The State Archives building in Varna is located at 52 Preslav Street.
The State Archives – Varna is a department within the Regional Directorate “Archives” – Varna. It is responsible for registering, acquiring, processing, preserving, cataloguing, and providing access to archival documents of citizens, institutions, and organizations from Varna and the surrounding region. The building of the State Archives – Varna is located in the central part of the city, at the administrative address 52 Preslav Street. It is a stone building situated behind the Varna District Court building.
The function of the State Archives is to collect and preserve the archival heritage of the region.
Brief Historical Overview
The building was constructed during the period of Ottoman rule and originally served a different purpose. The name of its designer is unknown. It was built in 1860 to meet the needs of the then Ottoman konak. The stone structure is two storeys high and characterized by restrained architectural expression. Stylistically, the building belongs to the Neo-Renaissance style. The central façade is symmetrical, featuring a wide entrance with a colonnade and a risalit, crowned by a massive triangular pediment with sculptural decoration depicting the Bulgarian coat of arms. The building is one of the few remaining examples of stone architecture realized before the Liberation. It was in this very building that, on September 6, 1885, Prince Alexander I of Battenberg read the manifesto declaring the Act of Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia. This became possible because the monarch was at that time staying nearby in his residence in Sandrovo (today’s Euxinograd). Until 1944, the building did not change its original function. Only the urban environment around it changed. The City Garden was established, and behind the District Office (today the State Archives) there was the so-called “Kovchezhnichestvo” (the regional tax office of that period). Only in 1997 did the State Archives institution move into the building, after the stone structure underwent restoration and reconstruction.
From the historical overview, it is evident that the building has served various purposes over the years and currently houses around 240,000 archival units.
Contacts:
Regional State Archives - Varna
Аddress: 52 Preslav str., Varna 9000
Тel./fax: +359 52 646 472;
Manager: +359 52 646 472, +359 52 612 535, +359 52 617 931, +359 52 632 537
e-mail: varna@archives.government.bg
