The Old Town Nessebar

Nessebar started as a small village called Menabryia, which was Thracian for "Mena's Town". In the 6th. century BC it became a Greek colony of Doric origin, while all the other Greek settlements along the coast were Ionic. The Greeks called the town Messembria, and it grew to be a large and well equipped town - city walls, sewer system, water mains, an amphitheatre and numerous buildings of religious importance, including a temple to Apollo.

In the 1st century BC the town surrendered without battle to the Roman army led by Lekulus, and under Roman rule the construction of a second colony, present day Pomorie, began. In 812 Messembria was included in the territory of Bulgaria under Khan Kroum. In the period up till 1366 the town grew and many of the churches whose ruins you find in Nessebar today were built. In 1366 Nessebar was conquered and plundered by the knights of Amadeus of Savoy, and then sold to the Byzantium Empire, and in 1453 it was conquered by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire and went into a period of decay. When Nessebar was finally liberated from the Turkish occupation it was a small fishing village with some wine production in the local area.

Today it is a popular tourist sight and besides the many cultural attractions, it boasts one of the best beaches in the region, between Nessebar and the village of Ravda to the South.

Old Nessebar has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, and one of the reasons is very apparent to visitors - the many several centuries old, typical Bulgarian houses.

The houses are of a design perfected during the Turkish occupation. A ground floor with stone walls and very sturdy wooden doors, and a wider first floor, made of wood. The fortified ground floor was intended to keep the Turkish tax collectors out. The Turks also abducted the sons of the Bulgarians and trained them in Turkish military camps to act as de-facto prison guards of the Bulgarian people, including their own families, and the "My house is my fortress" style helped save male children from kidnapping in some instances.

Some of the very old Nessebar can be found on the Northern side of Old Nessebar. This is one of the ruins which has been excavated and partially reconstructed.

There are current excavations going on in Northern Old Nessebar, to bring out more knowledge and evidence of the old history and culture that has helped shape Nessebar into what it is today.