Acording to the archeologic researches Nessebar has been known since the ancient times of the late Bronze age ( 1500- 1200 BC). In the written documents from 1. c. BC. the town is mantioned with its Thracian name MENABRIA which means the town of Mensa (from Thracain bria- town, Mensa- the name of a Thracian king, pointed to be the founder of the settlment). During this historical period the dominating ethinicy on the Black Sea coast is the ethnicity of the Tracians. The remains of a fortress wall and gateway, dwellings, jewelery, pottery and stone anchors prove that the firs settlement on the Nessebar peninsula grows into a Thracian city and show the high level of their civilization. The Thracian building technique and surrounging materials date them to the age prior to the arrival of Greek colonists in the late 6th century BC.
The classical polis of MESAMBRIA becomes known after 510 BC. That is when the influx of colonists from MEGARA metropolis is the stnongest and crucial to the formation of the new populace of the peninsula. This is the only one Dorian colony on the Black sea coast which soon grows as a big polis- town with its own indapendent functions and laws. The layout of the excavated buildings from this age suggests that there was an orthogonal street system, a main square, various temples (one of them is probably dedicated to Appolo), a theatre, gymnasium and other bulidings decorated with statues. Mesambria forms as a central trade polis and the foundings from the archeological researches prove great handling of marchandise with the ancient world. The polis also starts to produce its own coins since the year of 440 BC.
A new phase of thge history of Nessebar starts during the 1st century BC when the Roman conquerors reach the Black sea coast. To avoid being destroyed, burned down the city strategists volunteered to hand over the polis keys  to the Roman general Lucullus. So in 72-71 BC Mesambria is peacefully incorporated into the Roman Empire. That`s why a lots of antic masterpieces from Nessebar can be seen nowadays in the Antic room of the Historical museum.
After the split of the vast Roman Empire into the Western and with the assertion of the new Christian religion starts a new historical period form Nessebar- the period of the Byzatine Empire. During this fruitful Mesemvria, as the town is then known, new fortification walls, Byzantine bath and lots of Christian churches are buit. The most inpresive monuments from this age are tha basilica by the seashore, the Old metropolitan church (St. Sofia), the early Byzantine bath and the fortification walls.
The walls are distroyed by the Bulgarian khan Kroum in 812, who conqered the town. By the end of the 9th century the fortress walls are fully restored by the Bulgarians. The local population inevitably changed, with Slavs and Bulgarians forming the majority. During the 12th and 13th centuries the town developed active trade relations with the lands of the Mediterranean and Adriatic, as well as with the principalities situated to the north of Danube River. The churches Sveti Stefan (St. Stefan) -11th century and Sveti Yoan Krustitel (St. John the Baptist) - 12th century, аre built and mural-painted. They became prototypes of the later masterpiece Nesebur churches of the 13th-14th c.
The town had a significant role in the political history of Bulgaria and Byzantium during the time when on the throne were sitting the Bulgarian Tsars Kaloyan, Ivan Asen II and Konstantin Tih. During this time were built the churches Sveta Petka (Paraskeva) - 13th century, Sveti Todor - 14th century, Sveti Archangeli Mihail and Gavrail (St. Archangels Mihail and Gavrail) - 14th century, which have direct ana­logues in the architecture of the capital Turnovo. The town enjoyed espe­cial boom during the reign of Tsar Ivan Alexander. New churches were built - Hristos Pantokrator (Christ Almighty) - 13th century, Sveti Yoan Neosveteni (St. John Undedicated) - 14th cen­tury; many monasteries carried on active spiritual activities in the surround­ings of the town - Sveta Bogoroditsa (Holy Virgin), Hristos Akropolit, Sveti Petar, Sveti Andrei, Sveti Iliya, Sveti Vlasii, Sveti Nikola Emonski, which were centres of the hesychasm in Bulgaria. Here were educated also the future Bulgarian patri­archs.
According the leg­ends, during his exis­tence Nessebar had about 40 churches. During almost the entire history of the town, Nesebur was the seat of a bishop. Owing to this, two of the churches in Nesebur - Sveta Sofia and Sveti Stefan are more known as the Old Metropolis and New Metropolis. 
For the first time the town was conquered by the Ottomans in 1396. It has fall­en completely under the Ottoman rule, together with the capital Constantinople, in 1453.
The legend says that the people who lived in Mesembria pay a lot of money to the Ottomans not to destroy their houses and churches. And may by for this reason most of the representatives of highborn families remained to live in Nessebar. It is interesting to mention that only 2 new buildings are dated back to this age- the Tukish bath (near the byzantine bath)  and the Turkish fontain. That fact can be considered as a confirmation of the old legend: if it`s  payed not to disroy the town, there is no place for new buildings on it, because that is an island. 
The Nesebur’s harbour contin­ued to be a main import and export center on the Black Sea coast. Until the 17th-19th centuries some of the Nesebur’s monasteries and their scriptoria were still opera­tive. Clear examples for this are the churchs St. Spas from 14th century and St. Spas.  
From the epoch of the Bulgarian Renaissance in Nessebar remained quite many houses, typical representatives of the Black-Sea house and some of the windmills that have worked earlier in the town, a public bath and fountains for drinking water.
The wooden houses built in the end of 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century are the best-preserved monuments from the time of the National Bulgarian Revival. They have their own original architecture which reveals the development of the typical Black Sea coast house and its significance as manifestation of the Bulgarian builder’s creative genius.
The restored houses, more than 100 form picturesque architectural ensembles.

 

churches:

1. Christ Pantokrator - 13-14 c.
2. St. Stefan - 10 c.
3. St. John Aliturgetos-  14 c.
4. St. John the Baptist 10-11 c.
5. St. Spas - 17 c. 
6. St. Archangels Gavrail and Michael - 13-14 c.
7. St. Paraskeva - 13 c. 
8. St. Sofia ( Old Bishopric) - 5-6 c.
9. St. Todor - 14 c.
10. active ortodox church The Assumption - 20 c.

other cultural and historical monuments:
 1. Byzantine fortified walls- 5 c.
 2. Black sea wooden houses from the period of the Bulgarian Revival - 18- 19 c.
 3. Rome baths-  5 c.
 4. Turkish bath - 17 c.
 5. Turkish fontain- 18 c.
 6. Archeological museum
 7. Ethnographical museum