Museums Bulgaria

The mastodons roamed along the banks of a river, munching on the vegetation under the canopy of a tropical forest, oblivious to the screams of  monkeys and the presence of rhinos, but watching out for lions and sabre-toothed tigers that were never far from the watering hole.

The river attracted all of these animals but, from time to time, a visit here could prove fatal. As the water swept away the remains of the dead bodies, they eventually started to pile up at one of the bends of the river. There the bones accumulated, along with other debris, and over time they fossilised.

Glass, one of the most amazing materials that humanity has discovered and mastered, starts with some inconspicuous sand. When heated to the right temperature and with the proper additives, it turns into a mesmerising molten lava that can take any type of shape – from window panes to vases to decorations.

One fine August morning of 2025, scores of people flocked to Iglika, a small semi-abandoned village nestled in the central Stara Planina mountain range near Gabrovo. They had come for an event without a parallel in Bulgaria. On a sun-dried meadow, a collector of traditional Bulgarian kilims had spread about 900 handwoven pieces, dating from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Their bright colours and intricate ornaments created an astonishing mosaic that reflected centuries of kilim-making tradition.

The narrow, claustrophobic space seems to press in on you. The smell of machine oil, metal and people. The sense of the unknown… Descending into a submarine is an unforgettable experience. If you want to try it – and learn more about Bulgaria's submarines – your destination is Beloslav, a town west of Varna. Here, on the southern shore of Lake Varna, is a surprising museum: the last submarine of the Bulgarian Navy. Its name – Slava, or Glory.

Picturesque old houses lining a narrow river and tiny shops selling hand-made sweets, knives and fabrics: The Etara open air museum recreates a charming, idealised version of mid-19th century Bulgaria.

Hidden among the firs of a park by the busy Władysław Warneńczyk Boulevard in Varna is one of Bulgaria's strangest and most moving museums. There, inside one of two ancient Thracian burial mounds is the stone effigy of a sleeping medieval knight.

This is the symbolic grave of the Polish-Hungarian King Władysław III, who died in 1444 in a battle during what is considered to be the last Crusade in Europe.

You are in an unsightly socialist town where rustic houses are scattered amongst prefabricated housing blocks. Men are repairing Ladas and Moskviches and women are dusting carpets in the patches of green. You head for the town square and discover that it is appropriately covered with the large white slabs to be seen in so many other Bulgarian towns, the result of a 1980s plan by Communist rulers to implement pedestrian zones. But there is something a little out of kilter here. The town is oddly clean and the pavement is not falling apart. There are few stray dogs in the streets.

The busy Władysław Warneńczyk Boulevard is the road you need to take through Varna to reach the Sofia-bound motorway. It is also the road to one of Bulgaria's strangest and most moving museums.

Among the firs of the park – an oasis of calm amidst the urban buzz – two Thracian burial mounds stand. One of them, adorned with a monument, encloses a burial chamber where lies the stone effigy of a medieval knight.

A medieval knight? In Bulgaria?

"To the Small Basilica, please," we say to the taxi driver we hail in the centre of a warm, autumnal Plovdiv. Then we realise. The driver is very unlikely to know the whereabouts of Bulgaria's latest archaeological museum, only one day after the official opening.