Български
English
The city is situated on a small rocky peninsula with approximate length of 500 m, 300 m width and a height, reaching on places 20 m. It occupies the entire peninsula in the old part of the modern city Ahtopol.
The town was founded in the end of the 5th - beginning of the 4th century BC as a trading colony of Apollonia Pontica (nowadays Sozopol).
The city fortification system was created in the 5th century, when defence structures had been build in most Black Sea ports near the Byzantine capital Constantinople, and was used to the beginning of the 17th century.
Preserved parts of the medieval town fortification system combine well with restored old houses presenting the traditional wooden architecture along the Black Sea coast of the 18th-19th century. The old town can be visited the oldest church in Ahtopol "St. Constantine and Helen" from the 17th century preserving its original wood-carved iconostasis.
In 2014, an archaeological excavation revealed the passage to one of the gates of the medieval city. The researchers are convinced that the closest analogies of this gate are found in the early medieval Bulgarian cities of Pliska, Preslav and Drustar. They are a testimony to the great importance of Ahtopol.
Late Antiquity and Medieval Fortress Ahtopol is an archeological monument of culture from 1965. The archaeological excavations continue.
Availability for visits: Yes, free of charge, all year round
Tourist infrastructure: hotels in Antopol all year round
