|
Built under the name of "Sandrovo" by Prince Aleksandar Batenberg in 1882, and renamed (combining the Greek word euxine - "hospitable" - with the Slavonic grad - "town" or "fortress") by his successor Ferdinand, Evksinograd Palace is nowadays notorious for being the former holiday home of the Bulgarian Politburo. It still belongs to the state, and members of the government spend their holidays here, but the construction of a 4-star hotel, the Sandrovo (tel 052/861241; US$36-60), in the palace grounds seems designed to open the place up to a wider public. The large, comfortable ensuites come with all the mod cons you would expect, and make for a relaxing retreat. You can't visit the palace itself, but there are sometimes guided tours of the grounds on offer to tourists staying at the Sandrovo , Sveti Konstantin or Golden Sands (independent travellers can enquire about tour availability from the reception desk of the Sandrovo ). These lead past the vineyards where Bulgaria's most sought-after wines and brandies are produced, and descend towards the seafront through the botanical gardens laid out for Ferdinand by French horticulturalists at the turn of the century. The Communist Party hierarchy built themselves a deluxe beach complex in the woods overlooking the shore, complete with state-of-the-art health clinic and sports hall - the latter including a bowling alley. Each member of the Politburo had his own beach house, linked by secret tunnel to a central command bunker - in the unlikely event of being taken unawares by the apocalypse while bathing. Party Secretary Todor Zhivkov's beach house was, of course, bigger than the rest, isolated from those of his comrades on the other side of the headland. The entrance to the palace lies on the main coast road running north out of Varna (bus #7 or #8 from in front of the Cathedral)
Your Tip for Evksinograd Palace
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Evksinograd Palace - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Evksinograd Palace - visit the main Evksinograd Palace forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Evksinograd Palace webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
