Rusokastro

Rusokastro stands inland from the Bay of Burgas, where a fortified height overlooks the approaches to the eastern Balkan passes. Its walls enclosed a citadel, and a protected passage led down to a well supplied by the Rusokastrenska River. In 1332 Tsar Ivan Alexander defeated the Byzantine emperor Andronikos III near the fortress, securing Bulgarian control of the southern Black Sea coast for a time. The stronghold remained a landmark of the region's medieval frontier and was destroyed during Ottoman campaigns in the fifteenth century.