ABOUT PLOVDIV

Plovdiv is  a city that you should visit at least one in life time.City with age-old history who protect his cultural fortune till now end the fifth oldest town in the world.
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria.Located in west part of Uper Thracian lowland on the both shores of Maritza river. It is 15 km north from Rodopi mountain and 50 km south from Balkan mountain range.The city has historically developed on seven syenite hills that’s why it is called “City under hills”.Plovdiv is a famous place for a wine tourism.There is a Wine route in Plovdiv region.
Plovdiv is cultural center  and there are a lot of international events: International Fair,International theater festival of “Crossroad scene”TV festival “Golden coffer,also a lot of  landmarks like ancient theatre,the Roman odeon,Agora,The Roman stadium ,late antique building Eirene,the small basilic.
Plovdiv is the Bulgarian city chosen for European capital of culture for 2019.
Municipality of Plovdiv create some info centers for the guest of the town,to learn more about our culture and nature.
The Ancient  theatre  is probably the best-known monument from antiquity in Bulgaria .It was build in the beginning of  the second  century during the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan .It is situated in the natural saddle  between two of the Three Hills and it is one of the best reserved ancient theatre in the world. Declared for an  archaeological monument. Reconstruction of   Romanian theatre is admitted to one of the best  achievements of Bulgarian restoration school.The theatre is one of Plovdiv’s culture mark and it is still functional stage of drama,dances and musical performances.The  capacity of the theatre is around 4000-5000 people.Also there is a couple of stored wall scripts on greek language .It  is highly possible before theatre on this  place was a temple of the Thracian goddess Bendida.At the end of 4th century the most of the theatre was  destroyed by fire or earthquake but thanks to the restoration crew the structure is at this shape.The revelation of the theatre is during  the archaeological excavation in 1968-1979 made by Archaeological Museum of Plovdiv.

The Ancient Stadium is the most important monument of the ancient city. The antique stadium in Plovdiv is situated on Dzhumaya Square, which separates the pedestrian part of the center into two parts – Knyaz Alexander I Str. and Rayko Daskalov Str. The stadium is situated under the street level, as its entrance is situated below the main street Knyaz Alexander I.
It was built according to the model of the Delphi Stadium – only 12 of this kind are preserved in the world. It is approximately 200 meters long; only its northern part and a part of the fortified wall from the 2nd – 4th century have been exposed. Sports contests were conducted here in the past, as well as gladiator fights and animal fights – the renowned Pitian, Alexandrian and Kendresian games. Remains were found of a hydraulic clock at its central entrance. A memorial plate tells about the passing of the Olympic Fire on its way from Athens to Moscow in 1980. The place was receiving about 30,000 viewers in antiquity.
Presently, the Roman Stadium is being renovated according to the project entitled The Antique Stadium of Philipopolis – Preservation, Rehabilitation and City Renovation. It is implemented by the County Administration of Plovdiv, with the assistance of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area.
The region around the Roman Stadium is exceptionally attractive for the guests of Plovdiv. On the small square, local artists and people of art present their works – sculptures, paintings, jewelry, souvenirs, etc.
Regional Museum of Ethnography
The Plovdiv Regional Museum of Ethnography is the second largest museum of its kind in Bulgaria. It was founded in 1917, and in 1938 it relocated to the Kuyumdzhiev House in Plovdiv’s Old Town, declared a cultural landmark in the 4th volume of the State Records for 1995.
The wealth of items on exhibit represent the traditional culture of Thrace, the Rhodopes, and The Central Balkan Mountains during the Bulgarian Awakening (18th-19th centuries). The permanent exhibit of agriculture and animal husbandry demonstrate the foundational importance of these activities for the region’s population. Some of the period’s most characteristic traditional crafts on display here are the production of woolen clothing and multi-colored woolen embroidery, pottery, copper work, and wrought ironwork. The museum also displays a representative range of the goldsmith’s art. There are exhibits of decorative plates and church salvers, traditional folk costumes, fabrics, and rugs, musical instruments and ritual objects. Typical interiors are on view from the city of Koprivshtitsa, from the Rhodopes, and from the city of Plovdiv, to convey a sense of the region’s habits and customs.
 
OLD TOWN
Ancient Plovdiv Architectural Reserve is a well-preserved complex where on a relatively small area visitors can take walks through different historical ages, see ancient buildings adapted to the modern way of life and feel the spirit of the town from the Bulgarian Revival Period.
The Old Town, as the complex is known, lies on a natural elevation – the three hills (the closely situated Dzhambaz Hill, Nebet Hill, and Taksim Hill). Many peoples have inhabited this place through the centuries. And all of them have left traces of their cultures and also the different names they gave to the town. Plovdiv is one of the oldest towns in Europe – it dates back to 4000 years BC. During Antiquity the Thracians came to the hill and set up a fortified settlement that was conquered by Philip of Macedon in the 2nd century BC. He gave one of the many names of the town - Philipopolis, and surrounded it with thick fortification walls. Later the Thracians regained control over the town, but after a series of battles they lost it to the Romans in the 1st century. A fortress from Thracian times is preserved on the very summit of Nebet Hill.
 
Small Basilica 
During the construction of an apartment block in Plovdiv in 1988, the ruins of an early Christian church from the middle of the 5th-the end of the 6th centuries were accidentally discovered. The floor of the church was covered with geometrical mosaics. A cross-shaped baptismal pool made of marble and decorated with fine mosaics depicting a stag and doves was discovered in the baptistery.

The fine mosaics of the Small Basilica were subject to emergency conservation soon thereafter. In 1993-1994, a National Monuments of Culture Institute team removed and put in storage about half of the mosaics, leaving and conserving the rest in situ.

In 1995, the Small Basilica and the adjacent section of the fortification wall were declared a monument of culture of national significance. 
 
Plovdiv is a city with long history and a lot of monuments .You can visit the web site www.visitplovdiv.com for all that information.