For the first time on the night of the museums in the Regional Museums of History in Burgas will be shown an extremely valuable icon of ivory. It was discovered during excavations of the Rusokastro fortress last year. It depicts archangel Gabriel and St. Basil the Great. On its back side can be seen two embossed crosses. It was made in Constantinople (today’s Istanbul) in the 10th century and belonged to the Byzantine Emperor.

The icon can be seen in the Museum’s Treasure Hall on the night of May 19th. For a consecutive year Bulgaria will participate in the European initiative Night of Museums. Everyone tempted by the Bulgarian historical and cultural heritage, as well as the other events involved, will be able to enjoy them for free, though only one night of the year.

In Burgas you will also have the opportunity to visit exhibitions dedicated to the women’s jewels during the Ottoman rule, to see the gold mask of Theres, the gold treasures of the Varna necropolis and the Thracian treasure from Kralevo. You will also be able to learn more about the Bulgarian saints, entertaining music in Bourgas in the 20th century, and enjoy a musical performance and fire show at AquaCalide.

Apart from dozens of different exhibitions in Varna, you can see two new collections – in The Charity Museum and the Museum of History of the Education of the Visually Impaired in Bulgaria. Apart from the museums in Varna, you will also be able to see free the sights in and around the sea capital – the Roman Baths, Pobiti Kamani, Aladzha Monastery, Fanagoria, the Glass Museum in Beloslav and the Born End Ethnographic Center.

In Plovdiv, you can visit the Roman stadium for free, explore an exhibition of Macedonian artists in the Little Basilica, paintings in the Balabanov House and enjoy music and poetry at the Zlatoy Boyadzhiev Gallery. In Sofia you can visit almost 50 different museums for free. For the detailed programs of events in these and other Bulgarian cities, you can get information from the municipalities’ websites, tourist information centers and the museums themselves.