Aquarium

During January 1906, King Ferdinand planned to build a naval station at Euxinograde, and the Varna authorities agreed to let him use a site for free. Dabkov designed the structure, and the foundation stone was placed in 1907. The Museum was finished in 1912, but the First Balkan War broke out just as it was due to open. Bulgarian forces were stationed here, along with refugees and foreign troops. Following World War I, the Museum housed the fisheries school. The building was purchased by the University of Sofia in 1930, and the Marine Station opened on September 17, 1932.

The Aquarium’s façade is unique, with bas-reliefs depicting a massive pearl oyster and typical Black Sea animals. Later, after 1954, it contained a diverse variety of organisms representative of the flora and wildlife of the seas and oceans around India, South America, Indonesia, and Oceania. Some are widespread, while others are quite unusual and intriguing. Seawater species of Black Sea wildlife may be seen, including sea anemones, crabs, the Black Sea turbot, which takes on the color of the rocks and disguises itself against other creatures of prey, the Black Sea sturgeon, blue fish, mackerel, thornback ray, and the Black Sea salmon.

The display at the aquarium concentrates on the flora and fauna of the Black Sea, which contains around 140 fish species, but it also includes freshwater fish, Mediterranean fish, exotic species from remote places of the World Ocean, mussels, and algae.