Dobrich district – Cities

The town of Dobrich with a population of 95 000 inhabitants is the centre of the district. It lies at a distance of 486 km from Sofia. Dobrich is situated at the eastern part of the Danube Hilly Plain on the Dobrudzha plateau.

The first evidence of the history of the town of Dobrich comes from the discovered archaeological remains from the ancient IV-III c. B.C. and the early Middle Ages. The devastating invasions of the Pеchenegi tribe from the beginning of XI c. desolated the interior of Dobrudzha and the life in the settlement for the whole period until the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. In XVI c. a new settlement sprang up. Its founder is the travelling merchant Hadzhioglu Pazardzhik. In 1607 the town was written in the Ottoman documents with the name Harman and in 1685 with the name of Menzil Harmanla. According to the memoirs of the Turkish traveller Evlia Chelebi, who visited the town in 1646-1650, there are more than 1 000 houses, about 100 workshops, 3 inns, 3 hammams, 12 mosques and 12 schools at that time.

If you want to buy a Hot-air ballon trip above Dobrich, click here.

In XVII-XIX c. the town developed as a trade and agrarian centre. It became well-known for its woven items and the agricultural products such as cheese, yellow cheese, wool etc. The population of the town reached 12 000 inhabitants by the beginning of XIX c. A large number of the people were immigrants from other parts of the country looking for a better place to stay after the Russian-Turkish Wars. In 1851 a fair was organized which became popular all over the country.

The first church "St. Georgi" was built in 1843 and later a school was opened. The modernization of the town began in 1869 with the building of the town's park, telegraph connections, the post station and the town's hospital.

The town was liberated in 1878. With a decree from the prince from 19 February 1882 the town was given the name of Dobrich after the ruler of the Dobrudzha region Dobrotitza. The political vicissitudes influenced the development of the town. In 1913 Dobrich fell in the limits of Romania and in 1940, after the signing of the Krayova's Pact it was a Bulgarian town again.

The Revival Ethnographic Complex "The Old Dobrich", town of Dobrich

The Revival Ethnographic Complex "The Old Dobrich", town of Dobrich

The tourist sights of the town are: the Revival ethnographic complex "The Old Dobrich", the churches " St. Georgi" (1843), "Sveta Troitza/Holy Trinity/ (1908), the museum of the great Bulgaria writer Yordan Yovkov, the remains of a Roman settlement from III - IV c., the Ethnographic house (1861).

In Dobrich District are located the top-class resort complexes in Bulgaria - "Albena" and "Russalka". On the territory of Dobrich are situated: Cape Kaliakra- an archaeological and natural reserve, the "Baltata" reserve and others. The Shabla and Durankulak Lakes are ornithological sites of international significance. They are included in the Ramsar Convention List.

The best wineries in the region are Dobrich and Kavarna.

Tourist sights

The Old Dobrich is an open architectural-ethnographic museum in the centre of the town. In the active workshops are still demonstrated regional crafts such as pottery, weaving, icon-painting, embroidery and many others.

The Ethnographic House in Dobrich is a Revival period house from 1861. It houses an exhibition representing the lifestyles, traditions and rituals of different ethnographic groups.


The town of Balchik has a population of 12 000 inhabitants and is situated at a distance of 37 km east of the district town of Dobrich. The town is a centre of a municipality with 21 component settlements. The town is situated on the northern part of the Black Sea Coast in a terrace-like manner.

There has been a settlement on this site ever since Thracian times. In V c. Greek settlers came to the area and founded their own town calling it Dionysius. After the Thracians came the Romans, followed by the Byzantines. During the Middle Ages the town was a dominion of the boyar Balik from where its present name originates.

After 1912 Dobrudzha fell in the limits of Romania and the Romanian queen Maria captured by the beauty of Balchik built a summer residence in the town. After 1940 the town entered the limits of Bulgaria again.

The tourist sights of the town are: the history museum, the art gallery, the churches "St. Nikola" (1866) and "Sveta Bogoroditza" /Holy Virgin/ (1873), Maria's Castle, The Balchik Tuzla/ a lake/, the "Albena" resort.

Tourist sights

The Castle in Balchik was built in 1924. It was built for the Romanian Queen Maria by Italian architects. In the complex there is a castle with its accessory buildings, villas, gardens with springs, a lake and a waterfall. The whole complex is amphitheatrically located facing the sea.

Albena is a beautiful seaside resort at a distance of 12 km southwest of the municipal centre. The hotels in the complex have a unique architectural composition. The resort has a vast beach line, fine sand, shallow coastal sea bottom and healing mineral waters.

If you want to buy a Paragliding flight over Albena Resort, click here.


The town of Kavarna has a population of 11 000 inhabitants and is situated at a distance of 52 km east of the town of Dobrich. The town is a centre of a municipality with 20 component settlements. It is situated in the most eastern part of the Danube Valley and the Dobrudzha Coast.

The town is the successor of the Thracian settlement Bizone. Bizone was founded in V c. B C. It was a trade and agrarian centre with Thracian and Greek population. During the I c B.C. the town was demolished by a powerful earthquake and was later restored during Roman times. The settlement was described under the name of Kavarna for the first time in XIV c. and is well-known by the Venetian and Genoa sailors who traded along the Bulgarian lands. The conquering of the lands by the Turks at the end of XIV c. is related to mass destruction of fortresses and movement of people to safer areas so many Bulgarians settled on the territory of the present-day town. In XIX c. the town was a thriving craftsman's centre and a port.

The tourist sights of the town are: the history museum, the ethnographic museum, the church "St. Georgi", the church "Uspenie Bogorodichno" /The Assumption/, the holiday village Russalka, cape Kaliakra, the national archaeological reserve Yailata, cape Chirakman and others.

Tourist sights

The History Museum in Kavarna is situated in the building of a medieval bath which has been restored. Visitors of the museum can see amphorae, stone anchors, coins and other objects found in the region.

The Ethnographic Museum in Kavarna has an exhibition representing the lifestyle of the typical Kavarna family from the end of XIX c. It is located in a restored building.

The Archaeological reserve "Kaliakra" lies at a distance of 12 km southeast of Kavarna. Kaliakra is a rocky cape jutting out 2 km in the sea and with a height of 60-70 m. It is the longest cape along the Bulgarian coast. The cape is of hard limestone and conglomerate. The ferriferous oxides colour the cape in crimson. The name of the site was changed a lot during the centuries. Its inaccessibility became the reason for an ancient fortress to be built on the site. The ancient Thracians called it Tirizis. During the Roman Empire it was called Akra, while during the Byzantine time - Akres Kastelum. The cape got its present-day name during the reign of the Bulgarian ruler Dobrotitza. It was mentioned with this name for the first time in XIII c. It means a good and nice cape. In 1444 the troops of Vladislav Varnenchik reached cape Kaliakra on their march against the Ottoman Empire. The most popular legend for cape Kaliakra is that of 40 maidens who in order to escape from the Turkish invaders wove their hairs together and jumped into the sea. There is a monument of these maidens on the cape called "The gate of the forty maidens".

Yailata is a national archaeological reserve. It is a seaside terrace separated from the Dobrudzha Plateau by 50-60 m of rocky massifs. On its territory there are numerous monuments of different historic epochs. 101 cave dwellings, three necropolises dug in the rocky massif and an early-Byzantine fortress are discovered in the region.

Russalka is a holiday village at a distance of 20 km east of Kavarna in the unique natural reserve "Ptichia zaliv"/Birds' Bay/ . Russalka is a beautiful rocky site with fine beach sand, a small firth with healing mud and a hot mineral water spring. The resort was built in 1968. The village has small holiday houses located in amphitheatrically arranged groups.


The town of Shabla

The town of Shabla

The town of Shabla has a population of 4 000 inhabitants and is situated at a distance of 72 km east of Dobrich. The town is the municipal administrative centre of 15 settlements. It is situated on the Black Sea Coast and is a national seaside resort.

Shabla is a Thracian settlement which had a thriving trade with the Greeks. During the Roman epoch in the vicinities of the settlement was established the Roman town of Karia, known for its port. It continued its existence during the early-Byzantine epoch after which it declined.

The tourist sights of the town are: cape Shabla with the oldest lighthouse in Bulgaria, built in 1856, the remains of an ancient town, the church "St. Haralampii" (1853).

Tourist sights

The "Golemia ostrov"/Big Island/ settlement mound - by the village of Durankulak is a prehistoric mound which has evidence for the whole prehistory and a large part of the ancient and early Middle Ages history. Some of the objects discovered in the mound are kept in the museum collection in the village.


The town of General Toshevo

The town of General Toshevo

The town of General Toshevo has a population of 7 800 inhabitants and is situated at a distance of 24 km north of the district centre. The town is a municipal centre with 41 component settlements. The town was known under the name of Kasam Kyoi until 1942. The town's relief is flat and favourable for agricultures which makes the town an agrarian centre. The first historical evidence for the town is from 1573. The settlement is mentioned under the name of Kasam. In the region of the town are discovered findings from the Thracian and Roman times.


The town of Tervel

The town of Tervel

The town of Tervel has a population of 7 000 inhabitants and is situated at a distance of 44 km northwest of Dobrich. The town is the municipal centre of 25 component settlements. It was known under the name of Kurt Bunar until 1942. The town is mentioned in the Ottoman tax registry books from 1676. In the region of the municipality have been discovered remains from the ancient times and the Middle Ages. The municipality specializes in agriculture.


The village of Krushari

The village of Krushari

The village of Krushari is the municipal centre of 18 component settlements in Dobrich District. The village is situated at a distance of 32 km northwest of Dobrich and has a population of 1 700 inhabitants. The first written evidence for the settlement is in the tax registry books of the Ottoman Empire from XVI c. The municipality specializes in the production of grains and technical cultures.

Comments are closed.