World Travel GuidesThe World Heritage Sites Homepage Ancient City of Nessebar, Bulgaria


  Compare Hotel Room Rates from different Booking Sites   Follow Me on Pinterest 









Nessebar, also spelled Nesebar and Nesebur, is an ancient city on the coast of the Black Sea in Bulgaria. Today a major seaside resort, Nessebar has a history going back three thousand years. There are many ancient monuments in the city that has been preserved.


Ancient city of Nessebar, Bulgaria
Ancient city of Nessebar, Bulgaria
Author: www.vacacionesbulgaria.com (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

The rich history of Nessebar is celebrated with its inscription as a World Heritage Site during the 7th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Florence, Italy, on 5-9 December, 1983.


Ancient city of Nessebar, Bulgaria
Ancient city of Nessebar, Bulgaria
Author: Izvora (public domain)

Chronology of the History of Nessebar

  1. 6th century BC: Settled by Dorians from Megara. It became an important trading centre, and was the only Doric colony on the Black Sea coast, while other colonies such that period were Ionic.
  2. 71 BC: It was conquered by the Romans.
  3. 5th century AD: It became an important town of the Byzantine Empire.
  4. 812 AD: The Bulgarian ruler Khan Krum captured it from the Byzantine, and made it part of the First Bulgarian Empire.
  5. 864: It was ceded back by Knyaz Boris to the Byzantines, but reconquered by his son Tsar Simeon the Great. It enjoyed much prosperity under the rule of the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Alexaqnder (1331-1371).
  6. 1366: It was conquered by the Crusaders under Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy.
  7. 1453: It was captured by the Turks, marking its steady decline in importance.
  8. 1878: It became part of the autonomous Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, following the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.
  9. 1925: A new town was built while the old town was restored and preserved.

Ancient city of Nessebar, Bulgaria
Ancient city of Nessebar, Bulgaria
Author: Izvora (public domain)

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 42 39 21.996 E 27 43 48
Inscription Year: 1983
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: III, IV

The property covers 27.1 hectares surrounded by a buffer zone of 1245.6 hectares in Burgas Province.

Nessebar is said to have one of the highest number of churches per capita. The following are the most famous churches there:
  1. Church of St Sophia, also known as the Old Bishopric
  2. Basilica of the Holy Mother of God Eleusa
  3. Church of John the Baptist
  4. Church of St Stephen, also known as the New Bishopric
  5. Church of St Theodore
  6. Church of St Paraskeva
  7. Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel
  8. Church of Christ Pantocrator
  9. Church of St John Aliturgetos
  10. Church of St Spas
  11. Church of St Clement

Ancient city of Nessebar, Bulgaria
Ancient city of Nessebar, Bulgaria
Author: Nenko Lazrov (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5)

Location Map


View Ancient City of Nessebar, Bulgaria in a larger map

Visiting Ancient City of Nessebar

Your base for visiting this World Heritage Site is Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. From there, you can make the arrangement, either on your own or through a travel agency, to go to Ancient City of Nessebar. As part of the preparations, here's a list of hotels in Sofia with online booking facility.

Getting there

If you arrived in Sofia, you can catch a local bus to go to Nessebar. As it is a major tourist destination, there are many buses going that way.

Book Hotel Rooms in Bulgaria and Worldwide

Click here also for a full list of hotels in Bulgaria or hotels worldwide. If you prefer budget accommodation in hostels, guesthouses or inns, check out hostels worldwide for budget accommodation providers with online booking.

Return to Bulgaria's World Heritage Sites
Return to Bulgaria Travel & Hotel Guide
Return to World Heritage Sites






  • Tips to become a smart traveler: Useful tips to remember, to get the best out of your travels.
  • Preparing for a Trip: Systematic approach to help you prepare for your trip.
  • How to plan your travel itinerary: Step-by-step build to creating the itinerary for your trip.
  • How to compare hotel room rates: Learn to use a booking search engine to compare rates across all major booking sites.
  • How to pack your luggage: Useful steps to take when packing your luggage.
  • Packing List (PDF): Print out this free packing list to make sure you don't forget anything for your trip.
  • Voltage, Frequency, Plugs & Sockets of the World: Learn about the mains electricity supply in the world.
  • Travelers' List of Plugs and Sockets (PDF): Easy-to-use list of electricity and plugs for all countries.
  • Making International Direct Dail Calls: Learn to make IDD calls from anywhere in the world.
  • IDD Call Prefixes & Country Codes (PDF): Listing of Call Prefixes and Country Codes on one page for you to bring on your trip.
  • Safety Tips When Traveling Alone: Useful advice for when you travel on your own.
  • Guide to Health Matters related to Travel: Comprehensive coverage of different issues related to your health when traveling.
  • Getting Travel Insurance for your trip: Benefits of travel insurance, and advise on when you should signing up for one.
  • Improve your travel photography: Tips to improve your photography skills, especially when traveling.
  • Guide to Traveling Around the World: Useful tips for encircling the globe.


  • Find a hotel







    Follow Me on Pinterest

    Point - Click - Discover!

    Thanks for visiting this webpage. To continue exploring, choose another destination!


    My World Travel Guides - celebrating a beautiful world beautifully.

    Earning a living as a Happy Jobless Guy

    I am a Happy Jobless Guy! I am one of the few people who is fortunate enough to earn an income from my websites that I don't to go out to work. My sites get thousands of visitors every day. It has been a long process, but it is something everybody can achieve, and that means YOU. The following are some articles which you might want to read if you want to do what I do:
    1. Money Making Manual
    2. Create Your Own Money-Printing Machine
    3. Guide for earning a living without holding a job
    4. Generate a Sitemap for your website
    5. Complete Step-by-Step e-Business Building System