World War One Sites - The NETWORLD Database

Memorial Monument of Eighth Infantry Sea Regiment in Varna, Bulgaria

The Monument is part of touristic attractions and it consists of a Memorial, which is a former portal of the barracks of the Eighth Infantry Sea Regiment. Currently, it is located at 113 113 Osmi Primorski Polk Boulevard . It was built in 1936 and the reason for building is the memory of several thousand fallen marines during the liberation and unification wars in 1912-1913 and 1915-1918.
The architectural and sculptural composition of the portal is determined symmetrical  to the street, and its central part is resolved as a triumphal arch with two lateral wings and a large tapered opening, flanked by two high pylons. On the front of the pillars, on high pedestals, there are two figures exceeding the human height of a soldier (on the left) and of the volunteer (on the right). Sculptural figures are made by Kiril Shivarov.
On the southern and northern flank of the front of the memorial site are engraved three thousand names of officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers from the Varna Eighth Infantry Sea Regiment, fallen in the wars of unification of Bulgaria. On the two wings inside the memorial site are engraved two maps of Bulgaria - one showing the battle path of the regiment during the Balkan Wars and the second - the path of the regiment during the First World War. There are engraved poems dedicated to the Regiment, written by the great national poets Ivan Vazov and Pencho Slaveykov, as well as and Anthem-covenant of Eighth Regiment of Varna poet and educator Emmanuel Mutafov.

Bulgaria, Northeastern, Varna Province

Type of WWI-heritage

  • War monument

Dimensions

17 meters

State of repair/preservation

Well preserved – needs partial renovation; last repairs – October/November 2014

Historical WWI Context

The Eighth Infantry Sea Regiment is a military part of the Bulgarian Army of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom. The regiment was established on 29 December 1878. In the WWI the Eighth Regiment was glorified by its participation in the Dobrich Epopee. On September 1, 1916, Bulgaria declared war on Romania. On 4 September 1916, after a brief battle with Romanian army, the regiment entered Dobrich. Romanian soldiers flee to the north in anticipation of reinforcements. The Romanians are not late to counter-attack and on September 5 the big battle for Dobrich begins. For the first time, Bulgarians also fought against Russian army. The fighting is heavy and with many sacrifices, it lasts for three days but ends with a victory for Bulgaria. In the battles for Dobrich on 5, 6 and 7 September 1916, the soldiers killed and missing by the wounds and the officers of the regiment were 160 and the officers were four.
Colonels during WWI were Nikola Sveshtarov, Vasil Milanov and Dobri Kolarov.
The number of the killed, the wounded, the deceased and the missing disappeared near 3000.

State of legal protection

Protected.

Owner

Municipal property – Varna Municipality.

Kind of cultural use of WWI

e.g. Guided tours etc.
incl. links to relevant websites, showing relating cultural touristic WWI- routes.

Opening

Entrance Fee

Information regarding cities, villages, other touristic attractions (non-WWI) nearby

Palace of culture and sports – Varna http://palaceofvarna.com/

University of Economics – Varna http://www.ue-varna.bg/

Dolphinarium – Varna (the only Dolphinarium on the Balkan Peninsula)  http://dolphinarium.festa.bg/

Accomodation

Grafitt Galery Hotel - graffithotel.com

Cherno More - http://www.chernomorebg.com/

Boutique Splendid - http://boutiquesplendid.net/en/

Best Western - http://bestwesternvarna.com/park/en/

Public Transport

Nearby bus stop – „Chataldja” – bus number: 7, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 31a, 86, 118 148

www.varnatraffic.com/en

Further information sources

Other heritage sites nearby

Museums Private Collections

Location

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