Useful links:

Local CISCO Academy

THE CITY OF BURGAS

Geographic location, landscape and climate

The town of Burgas is situated on the coast of the Black Sea in Burgas Bay on a flat country known as Burgas plate. The average altitude is 17 м. To the north and to the south of Burgas there are salt lakes, which are protected areas because of the fact that they are a part of the Via Pontica route of migrating birds.

The climate is of the moderate continental type with a definite influence of the sea. Summer is pleasantly fresh because of the constant movements of the air. The average day temperature of the air during the summer is 26.4° С, and the temperature of the sea water – 24.8° С. There are between 24 and 27 sunny days per month during the summer period with an average of 10-11 sunny hours in a 24-hour period. The winter is mild with no snow. The average day temperature of the air during the winter is 4.6° С, and that of the sea water – 7.4° С. Because of the influence of the sea the autumn is long and warmer than it is in the country, and the spring is comparatively cold and usually comes one month later than normal.

History

The favourable living conditions in the fertile flat country near the sea attracted people in this area thousands of years ago. The first signs of life date back to the bronze era and the beginning of the iron era. The Region of Burgas is rich with archaeological remains dating back to the Thracian era (4th century before Christ). The name of Burgas comes from the Latin word "burgos", which means a tower. There are legends about the Roman passenger station, which used to be located in the area of the contemporary port of Burgas. 15 centuries later the settlement that started to bear the name of Pirgos is mentioned in the works of the Byzantine poet Manuil Fil. During the 18th century Burgas was the biggest port south to the Balkans. The first map that shows the town plans of Burgas dates back to 1854. The first Bulgarian school and church were founded in 1868. On 6 February 1878 Burgas was liberated from the Ottoman empire by the contingent of colonel Lermontov, who was the brother of the great Russian poet Mihail Lermontov. On 7 February 1878 the first Bulgarian municipality was founded. In 1888 the municipality library was founded and three years later the first town plan of Burgas was developed and officially approved. In the first decades of the 20th century the town goes under accelerated industrialization. A cultural uplift begins – many community centers are founded, the archaeological society, the town museum. The Trade Gymnasium and the State mechanical school were founded. The port was enlarged and modernized, the airport was built. The building of the biggest petrol refinery on the Balkans was started.

Modern Burgas

At the beginning of the 21st century Burgas is a municipal and regional center as well as the fourth biggest town in Bulgaria with a population of about 226,000 inhabitants. According to the economic indicators the Municipality of Burgas is second among the other Bulgarian municipalities. More than 15,000 companies are registered here, and the unemployment is the lowest in the whole of the country – 4.3 %. Burgas is an important industrial, commercial, transport and tourist center. The biggest petrol refinery on the Balkan peninsular – LUKOIL NEFTOCHOIM is located near Burgas. Nowadays the city has great economic potential: its well-developed chemical industry, machine building, fishing and agriculture make an important contribution to the national economy. The city has also a thriving furniture and textile industry.

Burgas has the biggest port in the country with the only petrol terminal south to the Balkan mountain. The railway and road networks are well developed. The airport has the best atmospheric conditions on the Balkan peninsular and is the only airport to accept ultrasonic airplanes. Since 1989 Burgas has been known as a Duty Free Zone.

Burgas is the center of the tourism industry on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast. It is also a starting point for visiting the Black Sea summer resorts and vacation villages around the city – Sunny Beach, Elenite, Dunes, the towns – museums Nessebar and Sozopol, the Ropotamo reserve, the Strandzha nature park.

Back to top

Infrastructure and transport

Burgas has the structure and planning typical for the Bulgarian towns – a central city part, in which the main administrative buildings, the cultural institutions and the trade areas are located, and suburb parts where the living areas are located with their infrastructure and recreation parks. What is typical for Burgas is its orientation to the east – to the sea. The old part of Burgas has the form of a rainbow open to the beach and the sea garden – the two most attractive places in the town. Nearby are the administrative buildings, the main pedestrian and trade areas, all cultural institutions and the greater part of the entertainments. The residential areas are situated around the central part. In the periphery and along the sea coast the town passes through quarters with low buildings to the typical for Bulgaria sea tourist villages.

The pedestrian areas are well developed and this allows for the easy walking through the central part to the sea garden and the beach without transport means. The connection with the living areas is made by bus and trolleybus. The price of a bus ticket is 40 stotinki. This is equal to 0,20 Еuro.

You can travel to Sofia by train or by bus. Every day there are two express trains travelling to Sofia and 6 quick trains. The price of a train ticket for the express is 12 levas and for the quick - 10.50 levas. There is a regular bus service. A bus ticket to Sofia costs 15 levas. This kind of transport is more appreciated, because it takes only 5-6 hours depending on the weather conditions.
 

Education, science and culture
   Thanks to the sea, the industrial activities (chemistry, machine-building, transport) and the small distance between Burgas and the other big cities in Bulgaria and the capital (which does not make the city of Burgas a satellite city), Burgas has its own spiritual and cultural atmosphere. It is a big educational, scientific and arts centre.

Schools

There are 27 elementary schools, 28 primary and secondary schools, 4 colleges and 2 universities in Burgas. Burgas is also proud for its 4 specialized language schools, the secondary school of economics, the secondary technical school of civil engineering, the secondary technical school of industrial chemistry, the sports school, the musical school, the school of mathematics. As a result of this there is a good level of education in the town and the region, which is comparatively higher than the average for the country. Which is more important – it is not a problem for a foreigner who does not speak Bulgarian to talk to a Bulgarian in one of the European languages.

Universities

Burgas is the biggest university centre in Southeast Bulgaria. The non-state Burgas Free University and the state university “Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov” accommodate more than 10,000 students on more than 20 specialisms in all fields of study. They are scientific centres, which are active in the area of the fundamental and applied studies. If you come to Burgas you will have the chance to talk to educated and intelligent people.

Churches

Bulgarians are not very religious people but they treat the Christianity and the Bulgarian Orthodox church with great respect. Together with the education they are the most important factors that helped to preserve the Bulgarian spiritual culture and the national identity during the 13-century history of Bulgaria. The Orthodox churches in Bulgaria are spiritual and cultural centres rather than religious buildings. In Burgas the cathedral church “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” is such a centre – a model of the Orthodox arts. The other churches are smaller, but the inside presents an interesting model of the church art, which in this region is influenced by the Greeks. You can enter the churches freely. At the entrances they sell candles with prices varying from 0,20 stotinki to 2 levas.

In Burgas there are also active Catholic and Protestant churches.

Theatre

The drama theatre “Adriana Budevska” bears the name of one of the most famous Bulgarian theatre players. It has a long history and is one of the most important symbols of the town and part of its magic.

The active season in Burgas is from October till May, but actually it does not stop throughout the year because during the summer the cultural life of the country is transferred to the resort cities on the Black Sea coast. The Burgas theatre plays on its own scene and on the scene of the opera theatre. For guest-performances they use the halls of the Military club and the Performance Hall of the “LUKOIL” Chemical Company. The price of the tickets varies from 3 to 6 BG levs.

Back to top

Opera, ballet and classical music

Burgas is one of the few Bulgarian towns, which have their own opera theatre with a ballet group. Its repertoire includes classical and Bulgarian compositions and operetta classics. The hall of Burgas opera, which is also used by the philharmonic orchestra, has an modern design and excellent acoustics. Prices of tickets vary from 4 to 8 BG levs.

Art galleries

There are more than ten art galleries in Burgas. The biggest and most famous one is the City Art Gallery. Its exposition is placed in an ex Jewish synagogue, built at the beginning of the 20th century on the design of Italian architects. Today it is pronounced a culture monument. In the Gallery there are pieces of work of all Bulgarian classic artists, contemporary Bulgarian artists and the richest collection of icons from the Strandja Region.
Back to top

Music

Burgas is a town with a rich musical history and even richer musical presence. You can even say that after Sofia, Burgas is the only Bulgarian town, which after the reforms period managed to keep its musical talents. There are many concerts being organized here especially during the summer period, when the sea attracts the cultural life and the Bulgarian bohemians. The price of the concert tickets may vary from 5 to 50 levas.

Cinema

In the town there are three cinemas with six cinema halls and one open-air cinema. The European and the American movies reach the Bulgarian audience in about 1-3 months after their world premiers. The prices of the tickets vary from 2 to 6 levs. There is often an offer of a ticket for two people at the price of one. On Sundays you can watch a good movie for one lev. In the cinemas you are not allowed to smoke, eat or drink.

In Burgas there are many video rent houses where you can rent a movie for a certain period of time. Prices vary depending on the media – videotapes or DVD, and on the type of the movie. You can get a subscription, or even delivery at home.

In many of the INTERNET clubs in town you can watch movies on-line, on payment.

 Back to top

Literature, libraries, publishing activity

Burgas takes part of its charm from the very many poets and writers that have lived or are living here. Burgas is the home town of the poetess Petya Dubarova who died tragically at a very young age, as well as the spiritual place of the classic Hristo Fotev.

Apart from the university libraries, which have a strict and regulated access, in Burgas there is one big library and some smaller community centres’ libraries. (The community centres are specific for Bulgaria. They are cultural centres that have been functioning as places for socialising ever since.)

The regional library “Peyo К. Yavorov” bears the name оf one of the greatest Bulgarian poets and playwrights. It was established in 1888. During its century-long history the library has developed an extremely rich book-stock – fiction, scientific and reference books, textbooks and handbooks, periodicals and musical records. The library has a department for foreign language literature, which could be used in the reading rooms. You can register in the beginning against minimum payment, and the lending of books is free of charge. Through the National Library in Sofia and the system of the regional libraries in the other regional towns in Bulgaria, each book in the national book-stock may be found and delivered within two-week’s time.

In Burgas there are some publishing houses, which work according to the common principles. In Bulgaria everyone may publish if they have the necessary finances.

One of the most modern houses of the book in Bulgaria is the “Helicon” bookshop in Burgas. It is true that it is almost the only bookshop in the country, which complies with the highest European standards. For many years it has been working not only as a trading place but also as a temple of the spirituality. Many literature readings, books promotions, introductions of young authors, etc. are held here.

Museums

In Burgas there is an archaeological museum, a history museum, an ethnographic museum and a natural history museum. Access is free.

Festivals

In Bulgaria Burgas is known as the town of the festivals. Every summer in the summer open-air theatre in the Sea Garden a festival is organized – a festival of the Bulgarian pop song “Burgas and the sea”. Each summer this open-air theatre hosts the International folklore festival as well. On open stages in the sea garden various festivals are held - Beer Fest, Festival of the Bulgarian rock music “Rock explosion”, Blues fest, Theatre festival “On the shore”. In October each year Burgas is a host of the Autumn literature fests. Every 3 years Burgas becomes a host of the Week of the sea accompanied by a rich cultural programme. The musical festival is also a traditional one. It bears the name of the famous Bulgarian conductor Emil Chakarov, a student of Herbert von Karayan.

Two times a year – in May and September, Burgas becomes a paradise of the flowers. In pavilions especially designed for the purpose and also in the open in the Sea Garden there is an international flower exhibition “Flora – Burgas”.

Burgas’ patron is St. Nicola Miracle maker. The fest of the town of Borgas is the day of St. Nicola – 6th December. Usually in the weeks before and after the 6th of December under the patronage of the Municipality of Burgas there are many events in the town, which often come into the Christmas holidays and thus form a month of joy and happiness.

Back to top

Sport and tourism

Sport

Burgas offers a great variety of sports facilities and possibilities for active sport. There are two football teams in town, which play in the Higher League of Bulgaria. There are also two stadiums. Burgas is proud of its comparatively new stadium “Neftochimic”. It has a total of 24,550 seats, 13,000 of which are under shelters, grass area and lights which correspond to the world standards. In fact, this is the most modern sport facility in Bulgaria. It has also a fitness centre, tennis courts, training rooms, training yards in the open and a hotel.

Burgas has also two sports halls. The “Izgrev” hall is used for competitions on team sports. The “Mladost” hall is used for cultural events too. Many continental and world youth competitions are held there. Each year it hosts tournaments on gymnastics and sports dances.

Burgas offers good facilities for amateur sports. The fitness centres are more than ten and have the necessary conditions, equipment and trainers. Prices vary depending on the type of the service and the category of the hall.

For all types of services a subscription is offered – single subscription or family subscription cards, which make the price of the service lower. The pupils and the students use discounts from 30 to 50 %.

For those who like swimming Burgas offers two 50-meter long swimming pools and a warm sea from May till October.

Tennis fans may play tennis on three tennis grounds in town against payment. Most preferable ones are the tennis courts in the Sea Garden, which are the biggest ones and combine a good ground, sea air and at a reasonable price – 5 levs per hour.

For those who love jogging the Sea Garden offers the most perfect conditions – an appropriate climate (in Burgas it is rare that the temperatures are below the zero), well preserved alleys, proximity to the sea. The Garden is also a pleasant place for walks and social contacts.

During the high tourist season you can also surf or do water skiing in Burgas Bay.

In Burgas and around Burgas there are no high mountains and there is rarely snow. However, in Bulgaria there are many famous winter resorts that offer ski facilities – the Pamporovo resort in the Rhodopi mountains is about 4-5 hours away from Burgas by car; the Borovets resort in the Rila mountains is about 6 hours drive. 6-7 hours away are Undola, Dobrinishte and Bansko – all famous mountain resorts. All winter resorts offer a full equipment to rent. The prices of one –day card for the lift vary from 8 to 15 levs. The tracks are comfortable for skiing from November till the end of March, sometimes till the middle of April.

Back to top

Tourism

The central city part is a favourite place for walks. The citizens of Burgas say that when the weather is fine, on the main street “Bogoridi” there is a river of people walking. This street naturally ends in the Sea Garden where it forms a terrace from which you can see the Bay and you can also reach the sea. One of the attractions of the town are the fishermen on the town peer. It is for sure that there is no other town in Bulgaria like Burgas to have so many cafes, confectionaries, clubs and discotheques. They have a specific atmosphere because in them you can meet the culture of the east and the west, the European standards and the spirit of the Balkan south.

To rest in Burgas during the summer means to go to the beach. The warm sea, the sandy beaches and the south sun give a specific atmosphere to the town of Burgas. They make it a resort town.

For those who like travelling Burgas and its region offer a rich variety of opportunities. To the north of Burgas 120 km away is Varna – the other big sea town in Bulgaria. It takes about two hours by car or bus to reach Varna. It will take you only half an hour to go to Sunny Beach – one of the most famous summer resorts in Bulgaria, and to the vacation village “Elenite”. In the same direction is the old town of Nessebar – a town-museum which has kept the ruins of the ancient Roman town Messemvria. To the south of Burgas there are also many summer resorts and vacation villages – Chernomorez, Primorsko, Kiten, Lozenez, Tsarevo, Ahtopol. In the same direction there is the town-museum Sozopol, the vacation village Dunes, the International Youth Centre – Primorsko and the Ropotamo reserve. In the most southern part of the Region of Burgas is the Strandja mountains. It is the biggest natural park in Bulgaria. It has an extremely rich natural collection of flora and fauna – over 50 % of the flora in the country. This park is a kind of an ethnographic reserve – on its territory you can find the village Bulgari, in which the ritual of the fire dancing is preserved.

Entertainment in Burgas – markets and restaurants

The main market areas in town are along the streets “Alexandrovska”, “Aleco Bogoridi” and “Ferdinandova". They are also the main pedestrian areas. In this part of the town you can buy mainly clothes, shoes, books, furniture, flowers. The shops are located mostly in the basement floors of the buildings. Compared to the European standards they have small areas, but they are very cosy. They are stocked each week or several times per week. In February – March and August – September there are season’s discounts and sales.

The citizens of Burgas usually buy food and drinks from the food shops that are located in the living areas and from the fruit and vegetable markets. In the living quarters there are big department stores which during the past several years were reformed in bazaars.

Prices in Bulgaria are almost fully liberated and vary according to supply and demand. In comparison with other towns in Bulgaria Burgas is an expensive town.

Back to top

Cafes and restaurants

Burgas offers a variety of cafes and restaurants, which differ according to their assortment, service and prices. In a middle-category restaurant you can order a lunch for 10-12 levs. Drinks are at a higher price than in the shops, which becomes even higher during the summer period. Restaurants offer mainly Bulgarian white and red wines of high quality and international reputation. Prices vary between 3 and 8 levs for a bottle of 700 ml. depending on the brand. In Bulgaria there is a great consumption of beer and therefore you can find all kinds of beers here, but in Burgas it is very often that you have a Burgas beer or Zagorka, or Kamenitsa. A beer in a restaurant may cost 1 or 2 levs. A cup of coffee costs 30-60 stotinki. In Bulgaria you can drink mainly espresso. A hamburger costs 1 – 3 levs. A pizza is about the same price. McDоnalds restaurants, KFC и OMV are expensive for the Bulgarian conditions.

In the city discos and clubs you are charged an entrance fee, which varies from 2 to 4 levs. Prices of the Bulgarian alcohol drinks are between 1 and 3 levs, and of the foreign ones – between 2 and 7 levs. The smallest quantity you may have is 50 ml.

A student may live in Burgas with about 200 – 350 levs per month depending on whether he cooks at home or eats out. You may need more money in case the owners of the room or apartment that you rent require payment of the water, electricity, hot water and telephone expenses.
Back to top