The interiors of some of the surviving medieval churches without frescoes have been turned into cozy art galleries run by local art galleries. The Uspenskaya Church of Nessebar is the only active church in Old Nessebar, built in 1873. It is the largest and best-preserved three-aisled basilica in the city with a dome and late iconography.
The icon of the miracle is kept in the Church of the Assumption in the Old Town of Nessebar. They call it the Black Virgin because of the dark color of the images of the Virgin Mary and Her Son. The origin of the icon is unknown. According to legend, this is a Greek military icon (military icons in dark colors) of the 13th century, captured by Tsar Ivan Assen II at the Battle of Klokotnitsa, when the Bulgarians defeated the army of Theodore Comnenus. According to another tradition, the icon was taken to Nessebar in St. Forest.
People left the badge in a certain place, but several times found it in the branches of a tall tree. Believers took this as a clear sign of God, who creates a temple exactly in the place indicated by the icon. This is how the temple “Assumption” was built in Nessebar. While the church was being built, the icon of the Mother of God was kept in another temple in Nessebar – “St. George the Victorious “. Due to the unique natural resources and very well-preserved monuments from different eras, at the VII session of the World Heritage Committee in Florence in 1983, the Old Town of Nessebar was included in the World Heritage List.
Today, ancient Nessebar strives to preserve its romantic atmosphere with its narrow cobbled streets, small squares, two-storey houses with stone terraces and wooden floors that have external staircases and open onto the street, souvenir shops, taverns and beautiful flower gardens.