Bourgas

Bourgas is the fourth largest city in Bulgaria. Its population amounts to 210 000 residents. It is 390 km distant east from Sofia, 21 km south from Pomorie and 30 km northwest from Sozopol. It is situated in the western part of the bay of Bourgas and is surrounded by Atanasov’s lake- northward, Bougas’ lake- westward and Mandrensko’s lake- south- westward.

It is а successor of the Roman settlement Deultum and Byzantian settlements-Pharos and Straviako. In the Middle Ages was built a fortress called Pirgos, which translated into Greek means a stone tower. It was used for surveillance. Till the War of Krim, Bourgas was dependent on Anhialo (Pomorie) and had population four as much. After the Liberation and especially after building a port in 1906 and a railway in 1910, it turned into a center of the Bulgarian southern Black Sea with developped industry and trade. Today Bourgas is a cultural and a scientific center. There are universities, a theatre, an opera, and a symphony orchestra. Above all the city is an important port and a seaside tourist center in the whole southern Black Sea. The climate is pleasant-with open winter and sunny and long summer. The dark sands on the beach get warm in a short period of time and have good healing properties.

A great number of hotels in the city offer a perfect opportunity for fun and rest.

Places of interest are also the Historical museum with а great collection of exhibits of ancient colonies- golden figures, tomb-stones, black figured vases from the 4th century BC, etc.; the Ethnographic museum –the most interesting exhibits are the mummer’s masks.; the Natural science museum which represents the variety of the flora and fauna in the region of Bourgas.

In the Sea garden are erected many monuments and busts of prominent Bulgarian revolutionaries and writers of the Bulgarian national revival period. In the city there is a cathedral with the name of "St. St. Ciril and Methodius", an Armenian church, two temples - "St. Virgin Mary" and "St. Ivan of Rila".

16 km northwest of the city you can find the mineral baths of Bourgas. They are built close to the thermal springs.

You can go to Bourgas using different types of transport. The airport of Bourgas has flights during the whole year. Next to it are the railway and the bus stations.
There are bus and train destinations to the whole country.