Byala, Varna Province

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**Byala, Varna Province**

Province (oblast)	Varna
Population	2069 (15.12.2004)
Altitude	42 m
Postal code	9101
Area code	05143
Geographic coordinates	42° 53' north, 27° 53' east
Time zone	EET (UTC +2; UTC+3 in summer)
Mayor	Iliyan Tsonev

Byala (Bulgarian Бяла) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. It is located in Varna oblast and is close to the shore of Black Sea. The Byala municipality constitutes of six of the town of Byala and the villages Popovic, Dyulino, Gospodinovo, Goritza and Samotino. In is situated 60km south of Varna and 70km north of Burgas in a semi-mountainous region of coastal Bulgaria.

The first settlement here, near cape Saint Atanas, is dated back to the 6th century BC. Later a Roman fortress was built and eventually the region became part of Bulgaria in 681. Byala was officially delared a town on 5 September 1984. Byala's economy is based mostly of tourism and agriculture. There are several hotels, camping areas and beaches. There are attempts to develop "village tourism", a new concept that is believed to be interesting to foreigners.

[edit] Cultural Buildings

Churches: "Sveta Paraskeva"; "Uspenie Bogorodichno"
Schools: Elementary School "Otetz Paisii" (registered in 1880, built in 1894); Professional High School for Agriculture (founded in 1959); Kindergarten "Purvi juni"
Stadium: Chernomoretz (built in 1986, seats for 1000)
Chitalishte: "Probuda" (founded on 1 January 1928, an active local cultural and community centre)
Museum of Ethnography (built in 1986)
Military Monuments (mainly commemorating the soldiers who died during World War II)

[edit] Development

The town is underdeveloped if compared to other tourist areas. The local government supports a few environmental and tourism projects. Byala's port is currently under reconstruction and is planned to become a yacht port. There has been much new residential building undertaken between 2003 and 2006 due to perceived higher interest from foreign investors and tourists.