Nesebâr · Black Sea Coast · Bulgaria

Church of Saint Sophia

old townUNESCOmedievalchurchgoogle verified

easy

9/10

best: morning, autumn, spring

historic, atmospheric, seaside

A local would say...

A peninsula so crowded with medieval churches that some of them fell into the sea — and one just got rediscovered in the 1920s.

A tiny UNESCO World Heritage peninsula packed with the ruins and restored remains of more than 40 medieval churches built during the Byzantine and Second Bulgarian Empire periods. The Sveta Sofia Church ruins form the centrepiece of a busy plaza, while the Christ Pantokrator Church of the mid-14th century features an unusual frieze of swastikas — ancient solar symbols. The Basilica of the Merciful Virgin dates from the 6th century and was partly swallowed by the sea before being rediscovered.