Description of the attraction
One and a half kilometers from the town of Balchik, on the seashore, between three hills, there is a palace bearing the poetic name "Quiet Nest" - a favorite resting place of the Queen of Romania Maria. Designed by the Italian architects Americo and Augustino, the building has three floors and is a successful example of a combination of Eastern and European architectural elements (perhaps the reason for this lies in the fact that Mary spent her childhood in Egypt and has always advocated the convergence of Christianity and Islam). In a small chapel nearby, there is a carved image of the queen with her daughter. In 1938, in Sinai, Maria died while trying to prevent a duel between her sons. According to the will, her heart was walled up in the walls of the chapel.
A botanical garden is organically woven into the palace complex. Here visitors can see over three thousand plants from different parts of the world. The paths in the garden are lined with white stone, on which carpets were laid in the time of Mary. The local collection of cacti is very curious - about two and a half hundred plants are represented here (this is the second largest collection of cacti in Europe). Currently, the botanical garden is under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and various events and exhibitions are regularly held here.
