
Nessebar is situated on a rocky peninsula on the Black Sea. The more than 3,000-year-old site of was originally a Thracian settlement (Mesembria). At the beginning of the 6th century B.C., Nessebar became a Greek colony. The city's remains, which date mostly from the Hellenistic period, include the acropolis, a temple of Apollo, an agora and a wall from the Thracian fortifications. Among other monuments are, the Stara Mitropolia Basilica and the fortress date from the Middle Ages, when this was one of the most important Byzantine towns on the west coast of the Black Sea. The town of Nesebar is one of the oldest in Europe. The wooden houses built in the 19th century are typical for the Black Sea architecture of the period.