Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Architectural and historical reservation - town of Nesebar
A peninsula, cut into the Black Sea, an ancient town with a modern appearance.
A landmark of global significance, one of the protected monuments of UNESCO
- this is Nesebar. A cultural center,
in which historical layers of multiple civilizations are laying.
The Thracians were the first settlers - in the end of the 2nd millennium BC.
They were calling it Mesambria.
Then followed Greeks in the 6th century BC, and four centuries later - the Romans.
With its two harbors the town has important trade significance.
During the entire antiquity it maintained good relations with the cities on Black and Aegean Sea
as well as the Mediterranean countries.
Multiple artifacts are exhibited in the archaeological museum of the town,
which are evidences of a rich economical, cultural and spiritual life of this period.
Visitors can see an inscription-decree in the first hall, in honor of the Thracian leader.
The neighboring hall is dedicated to the Greek influence
– a large number of honorary decrees in honor of prominent persons,
marble votive tablets, documenting the administrative life of Mesambria,
and diverse cult pieces of art,
speaking of the rich religious life of the Mesambrians.
The coming of the Romans continued the progress of the town - it continued to trade,
coin money and develop the local crafts.
By the division of the Roman Empire, the role of Mesambria was significantly increased.
The connection with Constantinople was consolidated,
massive fortresses and Christian basilicas were built.
Marble bases, columns, capitals
are elements of the internal plastic decoration of the buildings from this period.
This antique culture, born as a merging of Thracian, Greek and Roman influence,
turned Nesebar into an archaeological treasure.
During the Middle Ages the town was already called Mesemvria
and it was constantly transferred from Bulgarian into Byzantine possession and backwards.
The models of middle age churches show
that the town was shaping as one of the basic spiritual centers of East Christianity.
The artistic crafts were wide spread
– sculptors, icon-painters, potters had left their magnificent models as an evidence of time.
The ancient antique magnificence was enriched by imperial majesty
and inspired by the Christian miracle.
The number of church temples grew to 40, as 26 of them are preserved to the present day.
The rich collection of Nesebar icons is collected in the forth hall of the museum.
"St. Mary", "Christ Pantocrator" and "Christmas"
are wonderful models of iconostases.
An Episcopal throne and royal portals confirm that religion had never been distant to majesty.
The remnants of a basilica with a nave and two aisles raise on the central square in the Old Nesebar
– the church "St. Sofia".
It was a part of the residence of the Nesebar bishop in the beginning of the 6th century
Once plastered in mortar and checkered in wall paintings, today the Old Bishop's Residence, as they call it,
in an architectural relic and a favorite place for tourist pictures.
On the other hand, the frescos in the church "St. Stefan" are completely authentic.
It was built within the period 11 – 13 century and was called New Bishop's Residence.
On the inside, it is filled with scenes of the life of the Mother of God.
The time of the Late Middle Ages introduced new influence in the temple construction.
This was the period of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom
when the Tarnovo School spread its influence in the entire country.
A model of this time are the churches "Christ Pantocrator" and "St. Joan Aliturgetos".
In the 15th century the town had became a part of the Ottoman Empire and changed its appearance again.
An evidence of the oriental style of this time, for example, is the fountain by the Old Bishop's Residence.
But the Old Nesebar, the way it fascinates thousands of tourists nowadays,
was shaped during the Bulgarian Revival.
In the 18th century the economical and cultural life were in their upsurge.
The longings built up for centuries were then finding voicing
in the creation of the traditional Neseber house.
Splendid with its natural beauty and ease,
it was trim in its own way with attention to interior and detail.
Nowadays the town was a subject of admiration of tourists from the whole world,
who rediscovered Neseber on the map of historical and cultural tourism.
Due to its exceptional and multiple historical monuments belonging to a number of epochs,
the old town of Nesebar was included in the List of Monuments
of the Global Cultural Inheritance of UNESCO.