Editing Burgas (section)

==History==
[[File:Bronze-Alexander Severus-Deultum AE25 Moushmov 3583.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Alexander Severus]] coin from the ''Colonia Flavia Pacis Deultensium'']]
The earliest signs of life in the region date back 3000 years, to the [[Bronze Age]] and the early [[Iron Age]]. The favorable conditions on the fertile plain, around the sea, have brought people here from early antiquity. The biggest mark was left by the Thracians who made the region rich in archaeological finds (from around 4th c. BC). This includes their sanctuary at [[Beglik Tash]] along the south coast and a burial mound near [[Sunny Beach]]. They built the mineral baths of [[Aquae Calidae, Bulgaria|Aquae Calidae]] and the fortress ''Tyrsis''.<ref name=municipality/><ref name=pocket/>
Under [[Darius I]], it became part of the [[Achaemenid Empire]], before the [[Odrysian kingdom]] was established. Greeks from [[Sozopol|Apollonia]] built a marketplace to trade with the Thracians, in what is now the neighborhood of Pobeda.

During the rule of the [[Ancient Rome|Ancient Romans]], near Burgas, [[Develtos|''Colonia Flavia Pacis Deultensium'']] (''Deultum'', ''Dibaltum'', or ''Develtum'') was established as a military colony for veterans by [[Vespasian]] in AD 70. The Romans built this ''colonia'' on the main road [[Via Pontica]]. It was the second most important city in the province [[Haemimontus]].

In 376 the Goths destroyed an elite Roman [[Company (military unit)|company]] near Develtum at the [[Battle of Dibaltum]].<ref>Herwig Wolfram: ''Die Goten: von den Anfängen bis zur Mitte des sechsten Jahrhunderts : Entwurf einer historischen Ethnographie'', Verlag C.H.Beck, 2001, S. 130</ref>

=== Bulgarian and Byzantine Middle Ages ===
In the [[Middle Ages]], there were important settlements in the area: the fortress ''Skafida'', ''Poros'', ''Rusokastron'' ([[Battle of Rusokastro]]), the Baths called Aquae Calidae and used by Byzantine, Bulgarian and Ottoman Emperors; a small fortress called ''Pyrgos'' was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower. Under the [[Byzantine Empire]] it became an important city on the [[Black Sea]] coast. The Bulgarian ruler [[Krum]] built the [[Erkesiya]], a {{convert|140|km|0|abbr=on}}-long border wall from the Black Sea (near Gorno Ezerovo) to the [[Maritsa River]].

In 1206, the [[Latin Empire|Latin Emperor]] [[Henry of Flanders]] (see [[Fourth Crusade]]) destroyed Aquae Calidae, which was known as Thermopolis at this time, The baths were later rebuilt by the Byzantines and Bulgarians. Poros was mentioned in a 1270 document of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.<ref name="IW6065">Ivan Karayotov, Stoyan Raychevski, Mitko Ivanov: ''История на Бургас. От древността до средата на ХХ век.'', Tafprint OOD, Plovdiv, 2011, {{ISBN|978-954-92689-1-1}}, S. 60–65</ref> Close to Poros took place the [[Battle of Skafida]] in 1304, when the Bulgarian Tsar [[Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria|Todor Svetoslav]] defeated the Byzantines and conquered the southern Black Sea coast.

At the beginning of the 14th century, the region was sacked by the [[Catalan Company]]. In the 13th century Burgas is mentioned by the Byzantine poet [[Manuel Philes]] in his works as ''Burgas''.<ref name="IW6065"/>

=== Ottoman rule ===
[[File:Illustration from Views in the Ottoman Dominions by Luigi Mayer, digitally enhanced by rawpixel-com 12.jpg|thumb|Burgas in [[Ottoman Bulgaria]], painted by [[Luigi Mayer]]]]
Like many of the towns surrounding it, Burgas was conquered by the Ottomans with the rest of Bulgaria in the late 14th century, only to be [[Treaty of Gallipoli|returned]] to the Byzantine Empire during the [[Ottoman Interregnum]] and retained by the Byzantines until the fall of the Empire to the Ottomans in 1453. It was only in the 17th century that a settlement renamed to ''Ahelo-Pirgas'' grew in the modern area of the city. It was later renamed to ''Burgas'' again and had only about 3,000 inhabitants. In the early 19th century Burgas was depopulated after raids by ''kurzdhali'' bandits. By the mid-19th century it had recovered its economic prominence through the growth of craftsmanship and the export of grain.<ref>''Burgas'', ''Bulgaria (Eyewitness Travel)'', Jonathan Bousfield and Matt Willis, Dorling Kindersley Limited, [[London, England]], 2008, p. 210.</ref> The city was a small town in [[Sliven|İslimye]] (Sliven) sanjak in at first [[Rumelia Eyalet]], after that in the [[Silistra Eyalet]] and [[Edirne Eyalet]] before the liberation in 1878.

In the 17th and 18th centuries Burgas became an important port for [[cereal]] and possesses its own grain measure, the ''Burgas-Kile''. The town was the regional centre of trade and administrative centre of the Burgas Kaaza.<ref>''Etudes historiques. A l’occasion du XIII Congrés international des sciences historiques - Moscou, août 1970.'' Acad. Bulg. des sciences, 1970, p. 243 and p. 252.</ref><ref>Claude Charles De Peyssonnel: ''Traité sur le commerce de la Mer Noire'', Band 2, Cuchet, 1787, p. 151</ref><ref>Karayotov/Raychevski/Ivanov, p. 301</ref>

In 1865 the port of Burgas was after [[Trabzon|Trapezunt]] the second most important Ottoman port in the Black Sea. Burgas was at this time the major centre on the southern [[Bulgarian Black Sea Coast]].<ref>Karayotov/Raychevski/Ivanov, p. 112–113</ref><ref>Wael B. Hallaq, Donald Presgrave Little: ''Islamic studies presented to Charles J. Adams'', BRILL, 1991, S. 211</ref>

=== From liberation to 1945 ===
[[File:Burgas-alexandrovska-street-1906.jpg|thumb|left|Alexandrovska Street in 1906]]
It was a department centre in [[Eastern Rumelia]] before incorporated in the [[Principality of Bulgaria]] in 1885.
From the late 19th century Burgas became an important economic and industry center. The first development plan of the city was adopted in 1891 and the city's layout and appearance changed, especially through the newly constructed public buildings.<ref name="RMB">{{cite web |url=http://www.burgasmuseums.bg/uploads/historyburgas2010bg.pdf |title=History of Burgas |author=Regionalmuseum Burgas |access-date=2012-01-26 |language=bg |archive-date=31 Jan 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131073603/http://www.burgasmuseums.bg/uploads/historyburgas2010bg.pdf |url-status=live }}, {{cite web |url=http://www.burgasmuseums.bg/index.php?tab=home&page=burgashistory&lang=en |title=History of Burgas |author=Regionalmuseum Burgas |access-date=2011-08-26 |archive-date=13 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513024202/http://www.burgasmuseums.bg/index.php?tab=home&page=burgashistory&lang=en |url-status=live }} – Abstract</ref> In 1888, the city library was founded, in 1891 the sea garden was created and in 1897 the Cathedral of the Holy brothers Cyril and Methodius was built. In 1895 Georgi Ivanov opened the first Printing house in Burgas, followed by the house of ''Christo Velchev'' in 1897, which changed in 1900 his name in ''Velchevi Brothers Printing house''.<ref name="IK220">Karayotov/Raychevski/Ivanov, p. 220–228</ref>

[[File:Burgas Plan 1913.jpg|thumb|right|A 1913 plan of the city]]

The opening of the railway line to Plovdiv on 27 May 1890 and the deep water port in 1903 were important stages of this boom and led to the rapid industrialization of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=117347|title=retro-bib - Seite aus Meyers Konversationslexikon: Bulgarien (Geschichte 1886, 1887)|first=Christian|last=Aschoff|website=www.retrobibliothek.de|access-date=2 Aug 2012|archive-date=13 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513123623/http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=117347|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>R. J. Crampton: ''A concise history of Bulgaria'', Verlag Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 121</ref> In the period after 151 factories were founded. Among them were the ''Sugar refinery'' founded by [[Avram Chaliovski]], the ''Great Bulgarian Mills'' of [[Ivan Chadzipetrov]] and the oil and soap factory ''Kambana''.<ref name="RMB"/> In 1900 the mineral springs by the ancient Aquae Calidae were included in the urban area. In 1903, the new building of the [[Burgas Central railway station]] opened.<ref name="IW210">Karayotov/Raychevski/Ivanov, p. 210–220</ref><ref>Nikolova/Panaiotov: p. 300</ref>

Founded in 1924 in Burgas ''Deweko'' (now HemusMark AD) was the first pencil factory in Southeastern Europe and became in 1937 official supplier to the Bulgarian Monarchy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.koh-i-noor.bg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=62 |title=History of HemusMark AD |access-date=2011-09-01 |language=bg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124112910/http://www.koh-i-noor.bg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=62 |archive-date=24 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 1925 opened in Burgas a specialized high school for mechanics and technologies. The following year, a large covered market was opened.<ref name="RMB"/> Because of the cold wave in winter 1928/29 the Black Sea iced in late January and early February, so that the island of Sveta Anastasia could be reached on foot.<ref>Karayotov/Raychevski/Ivanov, p. 236</ref> 1934, Burgas already had 34,260 inhabitants.

=== Communism ===
During World War II on 9 September 1944 Red Army troops occupied the city and soon the whole country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://decommunization.org/Communism/Bulgaria/1944-47.htm?storyid=131371&srcpos=8 |title=Chronology of the Bulgarian Communism (bulg. Хронология 1944–1947) |author=Portal decommunization |access-date=2012-08-02 |language=bg |quote=''9 септември 1944. В условията на започнала съветска окупация....Съветските войски завземат Шумен, Разград и Бургас.'' |archive-date=10 Sep 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910170215/http://www.decommunization.org/Communism/Bulgaria/1944-47.htm?storyid=131371&srcpos=8 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the following [[People's Court (Bulgaria)|People's Courts]], especially members of the wealthy families of the intelligentsia and members of the [[Bar Association]] were convicted. The two Chambers of the People's Courts met in Burgas in the former building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burgas (now the seat of the Governor of the Province Burgas).<ref name="IW250">Karayotov/Raychevski/Ivanov, p. 246-250</ref>

After the Communists took power in 1945, the German and Italian School and the People's University were closed<ref name="Burneva/Murdsheva">Burneva/Murdsheva: ''Deutsch als Fremdsprache(n) an bulgarischen Hochschulen'' in Hiltraud Casper-Hehne: ''Die Neustrukturierung von Studiengängen "Deutsch als Fremdsprache": Probleme und Perspektiven; Fachtagung 17. - 19. November an der Universität Hannover'', Universitätsverlag Göttingen, 2006, p. 238</ref> and over 160 factories and businesses (including the large companies ''Great Bulgarian Mills'', ''Veriga'', ''Plug'', ''Dab'', etc.), shops, baths and other private property were nationalized.  The [[nationalization]] and inability to lead by the new rulers led the companies to the collapse of the food supply and the shortage of goods of daily life in the city.<ref name="IW250"/> The political repression against the population of Burgas continued for the next few years. Access to universities and other higher education in the Bulgarian capital was refused for the young people of Burgas and some of them were interned in [[prison]] and [[Forced labour camps in Communist Bulgaria|labor camp]]s.<ref name="IW250"/>

[[File:Neftochim-vaya-dinev cropped.jpg|thumb|right|The [[LUKOIL Neftochim Burgas|Neftohim]] refinery, one of the major Bulgarian industrial capacities, built during the Socialist era]]

After the end of the Second World War, the [[Haganah]] organised several convoys for the European survivors of the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]], which departed on ships from Burgas for Palestine. These convoys allowed 12,000 people, including the Jewish population of the city, to emigrate.<ref>Gaby Coldewey: ''Zwischen Pruth und Jordan: Lebenserinnerungen Czernowitzer Juden.'' Böhlau Verlag, Köln/Weimar 2003, p. 105.</ref><ref>Idith Zertal: ''From catastrophe to power: Holocaust survivors and the emergence of Israel'', University of California Press, 1998, pp. 118-120, 139, 208, 298</ref> In the following years the city center of Burgas, unlike many other Bulgarian cities, was not much affected by Communist-type urbanization and has kept much of its 19th- and early-20th-century architecture. A number of oil and chemical companies were gradually built.

The terrorists of the [[2 June Movement]], Till Meyer, [[Gabriele Rollnik]], Gudrun Stürmer and Angelika Goder were arrested on 21 June 1978 in Burgas by West German officials and then brought into the [[Federal Republic of Germany|Federal Republic]].<ref>Eckhart Dietrich: ''Angriffe auf den Rechtsstaat: die Baader/Meinhof-Bande, die Bewegung 2. Juni, die Revolutionären Zellen und die Stasi im Operationsgebiet Westberlin (aus Originalurteilen mit Erklärungen und Anmerkungen)'', 2009, p. 84</ref>

=== Post 1990 ===
Today the local port is the largest in Bulgaria adding significantly to the regional economy. Burgas also hosts annual national exhibitions and international festivals and has a vibrant student population of over 6,000 that add to the city's appeal. The historical society also maintains open-air museums at [[Beglik Tash]] and [[Develtum]].

Several countries have General Consulates in Burgas, among them [[Belarus]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Estonia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024148/http://www.embassypages.com/city/bourgas/ Foreign consulates in Burgas.] Embassypages.com</ref> [[Greece]], [[Romania]], [[Russia]], [[Sierra Leone]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy23327// |title=Consulate General of Angola in Muanda, Congo (Democratic Republic) |publisher=Embassypages.com |access-date=2018-05-02 |archive-date=17 Nov 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022311/http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy23327/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Turkey]] and [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://qha.com.ua/en/politics/ukraine-s-honorary-consulate-to-open-in-burgas/129429//|title=Crimean News Agency|website=QHA|access-date=13 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117020654/http://qha.com.ua/en/politics/ukraine-s-honorary-consulate-to-open-in-burgas/129429//|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2023 Bulgaria took back the concession it had granted to Lukoil in 2011 to run the Rosenets oil terminal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bulgarian parliament votes to end Lukoil's concession to operate Rosenets oil terminal |url=https://www.offshore-technology.com/news/lukoil-rosenets-oil-terminal/?cf-view |date=24 July 2023}}</ref> 

==== 2012 bus bombing ====
{{main|2012 Burgas bus bombing}}
On 18 July 2012 a terrorist attack was carried out by a [[suicide bomber]]<ref>[[2012 Burgas bus bombing#Perpetrator investigations]]</ref> on a passenger bus transporting Israeli tourists at the Burgas Airport. The bus was carrying forty-two Israelis, mainly youths, from the airport to their hotels, after arriving on a flight from [[Tel Aviv]]. The explosion killed the Bulgarian bus driver and five Israelis.<ref name="haaretznames19j">{{cite news|title=Israel names five victims of Bulgaria terror attack|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-names-five-victims-of-bulgaria-terror-attack-1.452308|access-date=19 July 2012|date=19 July 2012|work=Haaretz|archive-date=17 Dec 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217214641/http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-names-five-victims-of-bulgaria-terror-attack-1.452308|url-status=live}}</ref>