43°12′27″N27°54′54″E / 43.20750°N 27.91500°E /43.20750; 27.91500
TheVarna Archaeological Museum (Bulgarian:Варненски археологически музей,Varnenski arheologicheski muzey) is anarchaeological museum in the city ofVarna on theBlack Sea coast ofBulgaria.
Founded on 3 June 1888, when a museum, part of the City Library was established, the Varna Archaeological Museum is situated in a historic building designed in theNeo-Renaissance style by the noted architectPetko Momchilov and built in 1892–1898 for the Varna Girls' School. It became state property in 1945, and since 1993 the museum has occupied the entire building, parts of which it had been using since 1895.
One of the largest museums in Bulgaria, it has 2,150 m2 of exhibition area with exhibits from theprehistoric,Thracian,Ancient Greek andAncient Roman periods of the region's history, as well as from the times of themedieval Bulgarian andByzantine Empires,Ottoman rule and theBulgarian National Revival (including about 900 medieval and Revivalicons).
The Museum's arguably most celebrated exhibit is theGold of Varna, the oldest gold treasure in the world, excavated in 1972 and dating to 4600-4200 BCE, which occupies three separate exhibition halls.
The museum also manages two open-air archaeological sites, the largeRoman baths in the city centre and the medievalgrotto ofAladzha Monastery atGolden Sands Nature Park.
Four other sites are undergoing conservation and will be added to the museum roster: the 4th-5th-century episcopal basilica on Khan Krum Street; the basilica and monastery of the same period at Dzhanavara; the 9th-10th-centuryTheotokos monastery and scriptorium of thePreslav Literary School at Pchelina; and the Mediaeval fortified settlement of Kastritsi atEuxinograd.
The museum has also a library, a children's study museum, a gift shop, and a cafeteria. Its courtyardlapidarium hosts the annualVarna Summer International Jazz Festival.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
  | This article about a museum in Bulgaria is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
