of local products. Shortly after 108 BC, Odessos recognised the suzerainty of [[Mithridates VI of Pontus]].

The Roman city, ''Odessus'', first included into the ''Praefectura orae maritimae'' and then in 15 AD annexed to the province of [[Moesia]] (later ''Moesia Inferior''), covered 47 hectares in present-day central Varna and had prominent public baths, [[Roman Thermae (Varna)|Thermae]], erected in the late 2nd century AD (so-called Large (North) Ancient Roman Thermae), now the largest Roman remains in Bulgaria (the building was {{convert|100|m|2|abbr=on}} wide, {{convert|70|m|2|abbr=on}} long, and {{convert|25|m|2|abbr=on}} high) and fourth-largest-known Roman baths in Europe which testify to the importance of the city. There is also the Small (South) Ancient Roman Thermae from the 5th–6th century AD.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2015/06/02/archaeological-monuments-from-ancient-odessos-harbor-great-potential-for-cultural-tourism-in-bulgarias-varna-museum-director-says/ |title=ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS FROM ANCIENT ODESSOS HOLD GREAT POTENTIAL FOR CULTURAL TOURISM IN BULGARIA'S VARNA, MUSEUM DIRECTOR SAYS |access-date=1 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513060236/http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2015/06/02/archaeological-monuments-from-ancient-odessos-harbor-great-potential-for-cultural-tourism-in-bulgarias-varna-museum-director-says/ |archive-date=13 May 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In addition, archaeologists in 2019 discovered ruins of a building of Roman thermae from the 5th century AD.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/11/15/5th-century-ad-byzantine-thermae-public-baths-discovered-in-downtown-of-bulgarian-black-sea-city-varna/ |title=5TH CENTURY AD BYZANTINE THERMAE (PUBLIC BATHS) DISCOVERED IN DOWNTOWN OF BULGARIAN BLACK SEA CITY VARNA |date=15 November 2019 |access-date=1 December 2019 |archive-date=22 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122063153/http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/11/15/5th-century-ad-byzantine-thermae-public-baths-discovered-in-downtown-of-bulgarian-black-sea-city-varna/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Major athletic games were held every five years, possibly attended by [[Gordian III]] in 238.

The main aqueduct of Odessos was recently discovered during rescue excavations<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2015/04/28/archaeologists-discover-main-aqueduct-of-ancient-odessos-during-rescue-excavations-in-bulgarias-varna/|title=Archaeologists Discover Main Aqueduct of Ancient Odessos during Rescue Excavations in Bulgaria's Varna|date=28 April 2015|access-date=27 September 2019|archive-date=11 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511235558/http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2015/04/28/archaeologists-discover-main-aqueduct-of-ancient-odessos-during-rescue-excavations-in-bulgarias-varna/|url-status=live}}</ref> north of the defensive wall. The aqueduct was built in three construction periods between the 4th and the 6th centuries; in the 4th century the aqueduct was built together with the city wall, then at the end of the 4th to early 5th centuries when a pipeline was laid inside the initial masonry aqueduct. Thirdly in the 6th century, an extra pipeline was added parallel to the original west of it and entered the city through a reconstruction of the fortress wall. The city minted coins, both as an autonomous [[polis]] and under the [[Roman Empire]] from [[Trajan]] to [[Cornelia Salonina|Salonina]], the wife of [[Gallienus]], some of which survive.<ref name=DGRG/>

Odessos was an early [[Early Christianity|Christian]] centre, as testified by ruins of twelve early basilicas,<ref>{{cite web |author=Borislav Petrov |url=http://varna.info.bg/bazilika.htm |title=Ранновизантийската базилика |publisher=Varna.info.bg |access-date=6 May 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828181656/http://varna.info.bg/bazilika.htm |archive-date=28 August 2008 }}</ref> a [[monophysite]] monastery, and indications that one of the [[Seventy Disciples]], [[Ampliatus]], follower of [[Saint Andrew]] (who, according to the [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]] legend, preached in the city in 56 CE), served as bishop there. In 6th-century imperial documents, it was referred to as "holiest city," ''sacratissima civitas''. In 442 a peace treaty between [[Theodosius II]] and [[Attila]] was conducted at Odessos. In 513, it became a focal point of the [[Vitalian (general)|Vitalian]] revolt. In 536, [[Justinian I]] made it the seat of the [[Quaestura exercitus]] ruled by a ''prefect of Scythia'' or ''quaestor Justinianus'' and including Lower Moesia, [[Scythia]], Caria, the [[Aegean Islands]] and Cyprus; later, the military camp outside Odessos was the seat of another senior Roman commander, ''magister militum per Thracias''.

=== Bulgarian conquest ===
It has been suggested that the 681 AD peace treaty with the [[Byzantine Empire]] that established the new Bulgarian state was concluded at Varna and the first Bulgarian capital south of the Danube may have been provisionally located in its vicinity—possibly in an ancient city near Lake Varna's north shore named Theodorias (Θεοδωριάς) by Justinian I—before it moved to [[Pliska]] {{convert|70|km|0|abbr=off}} to the west.<ref>{{cite web |author=Standartnews Ltd. |url=http://paper.standartnews.com/archive/2006/01/28/supplement/s4689_9.htm |title=Дървен град предхожда каменната Плиска |language=bg |publisher=Paper.standartnews.com |access-date=8 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213102029/http://paper.standartnews.com/archive/2006/01/28/supplement/s4689_9.htm |archive-date=13 February 2012  }}</ref> [[Asparuh of Bulgaria|Asparukh]] fortified the Varna river lowland by a [[Rampart (fortification)|rampart]] against a possible Byzantine landing; the ''Asparuhov val'' (Asparukh's Wall) is still standing. Numerous 7th-century [[Bulgars|Bulgar]] settlements have been excavated across the city and further west; the Varna lakes north shores, of all regions, were arguably most densely populated by Bulgars. It has been suggested that Asparukh was aware of the importance of the Roman military camp (''campus tribunalis'') established by Justinian I outside Odessos and considered it (or its remnants) as the legitimate seat of power for both Lower Moesia and Scythia.

=== Middle Ages ===
Control changed from Byzantine to Bulgarian hands several times during the [[Middle Ages]]. In the late 9th and the first half of the 10th century, Varna was the site of a principal [[scriptorium]] of the [[Preslav Literary School]] at a monastery endowed by [[Boris I]] who may have also used it as his monastic retreat. The scriptorium may have played a key role in the development of [[Cyrillic script]] by Bulgarian scholars under the guidance of one of [[Saints Cyril and Methodius]]' disciples. [[Karel Škorpil]] suggested that Boris I may have been interred there. The synthetic culture with Hellenistic Thracian, Roman, as well as eastern—Armenian, Syrian, Persian—traits that developed around Odessos in the 6th century under Justinian I, may have influenced the Pliska-Preslav culture of the First Bulgarian Empire, ostensibly in architecture and plastic decorative arts, but possibly also in literature, including Cyrillic scholarship. In 1201, [[Kaloyan]] took over the Varna fortress, then in Byzantine hands, on [[Holy Saturday]] using a [[siege tower]], and secured it for the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]].

{{See also|Siege of Varna (1201)}}
[[File:Varna fortress.png|upright=1.35|thumb|left|Plan of Varna's medieval fortress.]]

By the late 13th century, with the Treaty of Nymphaeum of 1261, the offensive-defensive alliance between [[Michael VIII Palaeologus]] and [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]] that opened up the Black Sea to Genoese commerce, Varna had turned into a thriving commercial port city frequented by Genoese and later also by [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] and [[Republic of Ragusa|Ragusan]] merchant ships. The first two maritime republics held consulates and had expatriate colonies there (Ragusan merchants remained active at the port through the 17th century operating from their colony in nearby [[Provadiya]]). The city was flanked by two fortresses with smaller commercial ports of their own, Kastritsi and Galata, within sight of each other, and was protected by two other strongholds overlooking the lakes, Maglizh and Petrich. Wheat, animal skins, honey and wax, wine, timber and other local agricultural produce for the Italian and Constantinople markets were the chief exports, and Mediterranean foods and luxury items were imported. The city introduced its own monetary standard, the ''Varna [[Hyperpyron|perper]]'', by the mid-14th century; Bulgarian and Venetian currency exchange rate was fixed by a treaty. Fine jewellery, household ceramics, fine leather and food processing, and other crafts flourished; shipbuilding developed in the [[Kamchiya]] river mouth.

Fourteenth-century Italian [[portolan chart]]s showed Varna as arguably the most important seaport between [[Constantinople]] and the Danube delta; they usually labelled the region [[Zagore (region)|Zagora]]. The city was unsuccessfully besieged by [[Amadeus VI]] of Savoy, who had captured all Bulgarian fortresses to the south of it, including Galata, in 1366. In 1386, Varna briefly became the capital of the spinoff [[Principality of Karvuna]], then was taken over by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] in 1389 (and again in 1444), ceded temporarily to [[Manuel II Palaiologos|Manuel II Palaeologus]] in 1413 (perhaps until 1444), and sacked by [[Crimean Tatars|Tatars]] in 1414.

=== Battle of Varna ===
{{Main|Battle of Varna}}
[[File:VarnaMemorial.jpg|thumb|Memorial of the [[Battle of Varna]] of 1444 carved into an ancient [[Thracians|Thracian]] [[Tumulus|burial mound]]]]

On 10 November 1444, one of the last major battles of the [[Crusade]]s in European history was fought outside the city walls. [[Ottoman Army|Ottomans]] routed an army of 20,000–30,000 crusaders<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vn.government.bg/stranici/oblast/560/shanko3.doc|author=Apostolov, Shanko (Director, Władysław Warneńczyk Park Museum, Varna)|title=The Campaigns of Ladislaus of Varna and John Hunyadi in 1443–1444|language=bg|access-date=8 June 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220161213/http://www.vn.government.bg/stranici/oblast/560/shanko3.doc|archive-date=20 February 2012}}</ref> led by [[Ladislaus III of Poland]] (also Ulászló I of Hungary), which had assembled at the port to set sail to Constantinople. The Christian army was attacked by a superior force of 55,000 or 60,000 Ottomans led by [[sultan]] [[Murad II]]. Ladislaus III was killed in a bold attempt to capture the sultan, earning the sobriquet ''Warneńczyk'' (''of Varna'' in Polish; he is also known as ''Várnai Ulászló'' in Hungarian or ''Ladislaus Varnensis'' in Latin). The failure of the [[Crusade of Varna]] made the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 all but inevitable, and Varna (with all of Bulgaria) was to remain under Ottoman domination for over four centuries. Today, there is a [[cenotaph]] of Ladislaus III in Varna.

=== Late Ottoman rule ===
A major port, agricultural, trade and shipbuilding centre for the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the 16th and 17th centuries, preserving a significant and economically active Bulgarian population, Varna was later made one of the ''Quadrilateral Fortresses'' (along with [[Rousse]], Shumen, and [[Silistra]]) severing [[Dobruja]] from the rest of Bulgaria and containing Russia in the [[History of the Russo-Turkish wars|Russo-Turkish war]]s. The Russians [[Storming of Varna (1773)|stormed]] the city in 1773 and [[Siege of Varna (1828)|besieged]] it in 1828; however, both ended in failure.

{{See also|Siege of Varna (1828)}}[[File:Etnografisch Museum.jpg|thumb|Ottoman period townhouse|left]]

In the early 19th century, many local Greeks joined the patriotic organisation [[Filiki Eteria]]. Αt the outbreak of the [[Greek War of Independence]] (1821) revolutionary activity was recorded in Varna. As a result, local notables that participated in the Greek national movement were executed by the Ottoman authorities, while others managed to escape to Greece and continue their struggle.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kotzabassi|first=Maria|title=Varna (Modern period)|url=http://blacksea.ehw.gr/Forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaID=11495|publisher=Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού|access-date=9 October 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405033921/http://blacksea.ehw.gr/Forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaID=11495|archive-date=5 April 2012}}</ref>
[[File:1877-11-30, La Ilustración Española y Americana, Crónica ilustrada de la Guerra de Oriente (cropped) Vista general de Varna, tomada desde el mar.jpg|thumb|Varna during the late Ottoman rule]]
The British and French campaigning against Russia in the [[Crimean War]] (1854–1856) used Varna as headquarters and principal naval base; many soldiers died of cholera and the city was devastated by a fire. A British and a French monument mark the cemeteries where cholera victims were interred. In 1866, the first railroad in Bulgaria connected Varna with the Rousse on the Danube, linking the Ottoman capital [[Istanbul|Constantinople]] with Central Europe; for a few years, the [[Orient Express]] ran through that route. The port of Varna developed as a major supplier of food—notably wheat from the adjacent breadbasket [[Southern Dobruja]]—to Constantinople and a busy hub for European imports to the capital; 12 foreign consulates opened in the city. Local Bulgarians took part in the [[Bulgarian National Revival|National Revival]]; [[Vasil Levski]] set up a secret revolutionary committee.

=== Third Bulgarian State ===
[[File:Karte der Stadt Warna 1897.jpg|thumb|City map of 1897]]
In 1878, the city, which had 26,000 inhabitants, was given to Bulgaria by Russian troops, who entered on 27 July. Varna became a front city in the [[First Balkan War]] and the [[First World War]]; its economy was badly affected by the temporary loss of its agrarian hinterland of Southern Dobruja to Romania (1913–16 and 1919–40). In the [[Second World War]], the [[Red Army]] occupied the city in September 1944 and helped to cement communist rule in Bulgaria.

One of the early centres of industrial development and the Bulgarian labour movement, Varna established itself as the nation's principal port of export, a major grain-producing and [[viticulture]] centre, seat of the nation's oldest institution of higher learning outside Sofia, a popular venue for international festivals and events, and the country's ''de facto'' summer capital with the erection of the [[Euxinograd]] royal summer palace (currently, the Bulgarian government convenes summer sessions there). Mass tourism emerged since the late 1950s. Heavy industry and trade with the Soviet Union boomed in the 1950s to the 1970s.

From 20 December 1949 to 20 October 1956 the city was renamed Stalin by the communist government after Soviet dictator [[Joseph Stalin]].<ref>{{cite web |author=BSH |url=http://varna.info.bg/english/name_of_varna_en.htm |title=The names of Varna |publisher=Varna.info.bg |date=21 December 1949 |access-date=6 May 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518183425/http://varna.info.bg/english/name_of_varna_en.htm |archive-date=18 May 2011 }}</ref>

In 1962, the 15th [[Chess Olympiad]], also known as the World Team Championship, organized by [[FIDE]], was held in Varna. In 1969 and 1987, Varna was the host of the World [[Rhythmic Gymnastics]] Championships. From 30 September to 4 October 1973, the 10th [[Olympic Congress]] took place in the [[Palace of Culture and Sports]].

Varna became a popular resort for Eastern Europeans, who were barred from travelling to the West until 1989. One of them, the veteran East German communist [[Otto Braun (communist)|Otto Braun]], died on a vacation in Varna in 1974.