Golden Sands Resort: 60 Years Ago and Now

20 kilometers north of Varna, among the curves of the steep coast, there is a resort with more than 60 years of history - Golden Sands.

An old legend tells that pirates buried a gold treasure in the coastal land. Angry at the bandits, the coast avenged by turning gold into a wonderful golden sand. Today, one of the longest beach lines in the country meets the freshness of a unique natural park.

The Golden Sands Nature Park has been declared a protected area since 1943. The broadleaf forest follows the coast line and surrounds the resort. The relief of the park is terraced. It contains rare tree and plant species. More than 20 of them are threatened with extinction such as the snowdrop ( Galanthus), Caucasian primrose and several orchids.

On the territory of Golden Sands resort there are the rocky Aladzha Monastery, declared a cultural monument in 1957, the catacombs caves, remains of a basilica and a late antique fortress of the 4-7 century in the Kaleto locality, as well as remnants of a Slavonic settlement.

The idea of building a large Bulgarian Black Sea resort originated in the mid-1950s. Quite naturally, the choice falls on Uzunkum (from Turkish - Long Sand). The place combines wild forest and a spacious beach in a unique way. Once, just a hundred yards from the seashore, there was the great freshwater lake where water tortoises lived. Today, there is the central attraction zone of the resort with a model of the Eiffel Tower, Ferris Wheel and the hotel International. 

Golden Sands resort was started in 1956. The construction of almost all major hotel complexes and amusement facilities included in the original plan of the resort took about 10 years. The idea was for the resort to combine...