Varna Archaeological Museum
this incredible archaeological museum that is
located in the city of Varna, Bulgaria and sits beside the Black
Sea, founded in 1888, when the city library was started and they
wanted to include a museum. It sits in a historical structure that
was designed in the Neo-renaissance style by the famous architect,
Petko Momchilov and constructed between 1892 and 1898 for the Varna
Girls' School. In 1945, it would be acquired by the state and
beginning in 1993, the entire building would become part of the
museum. It is one of the biggest museums in the country and contains
a large exhibition area that showcases relics from the pre-historic,
Thracian, Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman period of the area's
history, along with periods from the medieval Bulgarian and
Byzantine Empires, the Ottoman rule and the Bulgarian Nationa
Revival including some 900 revival and medieval icons. The most
interesting and probably favorite exhibit in the museum is the gold
of Varna, the oldest gold treasure in the world that had been
excavated in 1972, and dates to the 4600-4200 BC period and is
housed in three different exhibition halls. This museum also
operates two open-air archaeological sites that include the big
Roman baths in the city's center and the medieval grotto of Aladzha
Monastery at the Golden Sands Nature Park. There are four more sites
being preserved and should be added to the museum's roster sometime
soon. It also houses a children's study museum, cafeteria, library
and gift shop.
|