The Old Town

View at the old town

The island of the Nessebar known as Mesmbria, later Mesembria and finally Nessebar has been continuously inhabited since the Bronze age.

Originally a Thracian settlement, known as Melsambria, the town became a Greek colony when settled by Dorians from Megara at the beginning of the 6th century BC, and was an important trading centre from then on and a rival of Apollonia. It remained the only Doric colony along the Black Sea coast, as the rest were typical Ionic colonies. At 425-424 BC the town joined the Delian League, under the leadership of Athens. Remains from the Hellenistic period include the acropolis, a temple of Apollo, and an agora. A wall which formed part of the fortifications can still be seen on the north side of the peninsula. Bronze and silver coins were minted in the city since the 5th century BC and gold coins since the 3rd century BC. The town fell under Roman rule in 71 BC, yet continued to enjoy privileges such as the right to mint its own coinage.