The ancient town of Nessebar has been a UNESCO World Heritage City since 1983. Mesembria Pontica, called in the late Middle Ages Mesambria and later Nessebar, was inhabited thousands of years ago, at the end of the Bronze Age. The ancient Thracians called it Melsambia, which means the city of Melsa, the legendary founder of the village. Mesambria has two convenient ports - south and north, where to this day are many remains of ancient vessels.
It is believed that the legendary author of fables Aesop of Thracian origin was born in Messambria around 620 BC.
At the end of the 6th century BC. the first Hellenic settlers arrived in the town and the town gradually grew, temples, a school and a theater were built, the residential quarters were formed and a massive fortress wall was built. Various crafts are developed in the city - mainly metal processing.
You can get acquainted with the cultural heritage of Nessebar in five museum expositions. In the old part of the city there were about 42 churches, of which less than half were discovered by archaeologists and preserved, and only one is open today. The other better preserved ones have been turned into art galleries. The isthmus connecting the old part with the new one is about 400 meters long. In the middle of the isthmus is the old mill of the city, which does not function as such, but is only a tourist attraction. At the beginning of the neighborhood, in the new part of Nessebar, is the real mill of the city, which is now built into a hotel.
In Nessebar is located a landmark №7 of the Hundred National Tourist Sites of the Bulgarian Tourist Union - architectural and historical reserve Old Nessebar with the Archaeological Museum. Museum "Ancient Nessebar" includes:
Nessebar Archaeological Museum;
St. Stephen's Church (Nessebar);
The Church of the Holy Savior (Nessebar);
Ethnographic Museum Nessebar - Moskoyani House. It is arranged in an old Revival house, built in 1840 on the southern coast of the peninsula. The house, which is a typical representative of Nessebar residential architecture from the late period of the Bulgarian Revival, was owned by the wealthy merchant Panayot Moskoyani. The building has two floors. The ground floor is stone, high, with a double door. The upper floor is bay window and lined with boards. It has tall and many windows overlooking the sea. The five rooms on the floor are located around a hall with a wood-carved ceiling, decorated in the middle with a star-shaped rosette. The northern rooms, also used in winter, have fireplaces.
"St. Sophia" (Old Metropolis), ruins of a church from the IV century
"Holy Mother of God Eleusa", a church from the VI century
"St. Stephen" (New Metropolis), a church from the X century
St. John the Baptist, 11th century church
St. Demetrius, 11th century church
"Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel", a church from the XIII century
"St. Paraskeva", a church from the XIII century
Christ Pantocrator, 13th century church
St. Theodore, a 13th-century church
St. John Aliturget, a 14th-century church
"Holy Ascension" ("Holy Savior"), a church from the XVII century
St. Clement, a church from the 17th century
"Holy Mother of God" ("Assumption") - a functioning church since 1873.
Nessebar annually hosts many cultural and entertainment events - Golden Mesemvria Festival, International Art Festival "Constellations in Nessebar", International Children's Festival "Sun - Joy - Beauty", International Honey Festival, held in late August - early September, National Pop Rock Festival Pop rock fest.
August 15 is a day of the town of Nessebar and an official holiday of the town ..
