Sights in Plovdiv
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Roman Amphitheatre
Plovdiv’s magnificent 2nd-century AD Roman Amphitheatre, built by Emperor Trajan was, incredibly enough, only uncovered during a freak landslide in 1972. At its peak, the structure held about 6000 spectators. Now largely restored, it once again hosts large-scale special events and concerts. Visitors can admire the amphitheatre from several lookouts along ul Hemus, or from the cafés situated above. There’s an unsigned shortcut from above the Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa along ul T Samodomov; enter through the passageway into the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts on the right-hand side. Alternatively, you can pay the entrance fee and explore the marble seats and stage.…
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Ethnographical Museum
Plovdiv’s fascinating Ethnographical Museum houses some 40,000 exhibits, including folk costumes and musical instruments, jewellery and examples of traditional crafts such as weaving, metalworking, winemaking and beekeeping. Traditional tools ranging from grape-crushers and wine-measures to apparatuses used for distilling attar of roses are also displayed. Upstairs, the restored 19th-century rooms have nice touches such as carved wooden ceilings. The most renowned Bulgarian National Revival–period home in Plovdiv, it was built in 1847 and owned by the eminent Agir Koyoumdjioglou, later becoming a girls’ boarding school and a tobacco and flour warehouse.
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Hindlian House
Once owned by merchant Stepan Hindlian, Hindlian House, built in 1835, is one of Plovdiv’s most opulent. It’s full of exquisite period furniture and walls painted with real and imaginary landscapes of Venice, Alexandria and Constantinople. These scenes, which took six months to complete, impressed visitors by showing the locales of the owner’s overseas trading empire. The magnificent panelled ceilings and ‘Oriental style’ marble bathroom, with its high, domed ceiling and skylight are other highlights. The small courtyard garden is lovely, too.
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Ruins of Eumolpias
Some 203m high in the old town, a hill contains sparse ruins of Eumolpias, a Thracian settlement from about 5000 BC. The fortress and surrounding town enjoyed a strategic position, and it was later bolstered by Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Bulgarians and Turks, who named it Nebet Tepe (Prayer Hill). While the remaining rubble is rather formless, the site does offer great views. The hill is best reached from ul Dr Chomakov (the continuation of ul Sâborna).
Partially restored remains of a 13th-century reservoir are also here.
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Church of Sveti Konstantin & Elena
The Church of Sveti Konstantin & Elena, Plovdiv’s oldest, was built over a late Roman church. It’s dedicated to Constantine the Great, the 4th-century emperor who made Orthodox Christianity the state religion, and his mother, Sveta Helena. The current church, however, dates mostly to 1832. The wonderful iconostasis was painted by Zahari Zograf between 1836 and 1840, and the covered portico features sumptuous frescoes.
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Roman Stadium
The once huge Roman Stadium is mostly hidden under the pedestrian mall and buildings; alas, a visionary plan to reconstruct the street with a glass walkway and so reveal the whole structure, remains unrealised. For now, 12 rows of the northern section have been restored, and are visible from the street. Above the ruins, a modern bronze statue of the city's founder - the 4th-century BC king of Macedon, Philip II - stands on a column.
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Atanas Krastev House
The Atanas Krastev House was where local painter and conservationist Atanas Krastev lived until his death in 2003. His self-portraits and personal collection of (mostly) abstract 20th-century Bulgarian paintings are displayed. The cosy, well-furnished house is strewn with personal mementoes, and the terrace offers superb views. The garden also houses exhibits. Buy paintings by living legend Dimitar Kirov here.
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Dzhumaya Mosque
The Dzhumaya Mosque, currently undergoing heavy renovation, is one of the Balkans’ oldest, dating from the mid-15th century. This enormous structure with a 23m minaret was the largest of Plovdiv’s more than 50 Ottoman-era mosques. Another Ottoman structure, the Imaret Mosque is open; note the unusual minaret. It’s between the Hotel Elit and the river.
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Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa
The huge, three-aisle Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa stands atop a grand series of stone stairs at the old town’s base. With its unmistakable pink and blue belltower, this church (built in 1844 on the site of a 9th-century shrine) contains icons and murals, including one depicting a sword-wielding Turkish soldier harassing chained and lamenting Bulgarian peasants.
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Philipopolis Art Gallery
The Philipopolis Art Gallery is Bulgaria’s first private art gallery and occupies the well-restored Hadzhi Aleko house (1865). It boasts works by 19th- and 20th-century Bulgarian Masters such as Vladimir Dimitrov, Anton Mitov and Dimitar Gyudzhenov. Hospitable owner Stefan Maletzov happily provides background information and encourages you to take photos.
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Danov House
The Danov House, dedicated to renowned writer and publisher Hristo Danov and several other Bulgarian authors, contains a re-creation of a bookshop and a National Revival–era classroom. There’s an old printing press, and the gardens offer wonderful views. Enter through a wall up the laneway leading to the Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa.
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Night of the Galleries
Plovdiv's large and thriving artistic community continues creating and sustaining the city's many galleries - already bursting with the fruits of 200 years of Bulgarian painting. On 28 September each year, the magical Night of the Galleries sees every Plovdiv gallery open, for free, from 20:00 to 03:00.
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Lamartine House
Built in 1830, the elegant Lamartine House, also called the Georgi Mavridi House, belongs to the Union of Bulgarian Writers. The building is named after the French poet, Alphonse de Lamartine, who stayed for three days in 1833, during his ‘travels in the Orient’.
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Archaeological Museum
Due to reopen in 2008, the Archaeological Museum displays Thracian and Roman pottery and jewellery, and ecclesiastical artefacts, icons and liturgical paraphernalia. Hopefully the museum will exhibit its collection of 60,000 archaeological items upon reopening.
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State Gallery of Fine Arts
The State Gallery of Fine Arts, occupying a mansion from 1846, contains outstanding works by 19th- and 20th-centuryMasters such as Goshka Datsov, Konstantin Velichkov and Nikolai Rainov. Look out also for Georgi Mashev and Master Vladimir Dimitrov’s works.
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Wine From Bulgaria Museum & Oenology Collection
In the Hindlian House cellar, the so-called Wine from Bulgaria Museum & Oenology Collection conducts wine tastings (10 lv per person for three wines). A braver endeavour, the full tasting of 10 wines, costs 40 lv. Specialist courses are also offered.
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Cultural Center Thrakart
Visible through floor-to-ceiling windows in the Tsar Obedinitel underpass, Cultural Center Thrakart contains extensive Roman floor mosaics and various artefacts from Roman (and earlier) times. Concerts are performed on the centre’s small stage.
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Historical Museum
The Historical Museum, also called the Museum of Revival & The National Liberation, concentrates on the 1876 April Uprising and the Batak massacre. Built in 1848 by Dimitâr Georgiadi, it’s also called the Georgiadi Kâshta.
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Sveta Marina Church
Originally built in 1561, Sveta Marina Church was burnt down 50 years later, rebuilt in 1783, and repaired in 1856. See the 17m-high pagoda-shaped wooden bell tower (1870), and the intricate, 170-year-old iconostasis.
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Nedkovich House
The Nedkovich House, dating from 1863, has a lovely, leafy courtyard that sometimes hosts art shows, but alas, the house is poorly lit inside. The highlights are the ornate wood ceiling and flowery wall paintings.
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Balabanov House
Once owned by Luka Balabanov, a wealthy 19th-century merchant, the Balabanov House was completely rebuilt in 1980 according to the original blueprints. It contains modern paintings and gorgeous antique furniture.
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Roman Odeon
Adjacent to the tourist information centre, the remains of a Roman Odeon have been partially restored. There's a tiny, reconstructed amphitheatre and some original columns. It's used for occasional performances.
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Zlatyu Boyadjiev House
Zlatyu Boyadjiev House, opposite Hikers Hostel in the old town, contains paintings by Plovdiv native Zlatyu Boyadjiev (1903–76), many idealising the Bulgarian peasantry; some cover entire walls.
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Sveta Nedelya Church
The grand, reopened Sveta Nedelya Church, built in 1578 and renovated in the 1830s, contains exquisite, carved walnut iconostases and now faded wall murals from the mid-1800s.
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Museum of History
Housed within the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of History chronicles the 1885 Unification of Bulgaria through documents, photographs and belongings of the protagonists.
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