Plovdiv in Bulgaria

A view over Plovdiv.

Plovdiv (Bulgarian: Пловдив) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2014. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe. It is the administrative center of Plovdiv Province in southern Bulgaria and three municipalities (Plovdiv-city, Maritsa and Rodopi) and Bulgaria's Yuzhen tsentralen planning region (NUTS II), as well as the largest and most important city in Northern Thrace and the wider international historical region of Thrace. The city is an important economic, transport, cultural and educational center. The oldest American educational institution outside the United States was founded in Plovdiv in 1860, it was later moved to Sofia – today's American College of Sofia.

Plovdiv Sports Complex in autumn

Known in the West for most of its history by the Greek name Philippopolis, it was originally a Thracian settlement before becoming a major Roman city. In the Middle Ages, it retained its strategic regional importance, changing hands between the Byzantine and Bulgarian Empires. It came under Ottoman rule in the 14th century. In 1878, Plovdiv was made the capital of the autonomous Ottoman region of Eastern Rumelia; in 1885, it became part of Bulgaria with the unification of that region and the Principality of Bulgaria.

Plovdiv is situated in the southern part of the Plovdiv Plain on the two banks of the Maritsa River. The city has historically developed on seven syenite hills, some of which are 250 m (820.21 ft) high. Because of these seven hills, Plovdiv is often referred to in Bulgaria as "The City of the Seven Hills".

Plovdiv is host to economic and cultural events such as the International Fair Plovdiv, the international theatrical festival "A stage on a crossroad", the TV festival "The golden chest". There are many remains preserved from Antiquity such as the Ancient amphitheatre, Roman odeon, Roman Stadium, the archaeological complex Eirene and others.

 Another view of the main street

Climate

Plovdiv has a humid continental climate with considerable humid subtropical influences. There are four distinct seasons during the year and large temperature jumps between seasons are common.

Summer (late May to mid September) is hot, moderately dry and sunny with a July and August average of 31 °C (88 °F). Plovdiv sometimes experiences very hot days typical in the interior of the country. Summer nights are also mild.

Autumn starts in mid or late September; days are long and relatively warm in early autumn. However the nights become chilly by September. The first frost occurs on average by November.

 Old town

Winter is normally cold and snow is common. The average number of days with snow cover in Plovdiv is 33. The average depth of snow cover is 2 to 4 cm (1 to 2 in) and the maximum is normally 6 to 13 cm (2 to 5 in) but in some winters it can reach 70 cm (28 in) or more. Average January temperature is 1 °C (34 °F).

Spring arrives in March but that season is cooler than autumn. The frost season ends in March or in April at the latest. The days are mild and relatively warm in mid spring.

The average relative humidity is 73%, being highest in December with 86% and lowest in August with 62%. The total precipitation is 540 mm and is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest months of the year are May and June with an average precipitation of 66.2 mm, while the driest month is August with an average precipitation of 31 mm.

Gentle winds (0 to 5 m/s) are predominant in the city with wind speeds of up to 1 m/s representing 95% of all winds during the year. Mists are common in the cooler months especially along the banks of the Maritsa. On average there are 33 days with mist during the year.

 The centre of Plovdiv

Main sights

The city has more than 200 archaeological sites, 30 of which are of national importance. There are many remains from antiquity - Plovdiv is among the few cities with two ancient theatres; remains of the medieval walls and towers; Ottoman baths and mosques; a well-preserved old quarter from the National Revival period with beautiful houses, churches and narrow paved streets. There are numerous museums, art galleries and cultural institutions. Plovdiv is host to musical, theatrical and film events.

The city is a starting point for trips to places in the region, such as the Bachkovo Monastery at 30 km to the south, the ski-resort Pamporovo at 90 km (56 mi) to the south or the spa resorts to the north Hisarya, Banya, Krasnovo, Strelcha.

 A typical building in the pedestrian street

Roman Town

The Roman theatre (Antichen teatur) is probably the best known monument from Antiquity in Bulgaria. It was built in the beginning of the 2nd century during the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan. It is situated in the natural saddle between the Dzhambaz Tepe and Taksim Tepe hills. It is divided into two parts with 14 rows each divided with a horizontal lane. The theatre could accommodate up to 7,000 people. The three-story scene is located on the southern part and is decorated with friezes, cornices and statues. The theatre was studied, conserved and restored between 1968 and 1984. Many events are still held on the scene including the Verdi festival and the International Folklore festival. The Roman Odeon was restored in 2004. It was built in the 2nd-5th centuries and is the second (and smaller) antique theatre of Philipopolis with 350 seats. It was initially built as a bulevterion - edifice of the city council - and was later reconstructed as a theatre.

 The City Hall of Plovdiv

The Roman Stadium is another important monument of the ancient city. It is situated between Sahat Tepe and the Three Hills in the modern Dzhumaya Square. It was built in the 2nd century and modeled after the stadium in Delphi. In Roman times it could hold 30,000 spectators.Only a small part of the northern section with 13 seat rows can be seen nowadays - the larger part lies under the main street and a number of buildings.

 The central square

The Roman forum dates from the reign of Vespasian in 1st century and was finished in the 2nd century. It is located near the modern post office next to the Odeon. It has an area of 11 hectares and was surrounded by shops and public buildings. The forum was a focal point of the streets of the ancient city.

The Eirene Archaeological complex is located in the southern part of the Three Hills on the northern part of an ancient street in the Arheologicheski underpass. It includes remains of a public building from the 3rd-4th centuries which belonged to a noble citizen. Eirene is the Christian name for Penelopa - a maiden from Megadon who was converted to Christianity in 2nd century. There are colourful mosaics which have geometrical forms and figures.

 The Virgin Mary Church.

On Nebet Tepe are found remains of the first settlement on the Three Hills which in 12th century BC grew to the Thracian city of Eumolpias, one of the first cities in South-eastern Europe. Massive walls surrounding a temple and a palace have been excavated. The oldest part of the fortress was constructed from large syenite blocks - the so called "cyclop construction".

Museums and protected sites

The St Louis Catholic Cathedral.

The Archaeological Museum was established in 1882 as a People's Museum of Eastern Rumelia. In 1928 the museum was moved to a 19th century edifice on Saedinenie Square built by the famous Plovdiv architect Josef Schnitter. The museum contains a rich collection of Thracian art. The three sections "Prehistory", "Antiquity" and "Middle Ages" contain precious artifacts from the Paleolithic to the early Ottoman period (15th-16th centuries). The famous Panagyurishte treasure is part of the museum's collection.

 Armenian Apostolic Church St. George (Kevork) in the Old Town

The Historical Museum of Plovdivwas founded in 1951 as a scientific and cultural institute for collecting, saving, and researching historical evidence about Plovdiv and the region from 16th to 20th centuries. The exhibition is situated in three buildings.

 From left to right: A view from the central square; the City hall; a fountain in the City garden; a church near the Post Office

The Regional Ethnographic Museum - Plovdiv was inaugurated in 1917. On 14 October 1943 it was moved to a house in the Old Town. In 1949 the Municipal House-museum was reorganized as a People's Ethnographic Museum and in 1962 it was renovated. There are more than 40,000 objects.

The Museum of Natural Science was inaugurated in 1955 in the old edifice of the Plovdiv Municipality built in 1880. It is among the most important museums in the country with rich collections in Paleontology, Mineralogy and Botanic sections. There are several rooms for wildlife and it contains Bulgaria's largest freshwater aquarium with 40 fish species. It has a collection of minerals from the Rhodope mountains.

The Trimontsium Hotel.

The Museum of Aviation was established on 21 September 1991 on the territory of the Krumovo airbase 12 km to the south-east of the city. The museum possesses 59 aircraft and both indoor and outdoor exhibitions.

The Old Town of Plovdiv is a historic preservation site known for its Bulgarian Renaissance architectural style. The Old Town covers the area of the three central hills (Трихълмие, Trihalmie) —Nebet Tepe, Dzhambaz Tepe and Taksim Tepe. Almost every house in the Old Town has its characteristic exterior and interior decoration.

 A preserved medieval street in the Old town.

Churches, mosques and temples

There are a number of 19th century churches, most of which follow the distinctive Eastern Orthodox construction style. Those are the Saint Constantine and Saint Helena, the Saint Marina, the Saint Nedelya, the Saint Petka and the Holy Mother of God Churches. There are also Roman Catholic Cathedrals in Plovdiv, the largest of them being the Cathedral of St Louis. There are several more modern Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and other Protestant churches, as well as older style Apostolic churches. Two mosques remain in Plovdiv from the time of the Ottoman rule. Of them the Djumaya Mosque, is considered the oldest European mosque outside Moorish Spain.

 The Roman Amphitheatre of Plovdiv

The Sephardic synagogue is located at Tsar Kaloyan Street 13, in the remnants of a small courtyard in what was once a large Jewish quarter. Dating to the 19th century, it is one of the best-preserved examples of the so-called "Ottoman-style" synagogues in the Balkans. According to author Ruth E. Gruber, the interior is a "hidden treasure…a glorious, if run-down, burst of color." An exquisite Venetian glass chandelier hangs from the center of the ceiling, which has a richly painted dome. All surfaces are covered in elaborate, Moorish-style, geometric designs in once-bright greens and blues. Torah scrolls are kept in the gilded Aron-ha-Kodesh.

 The Roman odeon.

Culture

Theatre and music

The Plovdiv Drama Theatre is a successor of the first professional theatre group in Bulgaria founded in 1881. The Plovdiv Puppet Theatre, founded in 1948, remains one of the leading institutions in this genre. The Plovdiv Opera was established in 1953.

 The remains of the Roman stadium

Another post of Plovdiv's culture is the Philharmonic, founded in 1945. Soloists such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yuri Boukov and Mincho Minchev have worked with the Plovdiv Philharmonic. The orchestra has toured in almost all of the European countries. The Trakiya Folklore Ensemble, founded in 1974, has performed thousands of concerts in Bulgaria and more than 42 countries. The Trakiya Traditional Choir was nominated for a Grammy Award. The Detska Kitka Choir is one of the oldest and best known youth choirs in Bulgaria, winner of numerous awards from international choral competitions. The Evmolpeya choir is another girls' choir from Plovdiv, whose patron when it was established in 2006 became the then mayor Ivan Chomakov. The choir was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador and a municipal choir.

 The Roman Aqueduct.

Literature

Plovdiv is among the nation's primary literary centres - in 1855 Hristo G. Danov created the first Bulgarian publishing company and later the first printing-press. The city's traditions as a literary centre are preserved by the first public library in Bulgaria, the Ivan Vazov National Library, by the 19 chitalishta (cultural centres) and by numerous booksellers and publishers. The library was founded in 1879 and named after the famous Bulgarian writer and poet Ivan Vazov who worked there for five years creating some of his best works. Today the Ivan Vazov National Library is the second largest national library institution with more than 1,5 million books, owning rare Bulgarian and European publications.

 The Ethnographic Museum.

Arts

The Art Gallery of PlovdivThe city has traditions in Iconography since the Middle Ages. During the Period of National Revival a number of notable icon-painters (called in Bulgarian zografi, зографи) from all regions of the country worked in Plovdiv - Dimitar Zograf and his son Zafir Zograf, Zahari Zograf, Georgi Danchov and others. After the Liberation the famous Bulgarian painter of Czech origin Ivan Mrkvička came to work in the city. The Painters' Society was established there by artists from Southern Bulgaria in 1912 whose members included the prominent painters Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, Sirak Skitnik, Tsanko Lavrenov.

 A performance in the Roman Odeon

Today the city has 30 art galleries. The Art Gallery of Plovdiv was founded in the late 19th century. It possesses 5,000 pieces of art in 4 separate buildings. Since 1981 it has a section for Mexican Art donated by Mexican painters in honour of the 1,300-year anniversary of the Bulgarian State.

The Art Gallery of Plovdiv

 

Notable citizens

²  Anjel Vagenstein, writer

²  Asen Kisimov, actor

²  Boris Christoff, basso

²  Dinko Dermendjiev, football player

²  Filibeli Hafız Ahmed Pasha, Ottoman Grand Vizier

²  George Ganchev, fencer, actor, writer, politician

²  Georgi Slavchev, pianist, composer

²  Hristo Danov, publisher

²  Hristo Stoichkov, football player, winner of the European Footballer of the Year award (1994)

²  Isaac Passy, Bulgarian philosopher

²  Jean Videnov, ex-prime minister of Bulgaria

²  Jordan Jovtchev, gymnast

²  Maria Petrova, three times World Champion in rhythmic gymnastics

²  Milcho Leviev, musician and composer

²  Milen Dobrev, weightlifter

²  Nayden Gerov, linguist, folklorer and writer

²  Nayden Todorov, conductor

²  Nikolay Argirov, Bear Wrestler, Radio DJ, School Teacher and part time President

²  Nikolay Buhalov, Olympic canoeing champion

²  Ognyana Petkova, Olympic canoeing bronze medalist

²  Nonka Matova, six-time Olympian and Olympic shooting silver medalist

²  Petar Stoyanov, ex-president of Bulgaria

²  The birthplace of Silvena Rowe, world-famous celebrity television chef and food writer

²  Solomon Passy, mathematician, activist and politician

²  Stefka Kostadinova, world record holder in the women's high jump

²  Tanya Gramatikova, photographic artist

²  Tzvetana Maneva, actress

²  Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgarian number 1 tennis player and World number 40

²  Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, painter

²  Irien Trendafilov, cartoonist

²  Georgi Ivanov, cosmonaut

²  Veneta Rangelova, pop singer and music pedagog(10.3.1957)

²  Blagovest and Svetoslav Argirov,[23.4.1959],pop singers and composers

²  Stoyan Zahariev, pop singer and composer

²  Toma Sprostranov, radio and TV journalist

²  Maria Neykova, pop singer and composer{b.21.12.1941-1.8.2002}

²  Hristo Kidikov, pop singer (b.16.10.1946)

²  Apostolos Nikolaidis (1896–1980), athlete

²  Christos Tsigiridis (1877–1947) electrical engineer and technological pioneer

 A new shopping center in the Trakiya District

 Plovdiv Central railway station.

 Plovdiv Airport.

 A view from the City garden.

 Old Plovdiv.

 Church of Saint Nedelya

 The Plovdiv Antique theater

 The Virgin Mary Church

 Roman Amphiteater and The Academy of music,art and dance

 Kapana District in Plovdiv

 A view of Plovdiv

 A new business centre in Plovdiv

 Statue of the medieval Bulgarian Khan Krum in Plovdiv

 Saints Cyril and Methodius Church

 Protestant church

 Protestant church

 Plovdiv Cuma Mosque

A building in the centre

 Old town

 A view towards the north of Plovdiv

 Panoramic view.

 A view of Plovdiv with Balkan mountain in the background

 St. Cyril and Methodius Plovdiv seminary

 The old Plovdiv

 Chifte" bath

 The old Plovdiv



Houses in the old town of Plovdiv

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Write by: AN - Thursday, September 25, 2014