Plovdiv
The first to build the city of Plovdiv was Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, who conquered ancient Thrace and brought Hellenic culture to the region. He named the city after himself—Philipopolis. During the Roman period, Plovdiv became the capital of the province of Thrace and was declared a metropolis, with its own senate and parliament. Via Militaris, the main military road of the Balkans, passed through it, and the city developed and grew. The Roman city had a theater, an amphitheater, a hippodrome for 30,000 people, baths, public buildings, a water and sewage system, temples, and—once the Romans became Christian—churches as well. Over the years, its name changed to Trimontium (“City of the Three Hills”), named after the city’s three central hills, which form a kind of energetic triangle, with the Thracian citadel being one of its vertices.
The impressive Roman theater that still exists today was probably built during the time of Emperor Trajan (early 2nd century AD) and could seat 7,000 people. The hippodrome is similar in structure to that of Delphi, and there are only 12 like it in the world. The forum, near Tsentralen Square, was built during the reign of Emperor Vespasian (1st century AD) and includes a library, a coin mint, and an odeon. Other parts of the city (including the wall) were built by Emperor Marcus Aurelius (2nd century AD). In the 3rd century, the city was burned by the Goths, recovered, but was destroyed again by the Huns in the 5th century.
The Slavs arrived in the 7th century. They called the place Paldin, from which the name Plovdiv later evolved. With the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire, it became a border area between the Bulgarians and the Byzantines. To protect their borders, the Byzantines settled Armenians in Plovdiv in the 10th century—Armenians associated with the Paulician heresy. They brought with them Christian Gnosticism, making Plovdiv one of the most important centers of the Bogomils in later years. To balance their influence, the Byzantines brought monks from Georgia and established the monastery in nearby Bachkovo.
During the Second Bulgarian Empire, the city was at the center of struggles between the Bulgarians and the Byzantines and changed hands several times. The Ottomans conquered the city at the end of the 14th century and rebuilt it. They constructed one of the first mosques in the Balkans—Dzhumaya Mosque, which still exists today. Plovdiv became a Jewish and Muslim center with Tekkes of Sufi orders. On the central hill, a traditional building and sema hall still stand, once used by the whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order. The Ottomans called the city Filibe. Much of late Ottoman Plovdiv is preserved; it sits atop the Roman-Hellenic city of Philippopolis.
In the 18th century, there were attempts to subordinate the Bulgarian Church to the Greek Church, and the use of the Bulgarian language in prayer was forbidden. In the 19th century, following Greece’s independence and the reforms of the Ottoman Tanzimat, a process began to separate Bulgarian Christians from the authority of the Greek Patriarchy. This culminated in 1870 with the re-establishment of the independent Bulgarian Church in Plovdiv, which was the most important city in Bulgaria at the time. In 1858, the Christmas liturgy was celebrated for the first time in the Bulgarian language at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Plovdiv.
Plovdiv was also the center of Bulgaria’s cultural, national, and economic revival in the 19th century and was the largest city in the country, with a population of 33,000. The first Bulgarian school was opened here, and the first celebrations honoring Cyril and Methodius took place. The first exhibition of icons and paintings was held here, and the first Bulgarian books were printed. The first Bulgarian theater and the first beer distillery were also established in Plovdiv—both in 1881.
At the end of the 19th century, Plovdiv was liberated by the Russians. In 1881, a statue of Tsar Nicholas was erected on Bunardzhik Hill, now located in the heart of a city park. At the top of this hill, members of the White Brotherhood meet every morning to perform the Paneurhythmic dance at sunrise. Their teacher, Peter Dunov, designated this hill as a sacred place.
The ancient part of the city dates from the Ottoman period and contains many museums, including the Museum of the Revival, located in a peach-colored house near one of the old city gates. It features a display of life in the city during this period, including a Jewish section. The Ethnographic Museum of Plovdiv, located in a historic house on the old town’s main street, is considered one of the most beautiful and important in Bulgaria. It showcases the folklore and culture of Thrace, the Rhodope, and the Balkans in the mid-19th century—arts and crafts, paintings, silver-smithing, wood and metalwork, carpets, and textiles.
Plovdiv today is a center of industry, high-tech, and culture. It is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, with a population of around half a million. It has many interesting sites, cultural institutions, galleries, a bustling pedestrian street, performances, and was even chosen as the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2018. The best way to get to know Plovdiv is to wander the pedestrian streets and alleys of the old town and enjoy the galleries, cafés, and museums. The Roman hippodrome is now beneath the city’s main shopping promenade, but its northern end is exposed and includes a small museum and audiovisual display, including a film about the Roman city. For more on Plovdiv’s archaeological sites, see the Ancient Bulgaria route section.
