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Plovdiv
Plovdiv, the City
on Seven Hills, is situated beautifully on the two banks of the
Maritsa river, 130 km southeast of the capital Sofia. It the second
largest city in Bulgaria with a population of 350,000. It is also
one of the biggest transport junctions in the country and on the
Balkans. The international road E 80 –
Belgrade-Sofia-Plovdiv-Istanbul runs close to the town. Plovdiv is
within thirty minutes drive from three different mountain ranges and
just 2.5 hours from the seaside. Plovdiv International Airport
operates national and international flights. The climate is mild
with Mediteranean influence, with hot summers and mild winters.
Plovdiv’s unique location on the ancient crossroads has stimulated
strong cultural and political influences from East and West
civilizations, and yet maintained its unique cultural identity.
Being older than most of the oldest towns like Rome, Athens,
Carthage or Constantinople, almost a contemporary of Troy, Plovdiv
is a town built upon layers of towns and a culture developed upon
layers of cultures
Remains of ancient,
mediaeval, revival and modern culture coexist to make Plovdiv a
synonym of Bulgarian history and a genuine world city. The Ancient
Theatre, the most impressive edifice of Roman time, was excavated
during reinforcement works at the southern fortress wall. It offered
almost 7 000 seats once. Nowadays it is used for staging opera and
theatre festivals, concerts, municipal celebrations, etc |
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Spread over
three of the hills, the Renaissance town of Old Plovdiv was
built during the 19th century. Old Plovdiv is an autonomous area
within the modern town with a municipality of its own. It is
declared an architectural museum reserve with over 150 monuments
of culture - houses from the National Revival period. Walking
around Old Plovdiv, visitors enjoy the steep, cobbled streets
and lanes with bow-windows and eaves above them. Its magnificent
houses are turned into museums, galleries, workshops,
restaurants, and pubs. But Plovdiv is not just a city rich in
cultural monuments and traditions – it is also a modern, vibrant
urban centre. Shopping opportunities are abundant with the
biggest crowds taking the wide pedestrian shopping street in the
city's center. |
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Plovdiv is
famous for the prestigious International Plovdiv Fair, the
largest in Southeast Europe. Its pavilions expect exhibitioners
and guests from all over the World between May 6-11 and
September 23-28. The Fairground is the largest exhibition site
in the Balkan region. It is situated on area of 360,000 sq. m.
The exhibition complex consists of 24 multifunctional pavilions
best equipped for the arrangement and display of all kinds of
exhibits. The exhibition area amounts to 95,000 sq. m., the
indoor area is 60,000 sq. m. The Fair attracts enormous interest
– in 2003 over 7,000 companies from all over the world
participated as exhibitors.The mixture of ancient history and
heritage, and modern infrastructure and lifestyle makes Plovdiv
a place where the visitor can sample virtually all facets of
life and culture not just of Bulgaria, but also of the Balkan
region. |
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