site.btaBalchik Palace Most Visited by Romanian Tourists

The Palace Cultural Centre in Balchik was most visited by Romanian tourists in the first half of 2023, its Director Zheni Mihaylova told journalists Friday. 

The number of Romanians who visited the Palace was over 60,000, followed by Bulgarian tourists, who numbered 32,000.

Between the beginning of the year and the end of July, 2023, a total of 106 216 tourists have visited The Palace in Balchik. In the same period of 2022, they were 113,289, said Mihaylova, adding that the season is yet to come and hopes for even better attendance in August.

Polish tourists ranked third, followed by tourists from Germany, Ukraine and France.

There have been more than 50 requests for weddings on the territory of The Palace, said the cultural centre's Director.  

Three weddings have been booked for September 9 alone. One couple is from Canada, the other from Germany, and the third ceremony is for a marriage between Bulgarians, the Mihaylova explained. 

A Malaysian and a Canadian couple, as well as several English and Bulgarian couples, have also decided to get married in the architectural and park complex. Four more international marriages are expected to take place at the Palace. The grooms are from Germany and the brides from Bulgaria, Mihaylova added.

Sprawling on over 19 hectares, a Romanian queen's former summer residence and its lush park with rare and exotic plants, organized as an architectural park complex, attracts visitors round the year to Balchik. The site is a must-see for history and botany lovers visiting the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

The Palace was built to serve as a residence of Queen Marie of Romania (1875 - 1938) while the area was under Romanian control. Visiting Balchik in 1921, the Queen was fascinated by its beautiful landscape that reminded her of Italy. Construction began in 1925. The Queen's villa was constructed first, followed by residential villas for other members of the royal family, a power station and a chapel, as well as terraced gardens. The palace complex was finished in 1936, only two years before Queen Marie's passing.

After the region reverted to Bulgaria in 1940, Romania paid a tax to Balchik Municipality for the property for eight years. Ownership in the Palace passed to the Bulgarian Culture Ministry under a bilateral agreement in 1948, and it was purchased by the Bulgarian State by another agreement in 1980. It was later named The Palace Architectural Park Complex and was designated a monument of culture and of gardening and landscape art of national importance.

Today, local and foreign visitors spend at least two hours exploring the buildings in the Complex that feature a variety of styles, including Byzantine, Roman, Arabic, and Mauritanian, and the several gardens within the park, which has been converted into a Botanic Garden run by Sofia University.