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The Eternal City, as Rome is conventionally cal-
led, is much younger than Plovdiv. So are Athens,
Carthage and Constantinople. A contemporary of
Troy, Plovdiv is a city upon layers of cities and an
epoch upon layers of epoch. Plovdiv is all is one: a Thracian and a
classical Greek polis, the pride of Philip II of Macedonia ( that is
The Roman amphitheatre |
where the old name of
the town Philipopolis
comes from ), the ca-
pital of Thrace under
the Roman Empire, a
center of Byzantinism
a stronghold of the
Bulgarians, a dream
of the crusaders, one
of the prettiest cities
of the Otoman Empi-
re, Bulgaria’s first ca-
pital after the Libera-
tion.
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Monasteries
Treasures
Thracian tombs
World's oldest gold
The Madara horseman
Old Bulgarian Capitals
l Old Plovdiv
Koprivshtitza
Veliko Turnovo
Melnik
Etara
Kovachevica
Old fortresses
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The house of Kuiumdjiuglu |
Situated on three hills in the Thracian Plain, encircled by
the slow running waters of the Maritza river, Bulgaria's second
largest city today, Plovdiv has a 24 centuries long history and
is one of the ancient crossroads between East and West.
Landmarks remaining from Roman times include the Philip-
popolis Amphitheatre and the restored 2nd century Antique
Theatre. The marble-tiled Forum, the Ethnogrphic museum,
the art galleries, churches and the street of folk arts and
crafts are major landmarks of Old Plovdid.
The Old Plovdiv on Trimontzium hill is famous fot its National
Revival architecture (from 18th-19th c.). Many of the houses
are now museums: the Ethnographic Museum, the Museum
of the National Revival and the National Liberation struggles,
the Alphonse de Lamartine museum house.
The Sts. Constantine and Helena Church, completed in
1832, contains murals painted by the best known Zahari
Zograph, in 1836, while the St. Marina Church (1852 - 53)
has a beautifully carved iconostasis.
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The house of Georgiadi |
There are many more
things to see in Plovdiv:
the permanent exhibition
of the famous Bulgarian
artist Zlatyu Boyadjiev
(1903 - 1976) who loved
to paint Plovdiv; the work-
shops of the old masters
of Bulgarian arts and crafts
on Strumna Street - cop-
persmiths, leather workers,
potters, etc. |
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