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Varna region occupies 11,929 sq. km (10.7% of the territory of
the country). The region is situated in the Eastern part of Danube Plain and a long coastline. To the north the region borders with Romania. The frontier check-points
Duran kulak and the railway Kardam-Medzhidiya.
The relief of the region is flatland. This is favorable for the development of mechanized and intensive farming. The climate is temperate continental, but the sea basin influence stretches 35 to 40 km to the inland. Water
resources are insufficient due to scarce rainfall.
The population of the region is 914,079 (10.8% of the population of the country). Urbanization processes are more intensive. The urban-rural population ratio is 71:29. Ethnically the Bulgarians dominate, but in the northern and in the southern parts of the region there is some Turkish-speaking population.
With population density is the greatest in the conurbation of
Varna
- Beloslav - Devnya - Provadiya. The per capita spending in the region exceeds the country's average (1993).
The economy is industrial-agrarian. Chemical industry (Devnya, Shumen) and mechanical engineering (
Varna
,
Dobrich
,
Shumen
,
Preslav
) are the sectors with greatest output. The development of industry in Devnya necessitated the construction of the Varna-Devnya canal. The ferry link Varna-Ilichovsk was put into operation in 1978. Novy Pazar, Kaspichan and Beloslav account for 1/3 of the glass and
porcelain and faience industry output. Textile industry (Varna, Dobrich) is also well developed. There is heavy industrial pollution in Devnya. Food industry is another sector of the economy of the region. In 1993 the region produced 14% of the meat products, 11% of the flour, 9.5% of the wine in the country.
The agriculture is highly specialized in cereals and industrial crops. The enterprise mix is: 64% cereals, 15% industrial, 2% vegetables and 19% fodder crops. The average yield of cereals is one of the highest in the country. Viticulture and fruit-growing are well developed. The supply of fodder permits livestock breeding to be
developed. The number of farm animals in the region is decreasing due to structural changes in the sector. The private sector in agriculture is constantly increasing.
Tourism is a priority. Zlatny Pyasatsy, Svety Konstantin y Elena, Albena, Rusalka are famous seaside resorts. The 167 hotels have with more than 35,000 beds.
The administrative center of the region,
Varna
has a population of 308,000. This is the third largest city in Bulgaria. It is situated at the vast Varna Bay. The city has are many museums. There is a High School of Medicine, a Polytechnic, an Economics Institute, an Institute of Tourism.
The ancient Bulgarian capitals
Pliska
and
Preslav
near
Shumen
display valuable historic monuments.
The Madara Horseman
is a surviving 9th century architectural monument near the village Madara at the foothills of Shumen plateau.
A unique ethnographical complex in
Dobrich
shows the
lifestyle of Bulgarians in Southern Dobrudzha. Shumen and Dobrich are academic centers.
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