Balchik - the City of Dioysos

The town of Balchik (population: 13,766) is a small seaside town in northern Bulgaria, 31 km north and north-east of Varna, 501 km away from Sofia, and is situated on the coast itself and has a regular Bus Transport to the nearby Towns. It is set amidst terraced white limestone cliffs. There is a big harbour used for medium-size passenger and trade vessels.

History

Balchik was first inhabited by the Ionians in 5th century BC. They founded a settlement and called it Krouni or Krounoi after the earlier Thracian settlements in the vicinity. The name of the town comes from the Greek word “izvori” (springs) as there are a lot of karst curing springs in the area. Later on it was renamed Dionisopolis after the name of Dionisius, God of wine and feasts. Some consider that the town was given this particular name because of the statue of Dionisius thrown up on the shore by the sea. The image of this god was on the coins minted here, and the town was also the most important centre, second only to Odessoss (Varna) on the northern Black Sea coast till the beginning of the new era.

After a sequence of invasions at the time of the Roman Empire the town fell to decay. Later on it was included in the territory of Bulgaria. In 13th - 14th century it moved to Dzhina Bair, a natural fortification. It was ruled by the Boyar Balik, and so it was called Balchik.

After the Crimean War (1853 - 1856) the town flourished and grew into a big corn-trading centre. After the Balkan War in 1913 it was included in the territories of Romania. Struck by the natural beauty of the place, the Romanian Queen Maria built a palace and a botanical garden, a chapel and a villa complex for the Romanian aristocrats. The town turned into a luxurious resort at the time. After 1940 Balchik was again included in Bulgarian territory.

Places Of Interest

Apart from the palace, the palace complex and the botanical garden, which is the biggest and most diverse in the Balkans, the town is attractive to tourists with its ancient atmosphere that has been preserved for centuries now. It is interesting to walk along and observe the Tartar Quarter with the pebbled streets and the houses made of stone and adobe.

The Palace Complex consists of the central palace with a high tower, numerous buildings in a modern style at the time, a terraced park, lanes and paths, stone summer-houses propped on marvellous columns facing the sea, a throne under an old tree where Queen Maria loved to sit and watch the sunset, a small chapel where her heart is preserved. There are more than 3000 rare and exotic species of plants in the botany garden. It is part of the teaching facilities of Sofia University. The whole complex was called Tenha Yuva (Quiet Nest).

Besides the palace and the botanic garden, the Art Gallery of the town, which houses also the town’s museum, is also an interesting place to visit. There is also a small ethnographic museum and a beautiful old church called St. Nikola Church. A Renessaince complex with the old school, which is quite well preserved, can be other possible destinations of a walk. The coastal alley, which is about 4km long, is also a nice place to stroll, Also the harbour and the small streets of the town are interesting to explore.

Outside the city, the area of Touzlata is located 4 km east of the town. It is well known for its curative mud, which was the main reason to build a balneological centre there beside two lakes, formed by old landslides. A large recreational complex, a lot of villas, bungalows and a camping site are can be also found there. There is a mineral spring with water temperature of above 30 C degrees. Two big camping sites - Sandrino Camping and Beliyat Bryag Camping are also located near Balchik. They offer various opportunities for rest and water sports, clubs, bars, numerous bungalows for tourists having no camping equipment, small restaurants and snackbars for seafood and continental food. Fifteen kilometres away from rhe town in south-west direction is the village of Obrochishte with a well-preserved fortress dating back to the early Ottoman rule, which travellers of that time used to compare it with the beauty of Baghdad.