Archaeological Museum

Varna, Bulgaria

The Varna Archaeological Museum is situated in a historic building designed in the Neo-Renaissance style by the noted architect Petko Momchilov and built in 1892–1898 for the Varna Girls' School. It became state property in 1945, and since 1993 the museum has occupied the entire building, parts of which it had been using since 1895.

One of the largest museums in Bulgaria, it has 2,150 m2 of exhibition area with exhibits from the prehistoric, Thracian, Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman periods of the region's history, as well as from the times of the medieval Bulgarian and Byzantine Empires, Ottoman rule and the Bulgarian National Revival (including about 900 medieval and Revival icons).

The Museum's arguably most celebrated exhibit is the Gold of Varna, the oldest gold treasure in the world, excavated in 1972 and dating to 4600-4200 BCE, which occupies three separate exhibition halls.

The museum also manages two open-air archaeological sites, the large Roman baths in the city centre and the medieval grotto of Aladzha Monastery at Golden Sands Nature Park.

Four other sites are undergoing conservation and will be added to the museum roster: the 4th-5th-century episcopal basilica on Khan Krum Street; the basilica and monastery of the same period at Dzhanavara; the 9th-10th-century Theotokos monastery and scriptorium of the Preslav Literary School at Pchelina; and the Mediaeval fortified settlement of Kastritsi at Euxinograd.

The museum has also a library, a children's study museum, a gift shop, and a cafeteria. Its courtyard lapidarium hosts the annual Varna Summer International Jazz Festival.

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Address

Varna, Bulgaria
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Details

Founded: 1888
Category: Museums in Bulgaria

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Manuela Hreleva (2 years ago)
Worth visiting. The museum offers a lot to see. It has 2 floors, with a few expositions on display. We spent almost 4 hours in it.
Olga Buneev (2 years ago)
A lot of interesting facts and maps! Would have appreciated some seating in the exposition rooms (as other museums already have).
Simeon Goranov (2 years ago)
The museum's extensive collection follows Varna's history from the times of the first settlements around 6th millenium BCE until the 19th century. Its highlights are the ancient necropolis where the oldest gold in human history was found. Well organised and informative exhibition with helpful staff on site. The museum is in the building of the old girls' high school - a magnificent 19th century architectural gem.
jeremy kalous (2 years ago)
Great museum. They have a lot of brilliant artefacts from the Palaeolithic (anthropomorphic statues) up until 19th cent (icons)
Eli Koleva (2 years ago)
Beautiful and spacey museum with lovely collections from past times. First time I saw so many smiling antique and ancient statues together, dated five thousand years before Christ through to Roman and Thracian times. Gold and silver necropolis jewellery strikes with the ancient master craft. Christian orthodox icons collection is abundant and very educational. Museum building looks very pretty, especially with the indoor nature plants, has a welcoming AC when outside heats up to the high 30s. Highly recommend the stop.
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