Devnya

Devnya is a town in Varna Province, about 25 km west of the city of Varna and the Black Sea coast, with a population of 8,383 as of December 2009. It occupies the site of the Roman and early Byzantine city of Marcianopolis, renamed by the Emperor Trajan after the Second Dacian War (which ended in AD 106) in honour of his sister, Ulpia Marciana; the site had earlier Greek roots as well. Archaeological work starting in 1976 uncovered the House of Antiope, a late-3rd- or 4th-century Roman villa with well-preserved floor mosaics, and the Museum of Mosaics opened in 1986 to display them — its best-known piece is a mosaic of the gorgon Medusa, framed by a geometric shield motif, along with other scenes from Greek and Roman mythology. Today Devnya is best known not for tourism but for heavy industry: it is a core part of the Varna–Devnya Industrial Complex, sitting on rich local deposits of rock salt, silica, marl, and limestone. Solvay Sodi's Devnya soda-ash plant is the largest in Europe and one of the largest sodium bicarbonate producers in the world, and Heidelberg Materials Devnya (in operation since 1958) is Bulgaria's largest cement producer. The town's character is thus a striking mix — an ancient Roman provincial capital's mosaics preserved alongside one of Bulgaria's most industrialized landscapes.

Devnya lies on the road and rail corridor between Varna (25 km east) and Devnya's industrial neighbours; it is reachable by car, bus, or regional train from Varna, which has the nearest international airport.

The town centre is compact and walkable, and the Museum of Mosaics is centrally located.

The Museum of Mosaics, built over the excavated House of Antiope, is Devnya's principal sight, displaying Roman-era floor mosaics from ancient Marcianopolis including the well-known Medusa mosaic.

Visiting the Museum of Mosaics is the main documented activity for travelers in Devnya.

• Varna — the provincial capital and Black Sea coast, 25 km east
• Beloslav — neighbouring industrial town and the other main centre of the Varna–Devnya Industrial Complex
• Nearby towns in Varna Province — explore the surrounding region