Pomorie

Pomorie (Bulgarian: Поморие) is a town and seaside resort on the southern Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, known for its deposits of "healing mud" and ancient salt works. With a population of over 14 thousand, it's tied with nearby Nesebar for being the "third largest" town on the Bulgarian coast, after the much larger Varna and Burgas.

Understand

Aerial view of Pomorie

Entrance to the "Beehive" Tomb

The name is pronounced "po-MO-ri-eh", with the stress on the second syllable and the last two vowels pronounced in separate syllables.

Pomorie lies on the coast, 14 km (8.7 mi) north-east of Burgas, about half-way between Burgas and the built-up resort area Ravda-Nesebar-Sunny Beach-Sveti Vlas. It's been built on a large peninsula that juts into the sea in south-eastern direction. Pomorie's Old Town and its fishing port are at the tip of the peninsula; the town has reached the mainland in its growth. On the north side, a long sand spit connects the peninsula to the mainland, creating a large, roughly triangular lagoon, Lake Pomorie. As the lake has a minimal connection to the sea, its waters are ultra-saline and it has been used for salt production since Antiquity. Nowadays, it's also a protected natural area because it sits on a major bird migration route and also attracts a large number of native water birds.

History

Pomorie was established in the 5th or 4th century BCE as a colony of Apollonia (modern Sozopol), under the name Anchialos (Greek: Ἀγχίαλος) which meant "near the salt", or less literally, "near the sea". For a time, it was contested between Apollonia and nearby Messembria (modern Nesebar). Afterwards, the region was conquered by the Roman Empire and became a part of the province of Thracia (Thrace). When the Empire split, it remained in the eastern part, the Byzantine Empire. Due to its location (close to Constantinople), after the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in the 7th century, Anchialos repeatedly played a key role in the conflicts between the two empires. Most notably, in 917 Bulgarian tsar Simeon I crushed the Byzantine army in the bloody Battle of Achelous nearby. After repeatedly changing hands, the city was ultimately conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 1450s, and would remain under Ottoman rule until the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878.

Under the name Anhialo (Bulgarian: Анхиало), it was one of the few towns on the Bulgarian sea coast with predominantly Greek population. At the turn of the 20th century, conflict between Greece and Bulgaria over Macedonia lead to anti-Greek pogroms and a lot of the population fled Anhialo. In Greece, those refugees established Nea Anchialos on the coast of the Aegean Sea. The name "Pomorie" was given to the town in the 1930s, with etymology based on the Greek name — approximately "at/near the sea". During the Communist era, Pomorie became known outside of Bulgaria due to a toothpaste made from minerals extracted from the local sea mud that was exported to the Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern Bloc under the name Pomorin (Поморин).

Get in

By plane

Burgas International Airport (BOJ ^IATA) at Sarafovo is equally distant from Pomorie and Burgas — about 12 km (7.5 mi) by road. There are dozens of flights each day, see the Burgas article for details.

By road

Pomorie is close to Burgas - about 20 km (12 mi) to its city centre, closer to the northern outskirts and Sarafovo. In the other direction, to the north, is the resort area surrounding the bay of Nesebar - Ravda, Nesebar, Sunny Beach and Sveti Vlas (15–25 km (9.3–15.5 mi) to Pomorie).

On a larger scale, Pomorie is slightly off European route E87, which runs along the western coast of the Black Sea and connects Ukraine and Romania in the north with Turkey in the south. In the north, the closest sizable city in Romania is Mangalia (230 km (140 mi) to Pomorie), then E87 enters Bulgaria at the Vama Veche/Durankulak crossing and runs on National Road 9. The road follows the coast quite closely, passing through Shabla/Krapets (195 km (121 mi)), Kavarna (170 km (110 mi)), Balchik (160 km (99 mi), Varna and its resorts (120 km (75 mi)), and Byala (60 km (37 mi)). Then it enters the Nesebar area, and the exit for Pomorie is at a large roundabout south of Aheloy.

From the south, the closest sizable city in Turkey is Kırklareli (140 km (87 mi), with connections to Edirne and Istanbul). Route E87 enters Bulgaria at the Dereköy/Malko Tarnovo border crossing (110 km (68 mi)). Following Road 9, it then passes through the forests of Strandzha before reaching the coast south of Burgas. An alternative route along the southern coast is offered by Road 99 - it splits off E87/Road 9 at the entrance to Malko Tarnovo and heads east, going deeper through Nature Park Strandzha, and reaches the coast at Tsarevo. It then follows the coast north through Primorsko (70 km (43 mi)) and Sozopol (52 km (32 mi)) and rejoins Road 9 at Burgas. Tsarevo also offers a connection with the settlements further south along the coast - Varvara, Ahtopol, Sinemorets and Rezovo, at the south-eastern tip of Bulgaria (110 km (68 mi)).

See

• 1 Ancient Tomb (south of Pomorie on the main road 9-E87, which connects Burgas with Varna). An unique (for Bulgaria) underground tomb or cult site. It's dated to the 2nd to 4th centuries and consists of a large round chamber with a diameter of 11.60 m and a height of 5.5 m, covered by an earthen mound. The main chamber is reached via a 22-m-long tunnel, flanked by two side chambers near the entrance. In the centre of the main chamber, a hollow pillar leads upwards. It's often called a tomb, like the many Thracian funeral barrows in the country, but its brick construction is characteristic for the Roman era and an alternative interpretation considers the site a heroön - a sanctuary dedicated to a legendary hero. You can also climb up the tumulus to get a great view of the whole area. If you come from the north, e.g. from Varna, Sunny Beach or Pomorie, the access to the tomb is after the second turnoff to Pomorie, shortly after the "Europe" campsite (left) on the right-hand side; there are also signs. Since the parking is on a very confusing curve, be sure to pay attention to the traffic when driving off.  
• Pomorie Salt Museum, Yavorov Boulevard 40A, ☏ +359 59-625 344. September 15 - June 15: M-F 08:00 - 16:00; June 15 - September 15: M-F 08:00 - 18:00, Sa Su 10:00 - 18:00. The museum is the only one of its kind on the Balkan Peninsula. On an area of 2.5 hectares you can observe how salt is produced by the evaporation of seawater in the still working saltworks. The small museum building offers information material, video presentations and historical photographic material. (updated Dec 2023)
• 2 Monastery of Saint George (Мъжки манастир Свети великомъченик Георги Победоносец). An active Eastern Orthodox male monastery. It's open to the public, but you should try to act more like a pilgrim than a tourist. (updated Dec 2023)
• History Museum
• Mud pools
• Lake Pomorie
• WW2 bunkers

Do

Events

• May 6th – City Festival.
• International Festival for Orthodox Music- An annual music festival for Orthodox church choir music, with participants from both various Bulgarian cities and other Eastern Orthodox countries (Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Moldova, etc). The 2024 festival will be held between 5-9 June, in the 1 Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God (Nativity of the Theotokos/Virgin Mary), in the centre of Pomorie.

Go next

• Burgas – Second largest city on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.
• Nesebar – A small town under the UNESCO World Heritage conservation program. It is extremely picturesque and attractive. There you can see the Old Metropolitan Church (4 AD) and amazing architectural details from the Byzantine epoch. Buses run regularly from the roundabout near the airport.
• Sunny Beach – A large holiday complex 1 km from Nesebar. In summer the two villages almost merge in one big party and holiday center. Sunny Beach is sometimes called the summer party capital. There are more than 200 hotels and thousands of clubs, bars and pubs. Buses run regularly from the roundabout near the airport.

Routes through Pomorie

Varna ← Nesebar ←

N  S

→ Burgas → Malko Tarnovo/Dereköy