Shabla

Shabla Municipality is probably the only one unaffected by the construction boom on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The seaside here is unique in its kind – there are no hotels and countless restaurants, the sea is clean and pleasant, the bottom is soft and sandy.

Shabla is located 20 km from Kavarna and 80 km from Varna. The city itself (declared a city in 1969) is not located on the sea, but this does not prevent it from connecting with the oldest active lighthouse on the Balkan peninsula.
Cape Shabla, where the Shabla Lighthouse is located, is the easternmost point of Bulgaria. That’s why the sun here first strokes the beautiful sea, and this is where the New Year first arrives.

A two-kilometer underwater reef is situated around Cape Shabla and along with some shallows between Shabla and Tyulenovo are a serious reason to build the lighthouse. A year of construction is considered to be 1856, but many historians believe that it was only restored then.
They say that the Italian ship’s boat landed years ago, the headlamp was marked to exist 12 years ago-that is, 1844. Historians say that probably during the Byzantine and Roman epochs there was a navigation facility in the same place.
In ancient times one of the main roads in the Black Sea is from the mouth of the Danube to the Bosphorus – Cape Shabla is in the middle. On it, near the end is the 32-meter tower of the lighthouse. During the Crimean War was destroyed several times. The light of the lighthouse is visible at 17 miles (31 km) in the sea, shining at a 25-second interval.

The Shabla Lighthouse is unique not only with its long history. It is a miniaturized copy of the famous Alexandria Lighthouse, which is also one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This is the only such facility painted in two colors – red and white.

About Shabla is located about 3 km away from Shabla Lake, which was designated as such in 1979. This name combines two natural coastal lakes in Shabla and Ezerets, connected by an artificial canal. They themselves are separated from the sea by a sandy strip, 30-50 meters wide. The place is among the most important wetlands of Bulgaria along with the Durankulak Lake. Here are plants that rarely can be seen in other places. Of particular importance to the bird fauna. In the autumn-winter period, endangered species can be observed. Over 70 species are listed in the Red Book of Bulgaria. The protected area is also of great importance for the conservation of the otter. About 2 km to the southeast of it is Shablensko Tuzla-Kalorichevna zone, a semi-salty coastal lake separated from the sea by high dunes.