Aladzha Monastery
Aladzha Monastery is the most famous medieval rock monastery on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, inhabited by monks that lived in isolation in XIII-XIV century. The premises of the monastery are carved in two levels at a height of almost 40 meters of limestone rock. At 600-700 meters west of the monastery there is a group of caves, known as the Catacombs. The discovered artifacts – ceramics, coins, graffiti etc., are proof that the Catacombs were inhabited during the Early Christian era (IV-VI c.). Later, in the XIII-XIV century, the Aladzha Monastery and the Catacombs were parts of a larger monastery complex.
It is easy to find, only a few kilometers from Varna in the direction of Golden Sands. From the main road you will see a sign to the monastery.
Ancient settlement and Late Antiquity fortress at Cape “St. Atanas”, Byala
The archaeological site is an ancient settlement and a late antique fortress. It is believed that the fortress “St. Atanas” was part of the great military-defense system built during the Byzantine Emperors Anastasius (491-518) and Justinian I (527-565). The fortress defense line consists of a fortress wall and a ditch and closes the nose from the northeast to the southern slope of the nose. Three of the most important buildings are repaired and preserved – baptistery (baptismal), winery and early Christian basilica. The first settlement in the region originated in the Thracian-Enetian era, probably in the 6th century BC.
Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis
The Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis was discovered in 1972 in the area of Lake Varna and was dated at the end of the 5th – early 4th millennium BC. The findings of “Varna Gold” are the oldest technologically processed gold in Europe and the world. From the excavated up to 7500 sq.m. there are 294 graves and over 3000 gold objects made with a lot of taste and weighing about 6.5 kg. The amount of gold found in the Varna Necropolis exceeds as number and weight all the prehistoric gold artifacts of the same age found around the world taken combined. The treasure is exhibited in the halls of the Archaeological Museum of Varna.
Ovech Fortress
Ovech is a medieval fortress located east of today’s town of Provadia. It is located on a plateau above the town, named “Kaleto”. The archaeological excavations reveal that the fortification was used from the 3rd century to the first decades of the 7th century and then from the 11th to the end of the 17th century. The fortress was inhabited in succession by Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Bulgarians and Turks. The strongest period of Ovech is in the 12th-14th c., when the fortress is the military, religious, economic and administrative center of the region. Upon visiting the fortress in the stone fortification, the 79-meter deep water well, the Metropolitan Church, the knight’s prison, the Devil’s tower, and the Kaluger Holes can be seen.