Greek Vasiliko (antiquity – 19th c.)
The earliest settlements in the area date back to antiquity — Thracian and Greek colonists made the small peninsula an important fishing station on the route between Apollonia (Sozopol) and the Black Sea outlet to the Bosphorus. The name Vasiliko (Βασιλικό) means "the royal place" — perhaps after an ancient local ruler's name, perhaps linked to Byzantine rule.
Byzantium and Ottoman Empire (4th–19th c.)
Under Byzantine and later Ottoman rule, Vasiliko remained a quiet fishing settlement with a predominantly Greek population. The first written mention is by the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi in 1154, under the name 'Vasiliku'. In the 19th century the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God was established here, its original building dating from 1810 and its present form restored after the great fire of 1882.
Vasiliko in Bulgaria (1913–1934)
After the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), Vasiliko passed to Bulgaria. Its Greek population emigrated, and Bulgarian refugees from Eastern Thrace settled in their place. By order of the Minister of the Interior of 14 August 1934, the town was renamed Tsarevo — a direct Bulgarian translation of the Greek 'Vasiliko' (royal place). The renaming coincided with the construction of the new pier (1927–1937), funded by Tsar Boris III.
Michurin (1950–1991)
By Decree No. 191 of April 1950, the communist authorities removed the "royal" name and renamed the town Michurin — in honour of the Soviet plant breeder Ivan V. Michurin. In the 1950s, attempts also began in the area to grow citrus crops — oranges, lemons, mandarins and olives, in the spirit of "Michurinist" agrobiology.
Modern Tsarevo (1991 — today)
After the transition, the town has developed as a quiet tourist centre — an alternative to the mass resorts further north. Today it is the administrative seat of Bulgaria's southernmost Black Sea municipality. Although fishing remains important, tourism and family hospitality form the backbone of the local economy.