Pomorie
Encyclopedia
Pomorie is a town and seaside resort
in southeastern Bulgaria
, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay
on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast
. It is situated in Burgas Province
, 20 km away from the city of Burgas
and 18 km from the Sunny Beach
resort. The ultrasaline lagoon Lake Pomorie
, the northernmost of the Burgas Lakes
, lies in the immediate proximity. The town is the administrative centre of the homonymous Pomorie Municipality
.
Pomorie is an ancient city and today an important tourist destination. As of December 2009, it has a population of 13,569 inhabitants. It lies at 42°33′N 27°39′E.
"anchi-" ("near, close to") and "als-" (either "salt" or a poetic and uncommon word for "sea"). In Latin
, this was rendered as Anchialus. The Bulgars
called the town Tuthom, though it's more common name in Bulgarian was Анхиало, Anhialo based on the Greek name. During the Ottoman rule, the town was called Ahyolu. In 1934 the town was renamed to Pomorie, from the Bulgarian "po-" (in this context "by, next to") and "more" ("sea"), corresponding to one of the two etymologies of the original Greek name.
), Anchialos was mentioned in Strabo
's Geographica as a small town. It was briefly captured by Messembria (Nesebar
) in the 2nd century BC, but reconquered by Apollonia and its fortified walls destroyed.
The western Black Sea coast was ultimately conquered by the Romans
under Marcus Licinius Crassus
in 29-28 BC after continuous campaigns in the area since 72-71. The fortified wall was meanwhile rebuilt, as evidenced by Ovid
in 9 AD en route to Tomis. In the early 1st century AD Anchialos was the centre of a strategia of the vassal Odrysian kingdom
, and the town had a Thracian
population in the 6th century AD according to the early Byzantine
historian Procopius
. As the Odrysian kingdom's self-independence was abolished in 45 AD, Anchialos became part of the Roman province
of Thrace
and was formally proclaimed a city under Emperor Trajan
. At the time the city controlled a vast territory bordering that of Augusta Trajana (Stara Zagora
) and reaching the Tundzha
to the west, bordering that of Messembria to the north and the southern shore of Lake Burgas
to the south. Anchialos acquired the appearance of a Roman city and throve in the 2nd and 3rd century under the Severan Dynasty
, serving as the most important import and export station of Thrace.
tribes from the north meant an end to this prosperity in the middle of the 3rd century, with the Goths
briefly capturing Anchialos around 270. Diocletian
stayed in the city between 28 and 30 October 294. His and Constantine the Great's reforms restored the city's prosperity for a while, as the proximity to the new capital of Constantinople
made Anchialos a key food supply centre.
Theodoric the Great
passed through the city in 476 on the way to Adrianople. A high-ranking Byzantine general named Vitalian
in 513 revolted in the region and briefly took control of Anchialos and the neighbouring cities to use their fleet in his attack of Constantinople until he was crushed in 515. In the 5th-6th century it became the seat of an autocephalous archbishopric.
The Slavic and Avar
invasion in 584 meant Anchialos was conquered and its fortifications were destroyed. Avar Khagan Bayan
turned the city into his residence for a few months and concluded a peace treaty with the Byzantines. At the eve of his campaigns
, the emperor Maurice
visited the city to oversee reconstruction.
to the north Anchialos played an important role in many conflicts between the two empires. In 708 the forces of Justinian II
were completely defeated near the fortress by the army of Bulgar Khan Tervel. On 30 June 763 the Bulgars under Telets
suffered a defeat by the Byzantine army of Constantine V
. On 21 June 766 the same emperor's fleet of 2,600 heavy ships sank en route to Anchialos, where Constantine was waiting, and most soldiers drowned, forcing him to return to Constantinople.
In May 783 Irene
undertook a demonstrative campaign across Thrace and restored Anchialos' destroyed fortifications. The city was first conquered by the Bulgarian Empire in 812, under Khan Krum
, who settled Slavs and Bulgars in Anchialos. The Byzantines restored their control over the city and the area in 864.
The Battle of Anchialus took place near the city on 20 August 917, and was one of Tsar
Simeon the Great's greatest military achievements. Simeon's army routed the considerably larger Byzantine forces under Leo Phocas
. Bulgaria retained the city until 971, when the Byzantine Empire reconquered it and held it for two centuries as Bulgaria was subjugated. After the restoration of the Bulgarian state
Anchialos changed hands several times until it was captured by the Venetian
knights of Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy
in October 1366. The next year it was ceded to Byzantium.
invasion of the Balkans
in the 14th century, Anchialos remained a Byzantine bulwark until submission in 1453 together with Constantinople. Whilst under Ottoman administration, it became the centre of a kaza also encompassing the area around Sozopol
as "Ahyolu". It was the centre of an eparchy
of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and continued to act as a cultural, religious, economic and administrative centre of the region until the early 19th century, as many noble Byzantine families settled after 1453. Two Patriarchs of Constantinople stem from the city—Michael III of Anchialus (1170–1178) and Jeremias II Tranos
(1572–1579, 1580–1584, 1587–1595).
Already before 1819 many prominent locals joined the Greek patriotic organization Filiki Eteria
. At the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence
(1821) a part of the town's representatives, priests as well as the Orthodox bishop Eugenios were executed by the Ottoman authorities. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829 Anchialos was captured by the Russia
n forces on 11 July 1829 and held for a year. At the time it was mainly inhabited by Greeks
, with minorities of Bulgarians
and Turks, had a population of 5,000-6,000, six Orthodox churches and a mosque. After the Russian forces withdrew the whole of what is today Eastern Bulgaria gradually depopulated, with many people fleeing to the Christian lands to the north. The St George's Monastery was founded in 1856. It was a kaza centre in İslimye
sanjak of Edirne Province
before 1878 as "Ahyolu".
as a kaza centre in Burgaz
sanjak
until Bulgaria unified
in 1886. During the 19th and 20th century it gradually lost most of its importance in the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast at the expense of rapidly developing Burgas
. It established itself as a centre of wine and salt production and was renamed Pomorie in 1934. The town accommodated many Bulgarian refugees from Eastern Thrace, mainly from around Lozengrad after World War I
, who replaced the Greeks who had fled in the first decade of the 20th century; in 1906 they founded Nea Anchialos
in Greece.
on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands
, Antarctica is named after Pomorie.
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
in southeastern Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay
Burgas Bay
Burgas Bay is the largest bay of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and one of the largest ones in the Black Sea. It is 41 km at its widest and 25 m at its deepest, reaching 31 km at its greatest innermost extent, approximately where the Bulgarian city and major port of Burgas is located. Other towns...
on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast
Bulgarian Black Sea Coast
The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast covers the entire eastern bound of Bulgaria stretching from the Romanian Black Sea resorts in the north to European Turkey in the south, along 378 km of coastline. White and golden sandy beaches occupy approximately 130 km of the 378 km long coast...
. It is situated in Burgas Province
Burgas Province
-Municipalities:The Burgas province contains 13 municipalities . The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town or village , and the population of each as of 2009.-Demography:The Burgas province had a population of 423,608 -Municipalities:The Burgas...
, 20 km away from the city of Burgas
Burgas
-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...
and 18 km from the Sunny Beach
Sunny Beach
Sunny Beach is a major seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, located approximately 35 km north of Burgas in Nessebar municipality, Burgas Province. It is the biggest and most popular holiday resort in Bulgaria, and is home to over 800 hotels with more than 300 000 beds. There are...
resort. The ultrasaline lagoon Lake Pomorie
Lake Pomorie
Lake Pomorie is the northernmost of the coastal Burgas Lakes, located in the immediate proximity of the Black Sea and the Bulgarian town of Pomorie. It has an area of 8.5 km² and has an elongated shape with a length of 6.7 km and width of 1.8-2 km...
, the northernmost of the Burgas Lakes
Burgas Lakes
The Burgas Lakes or Burgas Wetlands are a group of coastal lakes of varying saltiness located around the Bulgarian city of Burgas in the proximity of the Black Sea...
, lies in the immediate proximity. The town is the administrative centre of the homonymous Pomorie Municipality
Pomorie Municipality
The Pomorie Municipality is located in the Burgas Province, Bulgaria. The territory is 413,3 km² and the population is 28 572. The main economic activities are tourism, wine industry and grape growing.-Subdivision:...
.
Pomorie is an ancient city and today an important tourist destination. As of December 2009, it has a population of 13,569 inhabitants. It lies at 42°33′N 27°39′E.
Name
Pomorie was founded by the Ancient Greeks under the name Anchialos , deriving from Ancient GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
"anchi-" ("near, close to") and "als-" (either "salt" or a poetic and uncommon word for "sea"). In Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, this was rendered as Anchialus. The Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
called the town Tuthom, though it's more common name in Bulgarian was Анхиало, Anhialo based on the Greek name. During the Ottoman rule, the town was called Ahyolu. In 1934 the town was renamed to Pomorie, from the Bulgarian "po-" (in this context "by, next to") and "more" ("sea"), corresponding to one of the two etymologies of the original Greek name.
Ancient Greek colony and Roman centre
Possibly founded in the 5th or 4th century BC as a colony of Apollonia (today SozopolSozopol
Sozopol is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the Apollonia art and film festival that is named after one of the town's ancient names.The busiest times of the year...
), Anchialos was mentioned in Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
's Geographica as a small town. It was briefly captured by Messembria (Nesebar
Nesebar
Nesebar is an ancient town and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Nesebar Municipality...
) in the 2nd century BC, but reconquered by Apollonia and its fortified walls destroyed.
The western Black Sea coast was ultimately conquered by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
under Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and politician who commanded the right wing of Sulla's army at the Battle of the Colline Gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus, provided political and financial support to Julius Caesar and entered into the political alliance known as the...
in 29-28 BC after continuous campaigns in the area since 72-71. The fortified wall was meanwhile rebuilt, as evidenced by Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
in 9 AD en route to Tomis. In the early 1st century AD Anchialos was the centre of a strategia of the vassal Odrysian kingdom
Odrysian kingdom
The Odrysian kingdom was a union of Thracian tribes that endured between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC. It consisted largely of present-day Bulgaria, spreading to parts of Northern Dobruja, parts of Northern Greece and modern-day European Turkey...
, and the town had a Thracian
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
population in the 6th century AD according to the early Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
historian Procopius
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
. As the Odrysian kingdom's self-independence was abolished in 45 AD, Anchialos became part of the Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and was formally proclaimed a city under Emperor Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
. At the time the city controlled a vast territory bordering that of Augusta Trajana (Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and a nationally important economic center. Located in Southern Bulgaria, it is the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province...
) and reaching the Tundzha
Tundzha
The Tundzha is a river in Bulgaria and Turkey and the most significant tributary of the Maritsa, emptying into it on Turkish territory near Edirne....
to the west, bordering that of Messembria to the north and the southern shore of Lake Burgas
Lake Burgas
Lake Burgas or Lake Vaya , located near the Black Sea west of the city of Burgas, is the largest natural lake in Bulgaria, with an area of 27.60 km², a length of 9.6 km and a width of 2.5 to 5 km. It is up to 103 feet deep....
to the south. Anchialos acquired the appearance of a Roman city and throve in the 2nd and 3rd century under the Severan Dynasty
Severan dynasty
The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. The dynasty was founded by the Roman general Septimius Severus, who rose to power during the civil war of 193, known as the Year of the Five Emperors....
, serving as the most important import and export station of Thrace.
Early Byzantine rule
However, the invasion of barbarianBarbarian
Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
tribes from the north meant an end to this prosperity in the middle of the 3rd century, with the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
briefly capturing Anchialos around 270. Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
stayed in the city between 28 and 30 October 294. His and Constantine the Great's reforms restored the city's prosperity for a while, as the proximity to the new capital of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
made Anchialos a key food supply centre.
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric the Great was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , regent of the Visigoths , and a viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire...
passed through the city in 476 on the way to Adrianople. A high-ranking Byzantine general named Vitalian
Vitalian (general)
Vitalian was an East Roman general. Rebelling in 513 against Emperor Anastasius I, he won over large parts of the army and people of Thrace. Successive rapprochements with Anastasius failed, and the revolt continued until it was finally defeated in 515. Vitalian then went into hiding until...
in 513 revolted in the region and briefly took control of Anchialos and the neighbouring cities to use their fleet in his attack of Constantinople until he was crushed in 515. In the 5th-6th century it became the seat of an autocephalous archbishopric.
The Slavic and Avar
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
invasion in 584 meant Anchialos was conquered and its fortifications were destroyed. Avar Khagan Bayan
Bayan (Avar Khagan)
Bayan I was an Avar khagan, between 562 and 602. As the Göktürk Empire expanded westwards, Bayan Khagan led a group of Avars and Bulgars out of their reach, eventually settling in Pannonia in 568.- Raids against the Franks and Lombards :...
turned the city into his residence for a few months and concluded a peace treaty with the Byzantines. At the eve of his campaigns
Maurice's Balkan campaigns
Maurice's Illyricum campaigns were a series of military expeditions conducted by emperor of Constantinopolis Maurice in an attempt to defend the Illyrian provinces of the East Roman Empire from Avars and Slavs...
, the emperor Maurice
Maurice (emperor)
Maurice was Byzantine Emperor from 582 to 602.A prominent general in his youth, Maurice fought with success against the Sassanid Persians...
visited the city to oversee reconstruction.
Byzantine and Bulgarian rule
After 681 and the formation of the First Bulgarian EmpireFirst Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
to the north Anchialos played an important role in many conflicts between the two empires. In 708 the forces of Justinian II
Justinian II
Justinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
were completely defeated near the fortress by the army of Bulgar Khan Tervel. On 30 June 763 the Bulgars under Telets
Telets of Bulgaria
Telets was the ruler of Bulgaria from 762 to 765.According to the Namelist of Bulgarian Rulers, Telets reigned for 3 years "instead of another", and he was a member of the Ugain clan. This is corroborated by the Byzantine sources, which indicate that Telets replaced the legitimate rulers of...
suffered a defeat by the Byzantine army of Constantine V
Constantine V
Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775; ); .-Early life:...
. On 21 June 766 the same emperor's fleet of 2,600 heavy ships sank en route to Anchialos, where Constantine was waiting, and most soldiers drowned, forcing him to return to Constantinople.
In May 783 Irene
Irene (empress)
Irene Sarantapechaina , known as Irene of Athens or Irene the Athenian was a Byzantine empress regnant from 797 to 802, having previously been empress consort from 775 to 780, and empress dowager and regent from 780 to 797. It is often claimed she called herself "basileus" , 'emperor'...
undertook a demonstrative campaign across Thrace and restored Anchialos' destroyed fortifications. The city was first conquered by the Bulgarian Empire in 812, under Khan Krum
Krum of Bulgaria
Krum the Horrible was Khan of Bulgaria, from after 796, but before 803, to 814 AD. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and...
, who settled Slavs and Bulgars in Anchialos. The Byzantines restored their control over the city and the area in 864.
The Battle of Anchialus took place near the city on 20 August 917, and was one of Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Simeon the Great's greatest military achievements. Simeon's army routed the considerably larger Byzantine forces under Leo Phocas
Leo Phocas
Leo Phokas was an early 10th-century Byzantine general of the noble Phokas clan. As Domestic of the Schools, he led a large-scale campaign against the Bulgarians in 917, but was heavily defeated. He then plotted to seize the throne, but was outmaneuvered however by the admiral Romanos Lekapenos...
. Bulgaria retained the city until 971, when the Byzantine Empire reconquered it and held it for two centuries as Bulgaria was subjugated. After the restoration of the Bulgarian state
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
Anchialos changed hands several times until it was captured by the Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
knights of Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy
Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy
Amadeus VI , nicknamed the Green Count was Count of Savoy from 1343 to 1383. He was the eldest son of Aimone, Count of Savoy and Yolande of Montferrat....
in October 1366. The next year it was ceded to Byzantium.
Ottoman rule
After the OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
invasion of the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
in the 14th century, Anchialos remained a Byzantine bulwark until submission in 1453 together with Constantinople. Whilst under Ottoman administration, it became the centre of a kaza also encompassing the area around Sozopol
Sozopol
Sozopol is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the Apollonia art and film festival that is named after one of the town's ancient names.The busiest times of the year...
as "Ahyolu". It was the centre of an eparchy
Eparchy
Eparchy is an anglicized Greek word , authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something,' like province, prefecture, or territory, to have the jurisdiction over, it has specific meanings both in politics, history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Christian...
of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and continued to act as a cultural, religious, economic and administrative centre of the region until the early 19th century, as many noble Byzantine families settled after 1453. Two Patriarchs of Constantinople stem from the city—Michael III of Anchialus (1170–1178) and Jeremias II Tranos
Patriarch Jeremias II of Constantinople
-External links:**...
(1572–1579, 1580–1584, 1587–1595).
Already before 1819 many prominent locals joined the Greek patriotic organization Filiki Eteria
Filiki Eteria
thumb|right|200px|The flag of the Filiki Eteria.Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends was a secret 19th century organization, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece and to establish an independent Greek state. Society members were mainly young Phanariot Greeks from Russia and local...
. At the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
(1821) a part of the town's representatives, priests as well as the Orthodox bishop Eugenios were executed by the Ottoman authorities. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829 Anchialos was captured by the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n forces on 11 July 1829 and held for a year. At the time it was mainly inhabited by Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, with minorities of Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
and Turks, had a population of 5,000-6,000, six Orthodox churches and a mosque. After the Russian forces withdrew the whole of what is today Eastern Bulgaria gradually depopulated, with many people fleeing to the Christian lands to the north. The St George's Monastery was founded in 1856. It was a kaza centre in İslimye
Sliven
Sliven is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality. It is a relatively large town with 89,848 inhabitants, as of February 2011....
sanjak of Edirne Province
Edirne Province
Edirne Province is the westernmost province of Turkey, located in Eastern Thrace along the Greek and Bulgarian border. The city's wealth, population and importance increased after it was declared as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire...
before 1878 as "Ahyolu".
Liberated Bulgaria
Anchialos was liberated from Ottoman rule on 27 January 1878 and became part of Eastern RumeliaEastern Rumelia
Eastern Rumelia or Eastern Roumelia was an administratively autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire and Principality of Bulgaria from 1878 to 1908. It was under full Bulgarian control from 1885 on, when it willingly united with the tributary Principality of Bulgaria after a bloodless revolution...
as a kaza centre in Burgaz
Burgas
-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...
sanjak
Sanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
until Bulgaria unified
Bulgarian unification
The Unification of Bulgaria was the act of unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the then-Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia in the autumn of 1885. It was co-ordinated by the Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee...
in 1886. During the 19th and 20th century it gradually lost most of its importance in the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast at the expense of rapidly developing Burgas
Burgas
-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...
. It established itself as a centre of wine and salt production and was renamed Pomorie in 1934. The town accommodated many Bulgarian refugees from Eastern Thrace, mainly from around Lozengrad after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, who replaced the Greeks who had fled in the first decade of the 20th century; in 1906 they founded Nea Anchialos
Nea Anchialos
Nea Anchialos is a town and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is situated southwest of Volos and north of Almyros. It is placed on the national highway...
in Greece.
Landmarks
- Municipal museum and gallery
- Museum of Salt
- Ancient Thracian beehive tomb (3rd century AD)
- Traditional 19th-century wooden houses
- Church of the Birth of the Most Holy Mother of God (1890)
- Church of the TransfigurationTransfiguration of JesusThe Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported in the New Testament in which Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels describe it, and 2 Peter 1:16-18 refers to it....
of God (1765) - St George's Monastery (1856)
- Yavorov's Rocks
Honour
Pomorie PointPomorie Point
Pomorie Point is a point on the coast of McFarlane Strait forming the north side of the entrance to Lister Cove, Varna Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica....
on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
, Antarctica is named after Pomorie.