Varna District

An Administrative-Territorial Unit In Northeastern Bulgaria. Area, 3,900 Sq Km; Population, 338,000 (1968). Administrative Center: Varna.

Most of the district is located on the Kamchiia lowland, which is bounded in the north by the Franga plateau, with elevations of up to 378 m (the southern part of the Dobrudzha), in the west by the Provadiiska plateau, in the south by the eastern spurs of the Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains)-Kamchiiska Planina, and in the east by the Gulf of Varna of the Black Sea. Rivers include the Kamchiia and Provadiiska; there are large karsk springs (Devnia). About one-third of the district is covered with deciduous forest, mainly in the south.

Varna District combines well-developed industry with intensive agriculture; its transportation and resort enterprises are significant for all of Bulgaria, as well as internationally. The major branches of industry are machine building (ships and engines), chemicals (production of soda, chlorine, and plastics), cement, glass, cotton textiles, and food (sugar, canning, and wines). The district has a considerable power base. The port industry of Varna plays an important role in its economy. A new coal-shipping port has been built on the shores of Lake Varna, and the Varna-West seaport has been built on the shores of Lake Beloslav, which has an exit to the sea. The industrial centers are Varna and Devnia.

The agriculture of the district is represented by wheat, corn, sunflower, and sugar-beet crops, viticulture, fruit growing, and sheep and swine raising. The district is a center of international tourism. Golden Sands and Friendship resorts, which have grown up in the years of people’s rule, are widely known.