Bourgas - City of Bulgaria

Burgas is the second-largest city of Bulgaria. It is also the fourth-largest by population in the country, after Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna. It is the capital of Burgas Province and an industrial and tourist centre.

Bourgas has well developed public busing system. Buses travel also to all resorts and cities along the coastline. Hitchhiking is also a very popular and successful means of transportation in the region.

The city of Burgas developed after the beginning of the 20th century and most of the buildings in the city centre date from this time. The city Gallery of Fine Arts is hosted by a secession style synagogue.

The city has a huge park called Sea Garden (Morska gradina) with variety of green species and fantastic view to the Burgas Bay. The garden starts from the central bus and train station. There are small stairs to the sandy beach and in summer the coast id full of many coffees and nightclubs.

Walking in the garden little by little it becomes wilder and you reach the salt-pans. The 'salt-factories' produce many tons of salt every year. A small train runs across the salt-pans, riding it you can see how salt is made and refined.

Bourgas also has two universities and three colleges. The building of the Burgas Free University (private) is located in the city center and is one of the modern city landmarks. The Asen Zlatarov University main buildings are located at the west entrance of the city.

During the rule of the Ancient Romans, Burgas was known as Deultum, and was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pirgos was erected on the place and was most probably used as a watchtower. It was only in the 17th century that a settlement named Ahelo-Pirgas grew in the modern area of the city. It was later renamed to Bourgas and had only about 3,000 inhabitants, most of them Greeks at the time of the Liberation.

Museums:
Ethnographic Museum
Archaeological Museum
Historical Museum
Nature and Science Museum

There are many galleries as well, some of them are Bogoridi, Briz - Boiadzhiev, and Petko Zadgorski Art Gallery.