The World Heritage City of Nessebar on the Black Sea

On the night of my birthday, Jodie and I flew to Burgas on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast for a weekend of sightseeing and relaxation. We stayed at a very centrally located hotel in the city, where the only problem was squeezing our rented car into a very tight space in the parking lot late at night. The next morning we drove 30 kilometers north of Burgas to the World Heritage City of Nessebar, on a peninsula sticking into the Black Sea.


Nessebar is not only one of the oldest cities in Bulgaria, but also one of the oldest towns in Europe. Its brick churches date back to the Middle Ages and before, and its wooden homes are from Bulgaria's Revival period in the 1800s.




There are over 40 churches in Nessebar, but many of them are just ruins, although very picturesque ruins.


Visiting Nessebar in cold December, we found this popular tourist destination to be quite deserted. We were amused by this sign:


In the distance we could see Sunny Beach, the biggest resort area in Bulgaria. It wasn't exactly sunny today!



As Nessebar is also a fishing village, we sat down for lunch at a modern fish restaurant and ordered fresh fish. Well, this was the most unpleasant thing of the whole weekend, as apparently the fish was not all that fresh. For the rest of the day, we had severe stomach cramps.


At the end of the causeway leading to the old town of Nessebar there is a windmill. We never did figure out its part in Nessebar's history, but it is one of the landmarks of this unique place.

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