Plovdiv (Bulgarian: Пловдив, pronounced[ˈpɫɔvdif] is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, 93 miles southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 371,536 as of 2024 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub in Bulgaria and was the European Capital of Culture in 1999 and 2019. The city is an important economic, transport, cultural, and educational centre. Plovdiv joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016.
Hisarya is a small town and a major spa resort in Plovdiv Province, central Bulgaria. The town is located at the southern foothills of the Sredna Gora mountain range facing the Upper Thracian Plain.
The Roman theatre of Philippopolis is one of the world's best-preserved ancient Roman theatres, located in the city center of modern Plovdiv, Bulgaria, once the ancient city of Philippopolis. It was constructed in the 1st century AD, probably during the reign of Domitian. The theatre can host between 5,000 and 7,000 spectators and it is currently in use.
The Stadiumof Philippopolis was the ancient Roman stadium of Philippopolis, built in the 2nd century AD, during the Roman imperial period. It is among the largest and best preserved buildings from the time of the Roman Empire in the Balkan peninsula. At the time the stadium was built, Philippopolis was the capital of the Roman province of Thracia.
The city of Plovdiv is situated in southern Bulgaria. During its long history it has been conquered by numerous peoples: Thracians, Macedon, Romans, Byzantines, Bulgarians, Ottoman Turks which contributed to the city's various historical heritage.
The Odeon of Philippopolis was the house of the city council of citizens of ancient Plovdiv.
Kamen Petkov was a Bulgarian architect based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
The Church of the Holy Mother of God, full name Cathedral Church of the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God is a Bulgarian National Revival church in Bulgaria's second largest city Plovdiv. The church is situated in the Old town of Plovdiv on one of the city's seven hills, Nebet Tepe.
The Plovdiv Regional Ethnographic Museum is a museum of ethnography in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Since 1938, it has occupied the 1847 house of the merchant, Argir Kuyumdzhioglu, in the city's Old Town. The museum features six exhibitions, each occupying a separate room.
Odeon or Odeum is the name for several ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for musical activities such as singing, musical shows, and poetry competitions. Odeons were smaller than Greek and Roman theatres.
Hristo Gruev Danov was a Bulgarian enlightener, teacher and book publisher of the Bulgarian National Revival who is regarded as the father of organized book publishing in the Bulgarian lands and hailed as the "Bulgarian Gutenberg". After the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, he was also a politician and mayor of Plovdiv.
The Plovdiv Synagogue, officially the Zion Plovdiv Synagogue, is a Romaniote Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Built in 1892, the synagogue is one of the two active remaining synagogues in Bulgaria. The congregation worships in the Sephardi rite.
The Small Basilica of Philippopolis is one of Plovdiv's most distinctive landmarks. The basilica is located on Maria Louisa Blvd in the central part of Bulgaria's second-largest city. The ruins of the early Christian church were found during construction works in the area in 1988. The three-nave basilica is an example of the exceptional skill of mosaic builders in ancient Philippopolis.
Philippopolis is one of the names of the ancient city situated where Plovdiv is today. The city became one of the largest and most important in the region and was called "the largest and most beautiful of all cities" by Lucian. During most of its recorded history, the city was known by the name Philippopolis after Philip II of Macedon. Philippopolis became part of the Roman empire and capital of the Roman province of Thracia. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Philippopolis had a population of 100,000 in the Roman period.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
The Roman forum of Philippopolis is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several ancient administrative buildings at the center of the ancient city of Philippopolis. It was the center of public, administrative, commercial and religious life in the ancient city. Meetings, discussions, celebrations and state events were held there.
Nebet Tepe is one of the hills of Plovdiv where the ancient town was founded. The earliest settlements on Nebet Tepe are dated back to 4000 BC. The site was first settled by Thracians, later expanded by Philip II of Macedon and the Roman Empire. As the town expanded, Nebet Tepe became the citadel of the town's acropolis. There are remains of the city's walls, towers, and a postern from the time of Justinian leading down to the Maritsa river. Today, the archaeological complex on the hill is one of the most popular tourist sights in Plovdiv and a cultural monument of national significance.
Hisar Kapia is a medieval gate in Plovdiv's old town and one of the most famous tourist sights in the city. The gate was built in the 11th century AD over the foundations of a gate from Roman times. Hisar Kapia is one of the three entrances to the acropolis of ancient Plovdiv. During the rule of the Ottoman empire revival houses were embedded in the remains of the old stone walls around the gate.
The House of Eirene is an ancient Roman peristyle house with lavish mosaic floors in Philippopolis, built in the middle of the 3rd century AD in the provincial capital of Thracia. It is named after the image of the Greek goddess Eirene, depicted in the central mosaic.
The Eastern gate of Philippopolis is one of the three entrances of the ancient city that have been discovered in Plovdiv. The gate was built on the main road to Byzantium and the Bosphorus. Initially constructed in the 2nd century AD during the reign of Hadrian, the gate and the complex around it were completely rebuilt in the 4th century, and partially repaired in the 5th century. The Eastern gate was discovered in the 1970s.
