To mark navy day, the Maritime Museum in Varna is welcoming visitors with an exposition “Maritime rituals and traditions”. The exposition traces different periods in humankind’s maritime history, the most intriguing ritual practices and superstitions, and displays original birth certificates and marriages that have taken place on board ships out at sea, as well as the bottlenecks of the ceremonial bottles of champagne broken during ship launching ceremonies.

Special attention has been given to sailor beliefs and legends, including the belief that sea birds must never be killed because the souls of dead sailors live in them.

“A little known fact from Bulgaria’s maritime history that there were pirates along the Northern portion of the Black Sea coast since antiquity. And another little known fact – piracy was the occupation of people actually living along this coastline,” says museum director Mariana Krasteva.