Researchers have attempted to link the village's name to that of
Rhesus of Thrace, a
Thracian king of the
Iliad, and although the existence of an ancient settlement at the place of the modern village has been proven (with the oldest artifacts dating to the 4th century BC), it is hard to establish any connection with Rhesus' personality. In ancient times, the area was subject to large-scale
metallurgical activity, with the largest ancient deposit of
slag in Bulgaria. It is believed that the
medieval fortress of
Castrition lay on Cape Kastrich north of modern Rezovo. Today's village was first mentioned in
Ottoman registers as
Rezvi, a village of 41
Christian families. In the 18th century, it was noted as
Büyük Rezve ("Big Rezve") and marked as a
sea port on Ottoman maps. According to Austrian Wenzel von Brognard and other 18th-century western travellers, the river mouth at that place had a good
wharf suitable as a storm and winter shelter. Rezovo has changed its location slightly several times: its oldest known location is the same as today's, at the coast. However, the locals were forced to move inland because of persistent raids by
Caucasian Laz pirates, settling during the 19th century in the
Kladarsko Bardo area 10 kilometres to the west, also along the Rezovo River. By 1900, that "Old Rezovo" had 70–80 houses and an
Eastern Orthodox church of Saint
Elijah the Forerunner. The seaside land was not completely abandoned, as it was used as a
pasture because of the favourable climate. In 1903, the residents of Rezovo took an active part in the Bulgarian
Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising, seeking unification with their compatriots in the
Principality of Bulgaria. However, the revolt was crushed by the Ottoman authorities and most of Old Rezovo was burned to the ground. The surviving locals settled on the coast, approximately where the oldest known incarnation of the village had been. The Church of Saints
Constantine and
Helena was built in 1906. After the
Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, Rezovo became part of the
Kingdom of Bulgaria and a limited number of Bulgarian refugees (25 families) from other parts of
Eastern Thrace that remained under Ottoman rule settled in the village. According to
Lyubomir Miletich's demographic survey of the Ottoman province of
Edirne in
The Destruction of Thracian Bulgarians in 1913, published in 1918, before the wars Rezovo (Рѣзово) was a village in the district of
Vassiliko inhabited by 70 Bulgarian
Exarchist families. dividing
Bulgaria and
Turkey After the wars, the main occupation of the locals was
charcoal production and
logging, with some
agriculture,
cattle breeding and
fishing. Wood and charcoal were exported by means of the wooden pier in the Rezovo River. The population has gradually declined, however, but today Rezovo is a popular beach resort and a spot frequented by tourists because of its southeasternmost location. Until recently, it was part of the border zone and visitors were required to be checked by Border Police officials. As Bulgaria joined the European Union on 1 January 2007, Rezovo became the contiguous EU's southeasternmost point. On 2 January 2007, municipal mayor Petko Arnaudov hoisted the
flag of Europe in the village, along with the national and municipal flags, and the street starting from the Bulgarian border sign was renamed the Europe Alley. == Honour ==