Bulgarian Ports
Infrastructure Company

Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Co. gathers in one place the fascinating stories of Bulgarian Black Sea lighthouses. In the emblematic House of the Seafarer in Varna, on June 20, 2018 (Wednesday) at 17:30 the book “Lighthouses and other means of navigation support along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast (1878-2018)” will be presented. Part of the secrets of the lights towers, their construction and care over the years, will be told by the Director General of BPI Co. and the authors – the journalist Atanas Panayotov, who devoted a great deal of his efforts and work to the port affairs, and Marina Krasteva, Director Naval Museum in Varna.

The illuminating lights of the Bulgarian Black Sea lighthouses will “blink on” all of the 240 pages. Readers will learn curious facts about the oldest navigational facilities, to stay forever enchanted by their impressive history, beauty and technical parameters. The book will tell them about the emblematic lighthouse of the “St. Nicholas Wonderworker” in Varna, for the lighthouse of Cape Kaliakra, impressive by its strong declivity at sea and its steep cliffs, the lighthouse of cape Emine – one of the most strategic lighthouses in Black Sea, for the most the northern Bulgarian lighthouse on the easternmost point of Bulgaria – the Shabla lighthouse and so on. They are also presented the modern lighthouses of 21^st century – the coastal centres for vessel traffic management and information services in Burgas and Varna. The bilingual edition presents all facilities for navigation, guidance and regulation of vessels’ traffic along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, the waterways and the port areas in a larger than all previous publications.

Since mid-1909, all marine lights and navigational signs on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast have been under the care of the Bulgarian state. At that time, the lighthouses of Shabla, Kaliakra, Galata, Emine, St. Ivan, St. Anastasia, the headlights in Burgas and Varna have already been built. In the period between 1910 – 1939 new headlights were built in Bulgaria in Evksinograd, Maslen Nos, St. Atanas, Nessebar, Pomorie, Tsarevo, Ahtopol, Sozopol. In 1928, a programme for modernization of all lighthouses on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast was prepared. Some of them are administrated by BPI Co.

Mystic and enigmatic, majestic and respectful, symbols of human civilization and progress, security and prosperity, expectation, hope and romance, the luminous towers have always attracted the curiosity of youngsters and adults. The book tells us about the past and the present of the Bulgarian lighthouses and looks forward to the future because … “while there are sailors, the sea lights will continue to glow “.