The central area of the sea garden was intended to be a cultural-historic me-morial to the great Bulgarian national heroes.
The great ideologists of Bulgarian Revival: Hadji Dimitur, Stefan Karadja, Dobri Chintulov, Lyuben Karavelov, Nicola Kofardjiev, Todor Grudov, Atanas Man-tchev, V. Zografov, priest Sava Katrafilov and G.S. Rakovski obtained their memorial busts during the 1920’s and 1930’s.
This is the place where the citizens of Burgas lay wreaths to express their appreciations to the most remarkable figures that died for the freedom of Bul-garia – Hristo Botev and Vasil Levski.
The Armenian Church Hach (the Holy Cross) was built in 1853, which is stated on the stone over the inside gate and on the marble of the Baptist dome. The temple construction is a one-nave monolith building with basic characteristics of the Armenian Church architecture. Armenian Apostolic and Orthodox Church Hach is among the eldest religious edifice in Burgas, also declared for a cultural heritage.
The museum displays archaeological finds from prehistoric times through to the end of the fourteenth century found in the Region of Burgas. The artifacts are related to the ancient cities of Thrace, old Greek colonies and local Pro-vince of the Roman Empire. The unique exhibits presenting the history of Black Sea Shipping; gold jewelry, art objects and pottery from the Thracian culture are the highlights of the exposition.
Offshore Salt Lake Atanasovsko is divided into two by a sand strip, the northern part is a nature reserve since 1980 and the south is used as a buffer zone. The lake is 9.5 km in length, width - 4.3 km and reaching a depth of 0.8 meters, salinity has ranged from 20 to 27.5 percent. A considerable part of the area, 1,690 ha has been maintained as a saltern since 1906, preserving the old way of salt production.
Atanasovsko Lake is a Ramsar-wetland that is of global importance for the ornithology and it is also called the European Bird Paradise. There are 317 bird species found, which makes 70% of all bird species in Bulgaria. Of these, 14 are globally threatened, 83 species are included in the Red Book of Bulgaria and 170 species are of European environmental significance.
Atanasovsko lake is located on the old migratory route Via Pontica. It is a typical place with a narrow front for a large amount migratory birds coming from the continent. Most attractive for the bird watchers is the migration during August – October and the winter months are best for monitoring the worldwide endangered small cormorants, stiff-tailed ducks and dalmatian pelicans.
The lake is inhabited by the world smallest mammal – Etruscan Shrew (Suncus etruscus), weighing only 2 grams.
Burgas Free University is a modern educational institution established in 1991. Since November 2004, the students are educated in a special con-structed building appropriate for their needs. This modernistic project received Bulgaria’s most prestigious architecture award – “Building of the Year 2004”, and the architect Lyudmila Kyoseva – author of the project, became “Archi-tect of the Year 2004”. The modern university disposes of excellent facilities located on an area of 22,000 m². BFU provides training for more than 7,000 students in 4 major research areas:
• Faculty of Legal Studies
• Faculty of Business Studies
• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering
Port of Burgas is established pursuit to the Decree for Construction, signed by Prince Ferdinand I .The opening ceremony has been held on 18 May 1903 and since this moment the port is considered as open for commercial shipping. Few years before, in 1899, the first Bulgarian port lighthouse – the white lighthouse of Burgas, has been put on. The first Burgas smuggler – Sabi Denev is the author of the model.
In place of today's park next to the railway station stood the old customs building surrounded by bins, inns, cafes and workshops. With the construction of the new customs building in the 1920’s, this area was cleared and shaped as a park. The garden opened in 1938.
The sculptural composition “Gramophone” is a creation of Mr. Russi Stoya-nov, a talented artist from Bourgas. It marks the end of the oldest largo of Burgas – Bogoridi Street that today represents an architectural monument and a gateway to the numerous night attractions of the seaside town.
Drama Theatre “Adriana Budevska” bears the name of one of the most popu-lar Bulgarian actresses. Theatre “Adriana Budevska” was founded in 1912 and has its own building with 400 seats. The theatre is presenting classical and modern drama plays. Annually on the second week of September, the theatre organizes International Theatre Festival under the name “On the coast”.
The biggest Ethnographic Exposition in South-East Bulgaria occupies a beautiful house from the middle of the 19th century, preserved in its original shape and with its original furniture. The artifacts on display illustrate the occupations of the local population, its way of life, building architecture, household goods, festivals and customs.
Here the visitors can see the most attractive collection of Bulgarian Traditional costumes representing all ethnographic groups in the Burgas region, including the clothing of the Bulgarian fugitives from the land that nowadays belong to Greece and Turkey. Here are also displayed unique ritual costumes from the 19th century, illustrating various rites and celebrations, typical for Burgas region only: ritual costumes of “Nestinarka”, “Enyov’s wife”, “Lazarka” and wedding clothing.
The church is a part of the remarkable building belonging once to the French Girls Boarding School. It was built in 1918 according to a project by two architects: Ricardo Tuscany and Svetoslav Slavov. Father Gregory, the first priest and the French consul provided most of the funds for construction works. The church is Neocatholic style with strict proportions and decoration details. From the 1960’s, the building is used as a hospital.
This is the right place to learn more about the past and the present history of Burgas – City and Region, which is presented lively with photos, documents and other original exhibits. Another Highlight in the Historical Exposition is the collection of Bulgarian Renaissance icons, old printed books, manu-scripts and 19th century church plate. The Historical Exposition is also so preferred place for exclusive guest-exhibitions.
The cathedral “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” is the biggest Orthodox Church in the city of Burgas. It was built during the period 1894-1907, according to plans of the Italian architect Ricardo Toskani. The church is a three-nave basilica. The great hall of the cathedral is divided by five coupled marble columns. The main dome stands over the twelve-walled drum with small windows. The beautiful stained glass at the main entrance portrays the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius. Authors of the unique frescoes here are the famous Bulgarian painters prof. Gyudzhenov and Kozhuharov, best known for their work in the cathedral “St. Alexander Nevski” in Sofia.
Presented as one of the biggest attractions in the city, casino was introduced to the public on the 7th of August 1938 with a huge celebration attended by the elite of Bulgaria. Special construction techniques accounted for the sloping terrain were used for the building combining three architectural pro-jects. The casino is situated in an area designed as the shortest path to the beach, thus soon after its opening, it became a favourite place for entertain-ment of locals and guests of the seaside town.
The town of Burgas started from this place, one kilometer after from this sign. It was put after the elaboration of the first town – planning scheme in 1891. It indicated the destination to the outskirts of the town. It was made of green stone from Aitos.
The “Ezero” park offers an entertainment complex for horse riding and rehabilitation. The hippodrome occupies a total of 20 decares and has a stable with 29 boxes, constructed according to the latest requirements for sport horse breeding. The plans of the complex, built on the location of a former lake, conform to all EC ecological standards. There is an automated water and disposal system for the animals. The size of the open sand pan is 60/70 meters and it offers lighting for night riding.There are 40 horses and 10 ponies in the complex. The modern hippodrome and Burgas Horse Riding
Club are registered in the Bulgarian Horse Riding Sports Association. A horse riding school for adultsand children will soon open, and will allow sports competitions and display of horse breaking.
The modern building of the first college of tourism in Bulgaria was created in the northern part of the Park “Ezero” at the end of the 1960’s. It was establi-shed in 1967 under the name “Institute of international tourism”. Today, “The College of Tourism” is a part of Burgas Technical University “Prof. Asen Zlatarov”.
This architectural monument of the culture from the 1930’s has an important place in the harmonious relationship between the two city plan cores of Burgas - “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” Square and “Baba Ganka” Square.
The building is associated with the long history of music art in Burgas and today is part of the Burgas Philharmonic. The building is named after Prof. Ivan Vulpe, one of the most honoured opera figures in Bulgaria.
State Puppet Theatre is a professional theatre for children, founded in 1954 and acquired state status in 1962.Thereafter the characters of many local and world classical works for children have become alive under the limelight of the theater.
With over 250 performances achieved, over 10 000 performances played in front of nearly 3 000 000 spectators, overseas tours in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, lots of individual and collective awards from National Surveys and International festivals, DKT Burgas has been approved as one of the leading theaters in country. The company of actors maintains a repertory of minimum 20 titles, as each season 4 new productions are created and 300 performances are given.
In 2006 DKT Burgas became the first Puppet Theater winner of the award for the highest financial and exceptional artistic achievements, established by the Minister of Culture.
Petya Dubarova (1962-1979) is one of the youngest artists among the masters of Bulgarian poetry. This house has been once the home place of the forever seventeen-year-old girl and today is a temple of innocence and beautiful poetry. Currently this house-museum is turned into a cultural and educational centre dedicated to research, study and preservation of the literature heritage left by the extraordinary poetess Petja Dubarova. The personal room of Ms. Dubarova is now open for visitors reconstructed in its original interior.
The building was constructed before 1878, by Dimitros Haralambus – a Burgas tradesman and municipal advisor. On 25.01.1878, the Russian General Lermontov arrived in the city. He was in charge of the 24th foot division, who liberated the city from Turkish rule. Dimitros Haralambus offered his house to be used as headquarters by Geneal Lermontov, where he stayed for several days.
The two storey house has an interesting angled design, typical for many of the buildings in Burgas. The main entrance is vaulted, with steps from green Aytos stone. The windows on the lower floor are protected by authentic metal gratings with perches.
Because the original architectural outlook of the building was lost during the years, today its significance is mostly historical.
The Summer Theatre built in 1958 was intended to develop further the Sea garden as a place for amusement and relaxation. Architect Mirinchev, author of the project choose the classic antique style for his creation. The realization of this project in the 1960’s became reality with the voluntary participation of Burgas citizens. Summer Theatre is a stage of many cultural events among which are the famous competition for the Bulgarian author’s song “Burgas and the Sea” and the oldest International Folklore Festival in Bulgaria.
The most remarkable place in this part of the Sea Garden is the Annual Inter-national Exhibition of Flowers “Flora”. At this location in the past was the city greenhouse, specially glazed for cultivation of exotic tropical plants.
The first “Flora” opened in 1981. The annual exhibition includes a great diversity of different types of flowers and flower combinations, potted plants, decorative plants and planting materials from producers all over the world.
The monastery is cuddled in a small valley, about 10 km from the city of Burgas, between the residential districts “Gorno Ezerovo” and “Meden Rudnik”. Tourists have to take a narrow road, which winds like a snake through the fields.
True believers can tell you many legends about the healing properties of the monastery’s water and the supernatural power of this place, first discovered by the ancient Thracians. The healing properties of the plants, which surround the temple, have to be mentioned as well – they have a strong phytoncidic effect, which depurates the body from contaminants.
Today, the “St. Mary” monastery has two churches. One is located in the monastery’s building, named the “inside church”, and the other is the new church, which has a very distinctive architectural design with its rotunda shape. The chapels, which are 40 in total, are unique as well. Each chapel bears the name of a different saint. The monastery is also an excellent place for relaxation.
The foundation of the Sea Garden is laid with the first general plan of Burgas in 1891. 72,000 sq. m of land with desolated vineyards were transformed into a beautiful public garden.
The Sea Garden acquired its modern look during 1910. At this time in Bur-gas, Mr. George Duhtev, who graduated with honours in Gardening in Austria, started work on the design and landscaping of the park.
By 1912 the garden was already fenced. Along the path-ways appeared flower beds and the main areas were planted with cultivated shrubs and park trees.
In 1924 the Sea Garden is fully completed. Afforestation material introduced from Hungary, Istanbul, Italy, France, Syria and Lebanon, contributes for the botanical wealth of the park.
In 1936, the pier was built next to the new municipal sea baths. It was con-structed from steel and had wooden trimmer joists for the platform. A special stone staircase was connecting the pier with the seaside casino and the park alley. During the 80’s a new massive pier - quay, replaced the old wooden pier, which nowadays is a favourite place for citizens and guests of Burgas to take a stroll.
Every year on January the 6th, a church service is carried out celebrating the Christian holiday Epiphany. Traditionally, the Bishop would throw the cross into the sea water, for which brave swimmers compete to obtain.
A competition for the designing of the building of Municipality of Bourgas was opened in 1927. Four author’s teams entered it. The competition was won by a team with members: architect Ovcharov and architect Popov.
The public library, which burnt to the ground in an accident, was situated previously on the same plot of land where the building of the Municipality stands nowadays. The building has been preserved in its initial outlook and is announced for a monument of culture.
The "St. Anastasia" island is located in the Burgas bay, 8 km off the coast. There was a small early Christian cloister on the island in antiquity, during the early Byzantine period. A monastery was constructed here in the XI century. It was in the group of Sozopol‘s episcopate. The convent didn’t function after 1913 and was transformed into a prison in 1921, which was used till 1944. The buildings and the church of the monastery were announced for monuments of culture. A museum exhibition, devoted to the history of the island and the riot of 43 politic prisoners, was organized.
In 2001 the island in announced for nature-archaeological reserve together “St.Ivan” island and has the statute of public state ownership.
Opera House – Burgas Philharmonic Society was established by decree of the Council of Ministers in 2000. It combines two major music institutes – Burgas State Opera and Philharmonic Society – Burgas. The Burgas Philharmonic existed already in 1947 as a State Institute. For the first time almost all works of Bulgarian composers have been presented on the stage of Opera House BurgasHouse BurgasHou. The mixed choir in Burgas was formed in 1972, when the Burgas Opera became a government institute. The choir at the Opera – Philharmonic Society – Burgas participate in the implementation of operas, operettas and children’s performances.
Aliosha – monument of the Russian soldier is a favourite place for a walk in the city of Burgas. It is built in 1953 as a monument dedicated to victims of World War II. Authors of this project are the architect Mihail Milkov and sculptors Vassil Radoslavov and Anna Milkova.
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799 - 1837) is a Russian poet and huma-nist, he is considered to be one of the founders of modern European litera-ture. His most celebrated works "Ruslan and Lyudmila”, "Eugene Onegin", "A Feast during the Plague” and many others, remain the audience’s favourite on stage or on paper all over the world.
The famous Burgas artist Petko Zadgorski is author of the 2,20m high bronze statue. On the 24th February 1952, the monument was unveiled for the viewers with huge celebration in honour of the great poet.
This is the oldest part of the Sea Garden.
The monument was erected in 1934 in front of the 24th Black Sea infantry headquarters. It is dedicated to soldiers and officers from the Burgas region, who gave their lives for the freedom and independency of Bulgaria during the Serbian-Bulgarian War (1885), the Balkan War (1912-1913) and the First World War (1915-1918). In 1939 the memorial was moved to the city centre at Mara Gidik Street, where it remained hidden to the 90’s. On initiative of war veterans’ organizations, the monument has been saved and restored in front of the garrisons club in Burgas. On the 6th of May 2005 during the celebration of the Bulgarian army day, the soldier’s monument received a new life.
The monument is situated in place of a previously existed Russian military infirmary created by Alexandra Lermontova, the daughter of Colonel Lermontov. In May 1879 she came to Burgas with the 4th Army Corps lead by the famous General Skobelev. Here A. Lermontova assisted the training of medical personnel; the establishment of a new hospital and purchased the medical equipment from her own funds.
Russian soldiers from the 24th infantry Division erected this monument in memory of their comrades from 93rd Irkutsk and 94th Yenisei infantry regiment, who died from cholera and typhus at the end of the Russo Turkish War (1877 – 1878).
Here at this place, on the 6th of February 1878 citizens of Burgas “with bread and salt” welcomed the “Flying squad” of Colonel A. M. Lermontov (1838-1906), who brought the liberation of Burgas Region. Colonel Lermontov was given a symbolic key of the city from the first mayor Niko Popov.
The sentence reads: “To the fallen Russian brothers for the sake of our liberation.”
Here in front of the monument are held annual celebrations for the national holiday of Bulgaria – March 3rd.
This alley leads to a monument called “Pantheon”, opened in 1981 as a memorial to the fallen antifashistite, with an “eternal fire” burning in centre. Authors of the project are the sculpture Valentin Starchev and designer of the urbanization planning architect Vladimir Milkov.
The plaza surrounding “Panteona” forms an entrance to the exhibition area of the sea garden, where is held the annual flower exhibition “Flora Burgas".
The Natural history exposition is unique on the south Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea. It represents the geohistorical evolution of Southeast Bulgaria and its abundant flora and fauna. The exposition displays a number of valuable collections such as “The flora and fauna of the Strandja region, “The magical world of the stone”, “The birds in the Burgas’ wet zones” and other.
The building of the Regional Customs is one of the most stylish architectural and cultural monuments in Burgas.
In 1911, the building completed the composition of the new port square with its sophisticated silhouette and ornate decoration. Author of this project is the famous Austrian architect Weinstein. The building combines the architectural styles late classicism and eclectic from the early 20th century. This architectural masterpiece gave one modern European vision to the young city in the hectic times of dynamic development.
During 2005 the building was renovated and completely restored.
Port of Bourgas is established pursuit to the Decree for Construction, signed by Prince Ferdinand I on 20 December 1894. The opening ceremony has been held on 18 May 1903 and since this moment the port is considered as open for commercial shipping. Few years before, in 1899, the first Bulgarian port light-the Light of Bourgas, has been put on.
At the opening stage, the port offers a 60 hectares basin, 3 quay walls with total length of 590 m and depths of 24 feet.
The first Scoda electric cranes have been supplied in 1941. By that time, the docker’s work has been fully manual-the cargoes have been transferred being taken up on man’s back, on packsaddles. The dockers were walking with the cargoes on back on inclined scaffolding from the quay to the vessel and vise versa.
The new crude oil and oil products port “Rossenetz” was inaugurated during 1963. It has been built about 3 miles southeast of the existing dry cargo port.
The new Bulk port has entered into operation during 1974, followed by new West port-during 1980.
The church was built in place of the Old Catholic Church in 1936 according the project of architect Svetoslav Slavov. The architectural plan is a single nave and apse basilica with a strict interior and fine decoration.
Municipal tourist information center is made in favor of increasing number of tourists , who decided to visit the town or to spend there their vacation and need additional information for tourist services , attractions and culture events in the region .
The Tourist Information Centre has detailed information about all natural, cultural, architectural and historical landmarks and other sites of interest. The Centre realizes the coordination between different contractors in developing higher quality of the tourist product. The “Tourist Information Centre” provides maps and brochures and presents the tourist supply of the Municipality of Bourgas at regional, national and international tourist markets and fairs. In the “Tourist Information Centre” of Burgas you can get information about:
The church was built during the 1920s, urged by the fast expansion of the industrial city. Biggest part of the contributions used for the building came from the rich benefactor Mr. Alexander Georgiev Kodzhakafaliata, who placed his land at the poor inhabitants’ disposal. The church-building-committee re-ceived great deal of donations from the Union of reserve sergeants, as well as other churches and pious Christians. On April the 1st 1934 the church “St. Ivan Rilski” was opened for the religious needs of the local population.
Four bells are hanging in the church tower, the biggest bell weights 100 kg, the second one is 60 kg and the other two are 40 kg each. The iconostasis was made during the building of the church with measurements of 11,5 m width and 3 m height. Most of the icons here are painted by the master artist Prof. Nikolai Kozhuharov. On the 1st of November 1973 during the sanctifi-cation of the church, inside the communion table were placed the relics of St. Martyr Vakh.
Orthodox Temple St. Virgin Mary is the eldest among the churches in Bur-gas. It was built in the middle of the 19th century (1840-1860). The liturgy in Greek language was held up to the year 1906, when the church was renamed from “The Assumption of Mary” to “The Lord’s Transfiguration”. The church is a three-nave basilica with 12 marble columns on the inside, holding the roofing and the wide balcony construction. The church preserves valuables icons painted by monks in the Holy Mountain, Athos peninsula. In the years 1927-28 the church obtained two towers and in one of them have been placed two bells. After World War II this religious building was declared for cultural heritage. On the 3rd of March 1952 the Church trustees voted over revealing the old name of the church – “The Assumption of Mary”. During the years 1957-58 the master of iconography Mr. Nikolai Evgenievic Rostovcev painted the entire temple inside new.
Burgas Art Gallery is located in the former Jewish synagogue, built in the years of 1905-1910 according to plans of the Italian architect Ricardo Tuscany. With the collaboration of Burgas prominent public figures, artists and cultural figures the gallery was established on April 7th 1947 under the name “Art Gallery and Museum”, with a collection consisting of 58 paintings and 6 sculptures. In September 1966 the “Art Gallery”, namely is arranged in a specially restored building of the Jewish synagogue. Today, the exposition occupies three floors, where the best of its collection is presented, containing over 2000 exhibits – paintings, sculpture and graphics. Burgas Art Gallery is proud to presents a collection of Strandja icons, dated between the 17th – early 20th century. Unique frescoes were found during the restoration works in the 90’s under the synagogue’s dome, which completed the interior of this architectural monument of national significance.
The Bourgas clock was positioned here at the beginning of the 20-century. At first it marked the space in front of the old municipality building, which was demolished in the 1930’s. Until 1985 the clock was standing on a beautiful corner building between the streets “Bogoridi” and “Aleksandrovska”.
During the 1990’s the old clock became part of a sculptural composition of the artist Kolyo Kehayov, which today is one of the most popular symbols of Bourgas, a favorite place for meetings, concerts and city festivities.
