Naval Museum

The Museum was opened on May 20, 1923. In 1956 it moved to Diana, a romantic villa which Asaretto, an Italian consul, built in 1890.The twelve halls on two levels trace the history of navigation in the Black Sea and the river Danube.

The exposition begins with materials about the Black Sea’s first navigators in the 6th century B.C. and ends with the yacht Kor Karolli with which Capt. Gheorgi Gheorgiev, made the first Bulgarian round-the-world solo voyage.

Also on show are photographs of the first Bulgarian men-of-war, the first Bulgarian sea mines, and documents from the lives of the first Navy commanders, Capt. Stancho Dimitriev and Capt. Dimiter Dobrev. A model of the cruiser The Nadezhda (Hope) and its battle flag acquaint visitors with one of Bulgarian battleships from the beginning of the 20th century.

Other documents and photographs depict the operations of Bulgarian Navy at the close of World War II. Part of the Museum exhibits are in the courtyard and outside, in the Park itself, and includes sea and river mines, coastal artillery cannon and a submarine periscope offering a vista of the ships moored in VarnaBay.

The biggest single piece of exhibit in the Museum is The Druzki (Intrepid), a celebrated torpedo boat, which brought Bulgarian Navy one of its biggest naval victories, by torpedoing the huge Turkish cruiser The Hamidie during the First Balkan War of 1912.

Update 2023 : The staff of the institute reports that the Naval Museum in Varna has received an award from the British tourist organisation “Tripper Travel Guide.” The site is included on the organization’s recommended list of must-see destinations in the Bulgarian metropolis. The certificate has been sent to the museum, according to museum director Marianna Krasteva. She added that the outstanding rating was determined by British travellers who participated in a survey conducted by a British travel guide.