News and Articles related to Town of Varshets
Current date: 2010-02-09 11:24

Resort of Varshets is making its return as an elite SPA center

After years of absence from the tourist lists the resort of Varshets is making its return as an elite spa center. It offers a retro atmosphere among abundant greenery. It stands at the foot of the Northwestern Balkan range. The place has hardly changed its atmosphere from the early 20th century, when it was a favorite resort for Bulgarian elite coming to demonstrate its prosperity, to be entertained and receive curative treatment with mineral water. 

Some 100 years ago Varshetz was a center of mundane bustle. The small settlement, surrounded at that time by orchards and green meadows was a spa known for its curative water and climate across Europe as well. In the 1930s it lived through a tourist boom, making possible the building of luxury hotels in the Art Deco style then in vogue. Strolls along Sycamore Alley were very popular, just like the numerous small cafes along it. In the evenings the elite enjoyed the atmosphere of the “King’s Casino” – the first one in Bulgaria. There, for the first time in this country, back in 1938, the first Miss Varshets was elected. Patriarchal values of that period did not allow the participation of local girls in the beauty contest.

“Bulgaria’s elite used to come here because the place is unique,” explains Yordanka Kostova, curator of the local municipal museum. "The villas built in the 1920s and 30s were given the romantic names of flowers and ladies such as villa Roza, Venera, Nezabravka /the Bulgarian for the blue Forget-me-not/ or villa Hortensia /meaning hydrangea/. The latter grows in every yard there, in all varieties of colors. Today these villas are renovated and offer the romantic feeling of the 30s. The place is a discovery not only for Bulgarians but for foreign guests as well.”

In the last 20 years Varshec was left out of the general tourist boom in this country. Things are however about to change. At the moment new hotels are under construction. Three new spa centers are about to be opened. Old villas are being refurbished. Last summer the number of guests having chosen to spend their vacation there was around 100 thousand. This remote resort attracts, besides with its aristocratic atmosphere, with possibilities for treatment of disorders of the nervous and the cardio-vascular systems and the bone and joint system. In the past Varshets mineral water was especially cherished by ladies of fragile health. One of the most interesting architectural monuments is the still functioning “New Bath” of 1930, built in the style of an ancient health temple, decorated with sculptures of Telesphoros. This Greek Mythology character is riding a snail, which is the symbol of the spiral of life and fast healing. Italian masters designed the swimming pool and tubs. Another reason for visiting Varshets is the purity of air and greenery. There is hardly another Bulgarian settlement with such beautiful and spacey parks full of flowerbeds and wide alleys.

“In Varshets every street is lined with a different kind of tree,” Mrs. Kostova goes on to say. "We have the second largest park in the country after the King Boris Gardens in Sofia. It boasts of various pine tree species and exotic trees. The “Sun Garden” is very interesting. It is designed in the form of the sun with rays. The trees along Sycamore Lane are more than 100 years old, forming a beautiful green tunnel, starting at the center of the town and reaching one of its residential quarters.”

Well-preserved nature and the possibilities for hikes in the mountain attract the fans of ecological and rural tourism. The municipal administration is working on a special programme for the revival of Varshets, which includes the building of new ecological paths in the vicinity of the town. It is surrounded by about 10 settlements developing rural tourism. Walks along the Botunya River are very pleasant. In the past there were along its flow some 16 watermills. Fishing possibilities along the river are wonderful. A path leads to a very beautiful waterfall. Klissurski Monastery, also in the vicinity of Varshets, is among the 4 largest sanctuaries in the country.