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Dobrich
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13,918
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15122004
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199
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9600
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0579
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43° 25'
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28° 10'
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Krasimir Mihaylov
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(
Bulgarian ''Балчик'',
Romanian ''Balcic'') is a
Black Sea Coastal Town in the
Southern Dobruja area of northeastern
Bulgaria . It is located in
Dobrich Oblast and is 42
Km northeast of
Varna . In
Classical Antiquity it was the
Ancient Greek colony of '''Krunoi''' and later the
Greek -
Byzantine fortress '''Dionysopolis''' (after
Dionysus ). It the
Middle Ages it was part of the
Bulgarian Empire but its importance was eclipsed by the nearby town of
Karvuna (Kavarna). However, under the
Ottoman Empire and later Bulgaria, the town of Balchik grew up and is now a popular tourist destination.
During
Romania 's occupation of Southern Dobruja (
1913 to
1940 ), the
Balchik Palace was the favored summer residence of
Queen Marie and her immediate family. The town is the site of Marie's Oriental villa, the place where her heart was kept, in accordance with her last wishes, until 1940 (when the
Treaty Of Craiova awarded the region back to Bulgaria). It was then moved to various locations within Romania, including
Bran Castle . Today, the Balchik Palace and the adjacent Balchik Botanical Garden are the town's most popular landmarks.
