Ancient and Medieval Nessebar

Old Nessebar is an archaeological and architectural ensemble within a living town. Ancient Mesambria developed maritime trade and its own coinage. Defensive walls, water infrastructure, baths and basilicas reveal later changes under Roman and late antique rule. During the Middle Ages the town passed between Bulgarian and Byzantine authority and acquired remarkable church buildings. UNESCO inscribed the ensemble in 1983. The archaeological museum places portable finds in context, while a walk around the peninsula shows monuments of different centuries beside one another. Later houses, restoration and present-day tourism mean that this is a layered historical landscape rather than a frozen view of a single ancient or medieval period.