Sozopol Созопол | |
|---|---|
Resort | |
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 Coat of arms | |
  Sozopol Location of Sozopol | |
| Coordinates:42°25′N27°42′E / 42.417°N 27.700°E /42.417; 27.700 | |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Province | Burgas |
| Municipality | Sozopol |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Tihomir Yanakiev (BSP) |
| Area | |
• Resort | 21.11 km2 (8.15 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
• Resort | 5,679 |
| • Density | 270/km2 (700/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 14,789 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal Code | 8130 |
| Area code | 0550 |
| Website | sozopol |
Sozopol (Bulgarian:Созопол[soˈzɔpoɫ];Greek:Σωζόπολις,romanized: Sozopolis)is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south ofBurgas on the southernBulgarian Black Sea Coast. One of the major seaside resorts in the country, it is known for theApollonia art and film festival (which takes place in early September) that is named after one of the town's ancient names. Part ofBurgas Province and administrative centre of the homonymousSozopol Municipality, as of December 2009, the town has a population of 5,410 inhabitants.[1]
In antiquity, the place was the site of a prosperousGreek colony namedAntheia and later known asApollonia. In 72 BC it was devastated by aRoman siege, and became a small town of lesser importance. By the first century AD, the nameSozopolis began to appear in written records.
The busiest times of the year are the summer months, ranging from May to September, as tourists from around the world come to enjoy the weather, sandy beaches, history and culture, fusion cuisine (Balkan andMediterranean), and atmosphere of the colourful resort.
The original name of the city is attested asAntheia (Ἄνθεια inGreek) but was soon renamed toApollonia (Ἀπολλωνία). At various times, Apollonia was known asApollonia Pontica (Ἀπολλωνία ἡ Ποντική, that is, "Apollonia on the Black Sea", the ancientPontus Euxinus) andApollonia Magna ("Great Apollonia"). By the first century AD, the nameSozopolis (Σωζόπολις) began to appear in written records. During the Ottoman rule which began in 1453, the town was known asSizebolu,Sizeboli orSizebolou.
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Sozopol is one of the oldest towns onBulgarian Thrace'sBlack Sea coast. The first settlement on the site dates back to theBronze Age. Undersea explorations in the region of the port reveal relics of dwellings, ceramic pottery, stone and bone tools from that era. Many anchors from the second and first millennium BC have been discovered in the town's bay, a proof of active shipping since ancient times.
The town was founded in the 7th century BC byancient Greekcolonists fromMiletus asAntheia (Ancient Greek:Ἄνθεια).[2][3] The town established itself as a trade and naval centre in the following centuries and became one of the largest and richest Greek colonies in the Black Sea region. Its trade influence in theThracian territories was based on a treaty dating from the fifth century BC with theOdrysian kingdom, the most powerful Thracian state. The town's name was changed toApollonia,[4] on account of a temple dedicated toApollo in the town. Apollonia became a legendary trading rival of another Greek colony, Mesembria, today'sNessebar.
There were two temples of Apollo Iatros (Ancient Greek:Ἀπόλλων Ἰατρός), meaning healer in Greek. One was from the LateArchaic Greece and the other from the EarlyClassical Greece.[5]
It kept strong political and trade relations with the cities ofAncient Greece –Miletus,Athens,Corinth,Heraclea Pontica and the islandsRhodes,Chios,Lesbos, etc.
The city managed to keep its independence during the wars ofPhilip II of Macedon (342–339 BC) andAlexander the Great (335 BC).
In 72 BC it was conquered and sacked by the Roman legions ofMarcus Lucullus, with the latter ordering its devastation.[3] Lucullus transported the statue of Apollo to Rome and placed it in theCapitol.[citation needed] Apollonia did not recover from the disaster, remaining a small town without any significant trade or cultural importance during the Roman period (1st to 3rd centuries AD).[3]
Apollonia Pontica started minting its own coins at the end of the 6th century BC, the anchor appearing on them as the symbol of the polis present on all coins minted since the sixth century BC, proof of the importance of its maritime trade. Coins from the fourth century BC bear the name Apollonia and the image of Apollo. The Roman imperial coins continue to the first half of the third century AD.
TheTabula Peutinger shows Apollonia; but the "Periplus Ponti Euxini", 85, and theNotitiæ episcopatuum have only the later name Sozopolis.
In 1328Cantacuzene (ed. Bonn, I, 326) speaks of it as a large and populous town. The islet on which it stood is now connected with the mainland by a narrow tongue of land. Ruled in turn by theByzantine,Bulgarian andOttoman Empires, Sozopol was assigned to the newly independentPrincipality of Bulgaria in the 19th century. A group ofPolish Armenians, expelled by the Ottoman occupiers fromKamieniec Podolski in 1674, stayed in the city for a single winter before returning to Poland.[6]
At the outbreak of theGreek War of Independence (1821) prominent local personalities likeDimitrios Varis were arrested and executed by the Ottoman authorities due to participation in the preparations of the struggle.[7]
According to theBulgarian jurist and politician Vasil Mitakov (1881–1945), the town was almost entirely ethnicallyGreek in the first decade of the 20th century, with the exception of a few dozen Bulgarians in the whole city who were either current or retired officials.[8] After the anti-Greek pogroms in Bulgaria in 1906, Greek institutions in the city were closed and expropriated, including the churches, the library and the Greek school.[9] Almost all of its remainingGreek populationwas exchanged with Bulgarians fromEastern Thrace in the aftermath of theBalkan Wars. In 2011 the remainings of an ancient Greek settlement, part of Apollonia, were excavated in the small island of St. Kirik (Saint Cerycus) off Sozopolis.[10]
Since 1984 Sozopol hosts theApollonia art festivities every September, which include theatre shows, exhibitions, movies, musical and dance performances, book presentations and other cultural events.[7]
The city erected, in 5th century BC, a colossal statue of the god Apollo which was 13 m (43 ft) tall. It was created by the sculptorCalamis. In 72 BC, the Romans under Marcus Lucullus captured the city and moved the sculpture to Rome on theCapitolium.[11][12]Pliny the Elder wrote that the statue cost 500talents.[13] It was lost during the EarlyChristian period.
Recent excavations have revealed parts of the ancient city including:[14]
In addition, archaeologists discovered a Greekbucranium amulet from the 5th century BC.[15]A shrine of goddessesDemeter andPersephone from the 6th century BC.[16]
Many objects from antiquity, included imported luxury ceramics, red-figure pottery,sgraffito pottery, pottery lamps, loom weights, spindle parts, coins, amphora seals, arrow coins, ceramic game pieces, adornments. One of the most impressive finds was anAtticared-figure potterykrater, depicting the myth aboutOedipus and theSphinx. The krater is dated to the second quarter of the 5th century BC.Excavation teams also discovered, a ceramicaskos dated back to the second half of the 6th century BC, and was “made in the tradition of grey monochrome Aeolian pottery", a 6th-century BC home and other antiquity buildings, pottery and coins from both the antiquity period and theMiddle Ages. Furthermore, have also identified the ruins of a medieval Christian chapel and have discovered several graves from a medieval necropolis that was used in two time periods – in the 11th century AD and then again in the 13th – 14th century AD. In a grave from the 11th century, the researchers have found two small crosses – one made of bronze and another one made of bone. They have also discovered three pits hewn into the rocks from the Classical Period ofAncient Greece containing materials from the 5th – 4th century BC.[17]
Later, they discovered an ancient metallurgical plant from the 6th century BC located at an antiquity copper mine. While the ancient copper mining near Sozopol has been well researched, for the first time archaeologists have discovered ceramic kilns for melting the copper ore right on the edge of the mine in what resembles an Antiquity metallurgy facility.[18]
In 2021, archaeologists discovered a terracotta relief fragment, depicting marching Greekhoplites. The relief is a piece of a larger depiction, other parts of which were discovered in 2018 and 2019.[19]
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Sozopol was Christianized early. Bishops are recorded as resident there from at least 431. At least eight bishops are known:[20]Athanasius (431), Peter (680),Euthymius (787) and Ignatius (869); Theodosius (1357), Joannicius, who becamePatriarch of Constantinople (1524), Philotheus (1564) and Joasaph (1721).
From beingsuffragan to thearchbishopric ofAdrianople, it became in the 14th century ametropolitan see without suffragan sees; it perhaps temporarily disappeared with the Turkish conquest, but reappeared later; in 1808 theGreek Orthodox Church united it to the see ofAgathopolis. The titular resided at Agathopolis.
Eubel (Hierarchia catholica medii ævi, I, 194) mentions four Latin bishops of the 14th century.
The bishopric is included in theCatholic Church's list oftitular sees asSozopolis in Haemimonto and as a suffragan ofHadrianopolis in Haemimonto.
Art flourished in the Christian era. The ancient icons and magnificent woodcarving in theiconostases are a remarkable accomplishment of the craftsmanship of these times. The architecture of the houses in the old town from theRenaissance period makes it a unique place to visit today.
During archaeological excavations in 2012 the remains of a skeleton pierced with an iron bar in the heart were found. It is believed that those are the remains of the local nobleman Krivich (or Krivitsa), ruler of the fortress of Sozopol (castrofilax). Believed to be a very cruel person, the locals made sure that he would not come back to haunt the city after his death by piercing him with an iron bar in the chest. There are more than 100 medieval funerals similar to that of Krivitsa found all over Bulgaria. The remains were pierced with either an iron or a wooden bar through the chest to make sure that the dead will not rise from the grave as avampire.
| Climate data for Sozopol (2004-2017) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.2 (46.8) | 10.2 (50.4) | 12.5 (54.5) | 17.2 (63.0) | 23.5 (74.3) | 27.1 (80.8) | 29.8 (85.6) | 29.7 (85.5) | 26.1 (79.0) | 21.5 (70.7) | 15.5 (59.9) | 10.2 (50.4) | 19.5 (67.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.7 (36.9) | 4.8 (40.6) | 8.5 (47.3) | 13.5 (56.3) | 19.2 (66.6) | 23.1 (73.6) | 26.3 (79.3) | 25.8 (78.4) | 21.7 (71.1) | 17.2 (63.0) | 11.1 (52.0) | 6.5 (43.7) | 15.5 (59.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.2 (34.2) | 2.3 (36.1) | 5.7 (42.3) | 9.2 (48.6) | 14.2 (57.6) | 18.1 (64.6) | 21.5 (70.7) | 21.5 (70.7) | 17.1 (62.8) | 13.6 (56.5) | 7.3 (45.1) | 2.8 (37.0) | 12.1 (53.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 48 (1.9) | 43 (1.7) | 39 (1.5) | 47 (1.9) | 47 (1.9) | 45 (1.8) | 36 (1.4) | 28 (1.1) | 45 (1.8) | 52 (2.0) | 73 (2.9) | 62 (2.4) | 565 (22.2) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1 mm) | 11.5 | 8.3 | 6.6 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 4.5 | 7.2 | 5.0 | 10.2 | 70.2 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 95 | 118 | 171 | 226 | 261 | 302 | 324 | 295 | 245 | 181 | 107 | 76 | 2,401 |
| Source: weatherbase.com[citation needed] | |||||||||||||
Sozopol Gap inAntarctica is named after the city of Sozopol.[21]
The local football team is calledFC Sozopol.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sozopolis".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Capital:Sozopol | ||
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