The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin, Varna

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgini in Varna has become one of the most popular symbols of this picturesque Bulgarian city on the western Black Sea coast. Its copper domes with golden glitter can be seen from different points of the Bulgarian sea capital city and add even more to the church's elegance and beauty.

The first stone of the foundations was laid down ceremonially by the Bulgarian Royal Prince Alexander I Batenberg in 1880. The monarch approved one of the two architectural plans given to him by the commission. This was the project of architect Ivan Petrovich Maas from Odessa, who was created following the example of the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Pavel in the Peterhof Palace of the Russian emperors in St Petersburg.The columns holding the dome inside the church area worked out of stone from the Tashla Tepe locality north-east of the city. The exterior columns are made of stone brought here from the surrounding of Ruse - a Blgarian city on the banks of the River Danube. The vaults are made of freestone. The cupola of the main dome and those of the side domes are covered by copper lists with a characteristic golden glitter.