Sea Garden, Urban park on the Black Sea coast in Varna, Bulgaria
The Sea Garden is a linear park along the Black Sea coast in Varna, divided into four sections. Its historic core, from the Naval Museum to the zoo, covers 55 hectares and is a protected area without cars or housing. The central entrance, designed by architect Georgi Popov in 1939, has a wide plaza and tall columns.
In 1862 the Ottoman mayor Hafız Eyüp had about ten decares fenced off as a municipal vegetable garden near today's colonnade entrance. After Bulgaria's Liberation, mayor Mihail Koloni proposed a seaside park in 1881; 26 decares were planted with 130 trees. Czech gardener Anton Novák, invited by Karel Škorpil, arrived in 1895 and gave the garden its layout, with the Aquarium built in 1906–1911.
The garden serves as a gathering place where locals walk, exercise, and spend time with family on most days. It forms part of the city's everyday rhythm and offers residents a green space to enjoy the seaside without leaving town.
The park is freely accessible and easy to explore on foot, with flat, well-marked paths throughout. Plan to spend a few hours walking through different sections, and wear comfortable shoes since the space covers a considerable distance.
The Alley of Cosmonauts was laid out in the 1960s, and on 26 May 1961 Yuri Gagarin planted its first tree, a silver fir, before a large crowd. The Pantheon of the Perished in the Fight Against Fascism went up in the same year.
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