A small town with big ‘heart’ ready to welcome everybody, who loves beauty, on their holidays to Bulgarian coast
Sozopol – a city with soul
A small town which attracts with its picturesque sunsets, the coziness of its small streets and the peaceful laps of waves… Sozopol is the oldest settlement on the Bulgarian coast. It is located in the south-east of Bulgaria, around 30 km south of Burgas, in a beautiful bay.
Tourists, on their private tours Bulgaria, come to Sozopol for the beauty of the sea, of the Bulgarian coast, and for Sozopol’s rich, ancient history. Antiquities crop up behind the narrow corners of the narrow ancient streets. Even if you’ve somehow gone the wrong direction, you shouldn’t be worried. You would, definitely find yourselves at some fascinating place. Today’s Sozopol is still a place where life is busy. Especially in summer. There one can meet people who belong to the world of cinema, theatre and music…
A Bulgaria tour can take you to a place with rich history
Make sure your private tours Bulgaria take you to Sozopol – the city with soul. This is one of the best places to visit on the Bulgarian coast. The archaeological exploration of the site gives a proof of more than six thousand years of cultural tradition. The remains of primitive houses, ceramic pottery, stone and bronze tools serve as evidence of the busy everyday life of the local population.
Sozopol’s first name was Apollonia Pontica (that is ‘Apolonia on the Black Sea’). It got its name after and in honour of the God of Apollonius. This was a God of various functions but in ancient Apollonia, particularly, people respected him as a healer. Apollonia Pontica was founded in the year 610 BC as a Hellenic colony, a city-country. Today, people use this old name for the annually held Festival of Arts in Sozopol.
Apollonia Pontica
Apollonia Pontica lays the beginnings of the town culture in our lands. It used to be a town of sailors. The symbol of this town-country was the anchor. At the end of VI century BC, Apollonia minted coins. Together with the images of ancient gods on these coins, the anchor was an unalterable symbol and it represented the town as well. The anchor remained unchanged through the thousands of years and today it is a fundamental element of the blazon of the town. Not only coins were found in Sozopol, but also many ancient Greek vases, sepulchral reliefs and ceramic figurines of great artistic value. The biggest exhibition of ancient Greek vases, anchors and amphorae is preserved in the Archaeological Museum in Sozopol. The rich town soon became an important cultural centre. Still Sozopol is an important cultural centre on the Bulgarian coast.
During the IV century the town of Apollonia got the new name of Sozopolis, meaning the City of Salvation. Ruled in turn by the Byzantine, Bulgarian and Ottoman Empires, Sozopol became part of the newly independent Bulgaria in the 19th century. In the middle Ages, the town of Sozopol was already ratified a Christian centre, an office of bishops, with more than twenty churches and monasteries.
Treat yourselves with the first of many private tours Bulgaria to the ‘City of Salvation’ on the Bulgarian coast
When walking on the streets of Sozopol, part of Bulgarian coast, do not only look up at the old facades. Because first, you can trip on the ancient cobblestone streets. Second – you might miss some of the many small chapels in the town. Bulgarian people built them during the time Sozopol was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and they had to be lower than ‘a Turk on his horse’. (Istanbul day trip) Those were the religious limitations of the time. By digging the church into the ground, the ancient master found a way to obey the limitations.
An example of such a church is the ‘Holy Mother of God’ church, which is a cultural monument of national importance. Dated to this period are also the churches St.George and St.Zosimos. Bulgarians built 18 more chapels on the remains of medieval churches. Members of the iconographic and woodcarving school of Sozopol made the works of art, preserved in them, at the end of the XVIII and XIX centuries. The most impressive work of art is the iconostasis of the Church of the Holy Mother of God.
Revival Period in Sozopol
Over 100 houses from the Revival Period in Sozopol are there and in very good condition. With their typical architecture, they are among the attractive places to see in Bulgaria on your Bulgaria tour. So, these houses form the Old Town of Sozopol. Due to them, it became a museum in 1974. The houses became a symbol of the town. Anyone, who likes to, can reach the old part of the town by an alley that connects the old with the new part of Sozopol. Around 180 are the buildings from the middle of XVIII and XIX centuries, which are cultural monuments. The architectural complex at the South Fortified Wall combines, in its museum exposition, unique artifact of different centuries. That is another place, on the Bulgarian coast, you should visit on your Bulgaria holidays.
The beautiful house ‘Trakiiski han’ (‘Thracian Inn’) shelters the ethnographic exposition of Sozopol, which is particularly fascinating for tourists with its attractive yard facade. It has also the unique sea view and the exposition itself, of course. It presents traditional clothes, fabric and domestic crafts from the region of coastal Strandzha Mountain; (from Burgas to Istanbul – where sea and mountain become one). Sozopol on the Bulgarian coast – the city with soul, the city of salvation, a city of its own unique character. It is located not far from Burgas, and is magnificent in all seasons. Shortly, Sozopol is always there to welcome you on private tours Bulgaria. Contact us and let us help you with your Bulgaria tour.
Never been to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. After the article about Sozopol, I think I like to start with this place.
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