From Apollonia to Early Byzantine Akra (7th c. BC – 6th c. AD)
The Akra (St Nicholas) peninsula north-west of today's Chernomorets has been inhabited since the 7th–6th centuries BC, when the first ancient Greek colonists from Apollonia Pontica (Sozopol) settled here. In the second half of the 5th century AD, under the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I, the early Byzantine fortress of Akra was built on the same peninsula and existed until the late 6th century AD — until the Avar invasions. Around a third of the fortress complex now lies underwater in the bays surrounding the peninsula and is the subject of underwater archaeological investigations led by the archaeologist Ivan Hristov.
From the Middle Ages to Liberation (6th–19th c.)
After the 6th century the Akra fortress gradually declined and was abandoned, with the population moving to small fishing settlements along the nearby coast. In the Ottoman period a small village named Sveti Nikola (or Ayazma) existed here, with a predominantly Greek and Bulgarian fishing population. The settlement took its name from the Church of St Nicholas, consecrated in 1858 after local sailors found the saint's miraculous icon. The village grew during the 19th century.
Modern Chernomorets (1951 – present)
Until 1951 the village was called Sveti Nikola; in 1951 it was renamed Chernomorets by administrative decision. After 1945 Chernomorets grew significantly — trade-union and individual state-enterprise rest homes were built. In 1972 the basing point of the Naval Forces was relocated from Burgas to the neighbouring village of Atia, about 5 km to the south-west. On 2 December 2009 Chernomorets was granted town status. After 1989 the large bases were privatised; today the town is a varied destination of small family hotels and apartment complexes, while preserving its fishing-village spirit.