Beloslav: Lake Beloslav, the canal ferry and what to see

Beloslav (Белослав) is a small lake town 19 km west of Varna that sits on both banks of the shipping canal linking Lake Beloslav with Lake Varna. If you searched for “Beloslav Bulgaria”, it is best known to visitors for two sights side by side: the Museum of Glass, on the site of the country’s first glass factory, and the Slava submarine, moored on the lake. Add a ride on the canal ferry, a birdwatching wetland, a hilltop cross with views over both lakes and a cave, and you have an easy half day from Varna (Beloslav Municipality).

Where is Beloslav?

The municipality covers 60.1 km² on both sides of the canal and includes the town and three villages: Ezerovo, Razdelna and Strashimirovo. It borders Varna, Aksakovo, Devnya and Avren (Beloslav Municipality). The town lies in a valley between hills: the Avren plateau to the south, the Krasta hill to the east and the Akatsii quarter on the north bank of the canal (Wikipedia (BG)). By road (OSRM) the centre is about 21 km from central Varna.

The town has had many names. It existed in the Second Bulgarian Empire as Krushevo, became Gebedzhe under Ottoman rule, was renamed Belevo in 1882 after the Russian 71st Belev Regiment that liberated it in August 1878, and has been Beloslav since 1940. It became a town in 1981 and celebrates its day on 26 October, Dimitrovden (Beloslav Municipality). For the bigger picture of the region, start with Varna at a glance.

Lake Beloslav and the canal

Lake Beloslav is a liman at the mouth of the Provadiyska river: about 10 km² of water, up to 8 km long, 0.5–3.5 km wide and 14 m deep. It was a freshwater lake rich in fish until a canal to Lake Varna was dug in 1923; the water level dropped by 2.2 m and the lake turned salty, and after the canal was widened and deepened from 1970 its salinity rose to about 10‰. Port Varna-West lies on its western shore, and the Devnya chemical works on the north-west bank (Wikipedia (BG)). Long before that, Eneolithic and Bronze Age people built pile dwellings around both lakes; the municipality counts ten such sites, the first found in 1923 near Strashimirovo (Beloslav Municipality). Nothing of them is on show.

There is no bridge over the canal in town, so the M/F Beloslav ferry carries cars and foot passengers between the two halves; the municipality notes that this has earned the town the nickname “Little Budapest”. The 2026 timetable runs from 00:30 to 23:20, about every 20 minutes and non-stop from 06:20 to 08:50 and 15:50 to 19:20, with short technical breaks every day at 09:00–09:30 and 20:50–21:20. On scheduled maintenance days the ferry does not run from 09:00 to 16:30: still ahead in 2026 are 4 and 18 November and 2 and 16 December (Belferi).

The Museum of Glass and the Slava submarine

The Museum of Glass stands on the lakeshore where the first Bulgarian glass factory opened in 1893. You go into the hot shop, where masters blow three pieces by hand without stopping their normal work, step inside a “glass cave” (a disused furnace opened up so you can see how sand, soda and lime fuse) and decorate a glass to take home (Visit Varna). Two halls show glass made in Beloslav between 1893 and 1989 and, in the old production hall, modern glass art by students and their teachers (Beloslav Municipality). Visit Varna lists it as open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00–14:00, adults €7.16, children and pensioners €5.11. If you cannot get to Beloslav, the same workshop sells its glass at the Inhom gallery in Varna’s Sea Garden near the Dolphinarium.

Next to it, the Slava submarine was built in the USSR and commissioned on 27 September 1959. It joined the Bulgarian Navy in 1985 as “Leninski Komsomol”, was renamed Slava (“Glory”) in 1991 and last went to sea in 2010. After it was donated to Varna municipality, the Beloslav Glass foundation brought it to Lake Beloslav in 2019 as a visitor attraction. Hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00–15:00, with the same prices as the museum (Visit Varna). Both are on the south bank, so if you arrive by train you take the ferry across.

Birdwatching at Yatata

The Yatata protected area, 2 km east of the centre, is the municipality’s pick for birdwatchers and ecotourists. A dike splits its marshes into a freshwater and a saltwater half, with a small grassy valley, low cliffs and an abandoned sand quarry around them. Citing the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, the municipality says 208 species have been recorded, 51 of them in Bulgaria’s Red Data Book; on migration you may see the pygmy cormorant, Dalmatian pelican, ferruginous duck, glossy ibis and Eurasian spoonbill (Beloslav Municipality). A dirt road leads to it, with information boards shortly before the town, and even in cold weather hundreds of birds winter in the reeds (Beloslav Municipality).

The Cross, a cave and wild cacti

• Krasta (the Cross) on the hill called Chukata is the town’s emblem. The Belev Regiment set up a 2.5 m black wooden cross here on 18 August 1878; it was replaced by an iron one in 1936 and by a new iron cross with coloured glass in 1978 for the centenary of the Liberation (Beloslav Municipality). Two paths climb to it, with wide views of the town and the lakes (Beloslav Municipality).
• Temnata Dupka (“the Dark Hole”), just west of the Akatsii quarter, is a cave in Eocene sandstone with an entrance 11 m high. Finds include cave-animal bones, human remains and Neolithic pottery, but it has been little studied (Beloslav Municipality).
• Wild cacti: from late May to mid-June the Opuntia that cover the southern slopes, a few metres from the last streets, burst into yellow flower. The municipality says similar colonies exist in Bulgaria only in the Kresna Gorge and on Snake Island near Sozopol.
• Stone Forest groups: scattered groups of the Pobiti Kamani stone columns stand between Strashimirovo and Beloslav, and a few rise on the south shore of the lake. The main visitor group is near Slanchevo; see our Stone Forest page.
• The Saznanie community centre houses the museum exhibition “Shadows of the Past” (Wikipedia (BG)).

Petrich Kale and the cliffs above Razdelna

Seven kilometres away, south of Razdelna but inside Avren municipality, Petrich Kale guarded the passes towards the Balkan range from a rock terrace with cliffs up to 35 m. Built in the 5th–6th century, it flourished in the 13th–14th centuries and was taken and destroyed on 7 November 1444 by the army of Władysław III, three days before the Battle of Varna; tower walls 5–6 m high survive (Beloslav Municipality). The rocks above Razdelna have climbing routes of several grades, and a secured route called the “Wolf Path”; nearby, a steep metal ladder climbs to a niche in sandy limestone with views over the plain (Beloslav Municipality). Go with an experienced guide or club.

Events

The 2026 municipal calendar includes a wine festival on 1 February, village days in Ezerovo (6 May) and Razdelna and Strashimirovo (10 May), the Auto-Moto Fest in late May, late June and October, open-air cinema in summer and the town festival on 17–26 October; still to come is the Christmas celebration in December, with the lighting of the Christmas tree, a charity bazaar and a concert (Beloslav Municipality). The municipality notes that dates can change.

How do you get there from Varna?

• Bus: the suburban line Varna–Beloslav takes about 36–38 minutes. The municipal timetable lists weekday departures from Varna at 08:00, 14:00, 15:00, 17:00, 17:30, 18:00, 18:30, 20:00 and 21:00, and from Beloslav from 06:00; weekend services are fewer, and a separate line runs to Razdelna (Beloslav Municipality). Intercity line 14 Varna–Devnya also stops in Beloslav (Visit Varna).
• Train: Beloslav station is on the Sofia–Varna line in the north of the town (Wikipedia (BG)); check times on the BDZ website. Take the ferry to reach the museums.
• Car: about 21 km from central Varna to the town centre (OSRM). Plan around the ferry’s maintenance days if you need to cross.

Beloslav pairs well with its western neighbour: the Roman mosaics in Devnya are a short drive away. For other towns and villages in the region, see what to see in Varna province.