Nessebar

Nessebar (9.5km/5.9miles) – The city is under the aegis of UNESCO and is part of World Cultural Heritage. The centuries-old history, the preserved houses from the Bulgarian Revival, the churches and the multiple museums (mainly from Thracian, Greek and Roman times) attract a lot of tourists all-year-round. The town, with old name Mesembria, is situated on a small peninsula, cut into the sea.

From times of Turkish occupation, of our lands, two buildings, still preserved, with their typical of the era architecture, are a vital detail of the wholesome look of the town. These are the windmills. One of them is among the buildings of a modern hotel complex, and the other one is on the north shore of the peninsula, next to the remains of the Basilica “Holy Virgin Eleousa” from 5th century. The basilica was situated on a landslide, therefore only the foundations were saved throughout the ages. The latest excavations and studies were done in 1920, after which the church was sealed and partially renovated.

Approximately at the same time of its building, old Nessebar was girded up with a massive town wall, but the constant effects of the sea waves and the moving of the earth strata in some areas, and most probably because of the endless enemy attacks, to which Nessebar was exposed, destroyed most of this fortification system. Nowadays, the best preserved parts of he wall stand by the marina, next to the town gates on the isthmus.

The Archaeological Museum “Ancient Nessebar” offers to its guests rich collections of cultural monuments, pictures and illustrations of antic Mesembria and Medieval Nessebar. Archaeological researches in the town and the environs have helped for the discovery of rich history of the one-time fishermen’s village, in the last 40 years.