Editing Varna, Bulgaria (section)

== Landmarks ==
[[File:VarnaArchMuseum.JPG|thumb|The [[Varna Archaeological Museum|Archaeological Museum]] occupies an ornate 19th-century former girls' school]]{{More citations needed|section|talk={{{talk|}}}|small={{{small|}}}|find={{#if:{{{find|}}}|{{{find|}}}|none}}|find2={{{find2|{{{unquoted|}}}}}}|date=November 2024|name=More citations needed section}}

City landmarks include the [[Varna Archaeological Museum]], exhibiting the ''[[Gold of Varna]]'', the [[Roman Thermae (Varna)|Roman Baths]], the [[Battle of Varna]] Park Museum, the Naval Museum in the Italianate ''Villa Assareto'' displaying the [[museum ship]] ''[[Drazki torpedo boat]]'', the Museum of Ethnography in an Ottoman-period compound featuring the life of local urban dwellers, fisherfolk, and peasants in the late 19th and early 20th century.

You can see the highlight landmarks using Varna City Card – it combines all essential cultural locations, gives many discounts to tourists in restaurants and bars, and overall saves money.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://varnacitycard.com/|title=Varna City Card – Explore Bulgaria's seaside capital & save money!|website=Varna City Card|access-date=27 September 2019|archive-date=27 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927124922/https://varnacitycard.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{See also|Sea Garden (Varna)}}
[[File:BG FONTAN VARNA 06.jpg|thumb|left|"Fountain of the Sirens" in the Sea Garden]]
[[File:Varna Bulgaria garden.jpg|thumb|The [[Sea Garden (Varna)|Sea Garden]]]]

The 'Sea Garden' is the oldest and perhaps largest park in town containing an open-air theatre (venue of the International Ballet Competition, opera performances and concerts), [[Varna Aquarium]] (opened 1932), the Festa Dolphinarium (opened 1984), the Nicolaus Copernicus Observatory and Planetarium, the Museum of Natural History, a terrarium, a zoo, an alpineum, a children's amusement park with a pond, boathouse and ice-skating rink, and other attractions. The National Revival Alley is decorated with bronze monuments to prominent Bulgarians, and the Cosmonauts' Alley contains trees planted by [[Yuri Gagarin]] and other Soviet and Bulgarian [[cosmonaut]]s. The Garden is a national monument of landscape architecture and is said to be the largest landscaped park in the Balkans.

The waterfront promenade is lined by a string of beach clubs offering a vibrant scene of rock, hip-hop, Bulgarian and American-style pop, techno, and [[chalga]]. In October 2006, ''[[The Independent]]'' dubbed Varna "Europe's new funky-town, the good-time capital of Bulgaria".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://travel.independent.co.uk/europe/article1778375.ece |title=Bulgaria: Get the party started – Europe, Travel – The Independent |work=The Independent |date=1 October 2006 |access-date=6 May 2009 |location=London |first=Nick |last=Clark |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029175202/http://travel.independent.co.uk/europe/article1778375.ece |archive-date=29 October 2007 }}</ref> The city enjoys a nationwide reputation for its rock, hip-hop, world music, and other artists, clubs, and related events such as [[July Morning]] and international rock and hip-hop (including graffiti<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beachbulgaria.com/varna/news/grafitti_festival_en.html |title=Graffiti Festival Organized in Varna resort, Bulgaria |publisher=Beachbulgaria.com |date=26 May 2006 |access-date=6 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080331122717/http://www.beachbulgaria.com/varna/news/grafitti_festival_en.html |archive-date=31 March 2008 }}</ref>) venues.

[[File:Euxinograd-palace-benkovski.png|thumb|[[Euxinograd]] palace]]

The city beaches, also known as ''sea baths'' (морски бани, ''morski bani''), are dotted with hot (up to 55°С/131&nbsp;°F) sulphuric mineral water sources (used for spas, swimming pools and public showers) and punctured by small sheltered marinas. Additionally, the {{convert|2.05|km|mi|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|52|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} high [[Asparuhov most]] bridge is a popular spot for [[bungee jumping]]. Outside the city are the [[Euxinograd]] palace, park and winery, the [[University of Sofia]] Botanical Garden (Ecopark Varna), the [[Pobiti Kamani]] rock phenomenon, and the medieval [[cave monastery]], [[Aladzha Monastery|Aladzha]].

Tourist shopping areas include the boutique rows along Prince Boris Blvd (with retail rents rivalling Vitosha Blvd in Sofia) and adjacent pedestrian streets, as well as the large mall and big-box cluster in the Mladost district, suitable for motorists. Two other shopping plazas, Piccadilly Park and Central Plaza, are conveniently located to serve tourists in the resorts north of the city centre, both driving and riding the public transit. ATMs and 24/7 gas stations with convenience stores abound.

[[File:Museum of the history Varna.jpg|thumb|Varna History Museum]]

Food markets, among others, include supermarket chains [[Billa (supermarket)|Billa]], [[Kaufland]] and [[Metro AG|Metro]]. In stores and restaurants, credit cards are normally accepted. There is a number of farmers markets offering fresh local produce; the Kolkhozen Pazar, the largest one, also has a fresh fish market but is located in a crowded area virtually inaccessible for cars.

Like other cities in the region, Varna has its share of stray dogs, calm and friendly, flashing orange clips on the ears showing they have been castrated and vaccinated. However, urban wildlife is dominated by the ubiquitous seagulls, while brown squirrels inhabit the Sea Garden. Cats are also everywhere in the city. In January and February, migrating swans winter on the sheltered beaches.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4670136.stm |title=In Pictures &#124; Day in pictures |work=BBC News |date=1 February 2006 |access-date=6 May 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402063610/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4670136.stm |archive-date=2 April 2012 }}</ref>

=== Churches ===
{{See also|Dormition Cathedral, Varna}}
[[File:Varna Cathedral 01.jpg|thumb|Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral at night]]
[[File:Warna3.jpg|thumb|left|[[Saint Nicholas]] seamen's church]]
[[File:St-Athanasius-Church-in-Varna.jpg|thumb|left|St. Athanasius church with [[Roman Thermae (Varna)|ancient thermae]] in foreground]]
[[File:Catedral de la Dormición de la Madre de Dios, Varna, Bulgaria, 2016-05-27, DD 115-116 HDR.jpg|thumb|Interior of the Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral]]

Notable old Bulgarian [[Eastern Orthodox|Orthodox]] temples include the metropolitan Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral (of the diocese of Varna and Veliki [[Preslav]]); the early-17th-century Theotokos Panagia (built on the site of an earlier church where Ladislaus III was perhaps buried); the [[Athanasius of Alexandria|St. Athanasius]] (former [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Greek]] metropolitan cathedral) on the footprint of a razed 10th-century church; the 15th-century [[Parascheva of the Balkans|St. Petka Parashkeva]] chapel; the seamen's church of [[Saint Nicholas]]; the [[Archangel Michael]] chapel, site of the first Bulgarian secular school from the National Revival era; and the Sts. [[Constantine I|Constantine]] and [[Helena of Constantinople|Helena]] church of the 14th-century suburban monastery of the same name.

The remains of a large 4th- to 5th-century stronghold basilica in Dzhanavara Park just south of town are becoming a tourist destination with some exquisite mosaics displayed ''in situ''. The remains of another massive 9th-century basilica adjacent to the scriptorium at Boris I's Theotokos Panagia monastery are being excavated and conserved. A 4th- to 5th-century episcopal basilica north of the Thermae is also being restored. There is also a number of newer Orthodox temples; two, dedicated to apostle Andrew and the local martyr St. Procopius of Varna, are currently under construction. Many smaller Orthodox chapels have mushroomed in the area. In early 2009, Vasil Danev, leader of the ethnic Organization of the United Roma Communities (FORO), said local Roma would also erect an Orthodox chapel.

There is an [[Armenian Apostolic]] church; two Roman Catholic churches, a thriving [[United Methodist Church|Evangelical Methodist]] episcopal church offering organ concerts, active [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] [[Pentecostal]], [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]], and two [[Baptism|Baptist]] churches.

Two old mosques (one is open) have survived since Ottoman times, when there were 18 of them in town, as have two once stately but now dilapidated synagogues, a [[Sephardi]]c and an [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazic]] one, the latter in [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] style (it is undergoing restoration). A new mosque was recently added in the southern Asparuhovo district serving the adjacent [[Muslim Roma]] neighbourhood.

There is also a [[Buddhist]] centre.

On a different note, spiritual master [[Peter Deunov]] started preaching his [[Esoteric Christianity]] doctrine in Varna in the late 1890s, and, in 1899–1908, the yearly meetings of his Synarchic Chain, later known as the Universal White Brotherhood, were convened there.

=== Architecture ===
[[File:Varna Bulgaria architecture.jpg|thumb|[[Art Nouveau]] mansion on Prince Boris I Boulevard]]
[[File:Chaika district in Varna.JPG|thumb|Chaika apartment complex, the socialist showcase for the 1972 World Congress of Architecture]]

By 1878, Varna was an Ottoman city of mostly wooden houses in a style characteristic of the Black Sea coast, densely packed along narrow, winding lanes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://auction-victoria.com/image.asp?image=4358 |title=Archived copy |access-date=22 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425235724/http://auction-victoria.com/image.asp?image=4358 |archive-date=25 April 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://catalog.libvar.bg/view/show_jpg_image.pl?MATERIAL=photo&image_id=67115563.401251512462638592429 |title=Archived copy |access-date=22 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425235727/http://catalog.libvar.bg/view/show_jpg_image.pl?MATERIAL=photo&image_id=67115563.401251512462638592429 |archive-date=25 April 2012 }}</ref> It was surrounded by a stone wall restored in the 1830s with a citadel, a moat, ornamented iron gates flanked by towers, and a vaulted stone bridge across the River Varna. The place abounded in pre-Ottoman relics, ancient ruins were widely used as stone quarries.

Today, very little of this legacy remains; the city centre was rebuilt by the nascent Bulgarian middle class in late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western style with local interpretations of [[Renaissance Revival architecture|Neo-Renaissance]], [[Baroque Revival architecture|Neo-Baroque]], [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassicism]], [[Art Nouveau]] and [[Art Deco]] (many of those buildings, whose ownership was restored after 1989, underwent renovations).

Stone masonry from demolished city walls was used for the cathedral, the two elite high schools, and for paving new boulevards. The middle class built practical townhouses and coop buildings. Elegant mansions were erected on main boulevards and in the vineyards north of town. A few industrial working-class suburbs (of one-family cottages with small green yards) emerged. Refugees from the 1910s wars also settled in similar poorer yet vibrant neighbourhoods along the city edges.

During the rapid urbanisation of the 1960s to the early 1980s, large apartment complexes sprawled onto land formerly covered by small private vineyards or agricultural cooperatives as the city population tripled. Beach resorts were designed mostly in a sleek modern style, which was somewhat lost in their recent more lavish renovations. Modern landmarks of the 1960s include the [[Palace of Culture and Sports]], built in 1968.

With the country's return to capitalism since 1989, upscale apartment buildings mushroomed both downtown and on uptown terraces overlooking the sea and the lake. Varna's vineyards (лозя, ''lozya''), dating back perhaps to antiquity and stretching for miles around, started turning from mostly rural grounds dotted with summer houses or ''villa'' into affluent suburbs sporting opulent villas and family hotels, epitomised by the researched [[Postmodern architecture|postmodernist]] kitsch of the Villa Aqua.

With the new suburban construction far outpacing infrastructure growth, ancient landslides were activated, temporarily disrupting major highways. As the number of vehicles quadrupled since 1989, Varna became known for traffic jams; parking on the old town's leafy but narrow streets normally takes the sidewalks. At the same time, stretches of [[shanty town]]s, more befitting Rio de Janeiro, remain in [[Romani people|Romani]] neighbourhoods on the western edge of town due to complexities of local politics.

The beach resorts were rebuilt and expanded, fortunately without being as heavily overdeveloped as were other tourist destinations on the [[Bulgarian Black Sea Coast]], and their greenery was mostly preserved. New modern office buildings started reshaping the old centre and the city's surroundings.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.varna-bulgaria.info/Photos/index.php?gallery=Modern%20and%20contemporary%20architecture%20in%20Varna&image=TheShip-Vanya_Karadjova.jpg
 |title       = TheShip – winner for best architect of 2005 for Vanya Karadjova
 |publisher   = Varna Bulgaria Info
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20101205142141/http://www.varna-bulgaria.info/Photos/index.php?gallery=Modern%20and%20contemporary%20architecture%20in%20Varna&image=TheShip-Vanya_Karadjova.jpg
 |archive-date = 5 December 2010
|access-date = 20 January 2007
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.nirvarna.net/downtown4.html
 |title       = Apollo Centre
 |publisher   = The Sawyers Group, UK
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070711042123/http://nirvarna.net/downtown4.html
 |archive-date = 11 July 2007
}}</ref>