City of VARNA - The Assumption Cathedral
September 1st, 2007
In the very first years following the Liberation of the country, the Orthodox Bulgarian population in Varna increased rapidly. To confirm their close ties with Russian Orthodox faith and to manifest their separation from Greek Patriarchate, on his first visit to the town prince Dondukov-Korsakov was invited by the local municipality members to attend the official religious service at the Bulgarian St. Archangel Mikhail church. He was, however, disappointed with the state of the temple and declared that the town deserved an impressive church, the only one of its kind in the country. And he was ready to help. Soon a committee was elected and its task was to choose the place and raise the funds for the construction. Funds were raised through donations, lottery and a government loan. The town’s surrounding area offered building materials - hewn stones in good shape from the already ruined fortress were used in the construction process. Copper sheet plates from England, supplied by Velichko Hristov, were used for the roof of the church. Two lifting cranes for the heavy stone blocks were also shipped from England.
The honour of laying the keystone of the future temple fell to prince Alexander I Batenberg who arrived to Varna on 4th August. The official ceremony took place on 22nd August 1880. The chosen name Uspenie Presvyatiya Bogoroditzi (the Assumption) was to commemorate the recently deceased all-Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna - a Bulgarian benefactor and aunt of the prince. It took 6 years for the temple to be completed. The project imitated the style of the Peterhoff temple in Petersburg. The church was planned to reach the size of 35 x 35 metres, with a three-nave basilica, the main altar dedicated to the Assumption, the northern one - to the faithful prince St. Alexander Nevsky, the southern - to St. Nicholas the Wonder-Worker.
The spring of 2000 revealed a new image of the cathedral - the patina-covered copper domes were refreshed with golden paint. Located in the very centre of Varna, the present-day Cathedral is one of the most famous buildings in the city. A religious temple for the citizens, a must-see for the tourists, the cathedral is one of the symbols of Varna. Once you overcome the 133 narrow winding steps of the bell-tower you will be rewarded by the magnificent view over the town
