620 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp636–8 and pp639–41
Plovdiv 8
Пловдив
Situated along the two banks of the Maritsa river,
Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second largest city after
Sofia. Settled as early as the 7th mil lennium
BC, the city was held by the Romans
between the 1st and 4th centuries. It rose
to econo mic power in the 14th cen tury
under the Ottomans, becoming a centre
of the Bulgarian National Revival in the
19th century when wealthy citizens built
orna mented houses. In 1885, Plovdiv
became part of Bulgaria. Today, it is a
plea sant city, with a pedestri anized cen tre,
mosques, churches, Roman ruins and
National Revival mansions. An archi-
tec tural reserve, the Old Town consists
of steep cobbled streets lined with
museum-houses and galleries all the way up to Nebet
Hill, from where there are stunning views over the city.
R Church of Sveta Marina
ul. Dr Vulkovich 7.
The present church was built
in 1783 on the site of a 16th-
century church. It is renowned
for its iconostasis, which is
deco rated with tiny figures
painted by various artists
includ ing Zahari Zograf.
T Roman Stadium
pl. Dzhumaya.
Crumbling marble terraces and
columns, oddly incorpo rat ed
into the concrete foun dat ions
of modern Plovdiv, are almost
all that remains of the city’s
once huge Roman stadium.
Built in the 2nd century AD, it
could seat 30,000 spectators.
Statue in the
Roman StadiumP Hristo Danov House
ul. Mitropolit Paisii. # 9am–noon,
2–5pm Mon–Fri. &
Built on Taxim Hill (Taxim
Tepe) and approached up
steep steps, Hristo Danov
House overlooks Plovdiv. Its
arched gable is supported by
four col umns, and trompe-
l’oeil pillars adorn the façade.
The symmet rical interior lay-
out is typical of National
Revival archi tecture. Hristo
Danov, foun der of organized
book publish ing in Bulgaria,
lived here from 1868 until
his death in 1911.T Roman Theatre
ul. Hemus. # 9am–6pm daily. &
This impressive amphitheatre,
set in the hillside overlooking
the city and the Rhodope
The well-preserved Roman Theatre, still used for performances
E State Gallery of Fine Arts
ul. Sûborna 14a. # 9am–5:30pm
Mon–Fri, 10am–5:30pm Sat & Sun.
& Thu (free entrance).
This gallery has a vast
collection of 19th- and 20th-
century Bulgarian paintings.
Solemn 19th-cen tury portraits
hang alongside idyllic pastoral
scenes and some vibrant
works by Vladimir Dimitrov-
Maistor. Large, bold canvases
on the second floor represent
more recent Bulgarian
painting. Among the works
here is The Fire (1977) by
Svetlin Rusev, in which a
figure walks away from a
furnace carrying a glowing
ember into the darkness.P Hipokrat Pharmacy
ul. Sûborna. # 10am–5pm Mon–Fri.
The fascinating Hipokrat
Pharmacy has been preserved
virtually as it was when it was
a working pharmacy. It is
lined with wooden drawers
and contains bottles and jars
neatly labelled in Latin.The State Gallery of Fine Arts, in an
imposing Neo-Classical buildingR Church of Sveta
Bogoroditsa
ul. Metropolit Paisii. # 7:30am–
6:30pm daily. 5
The imposing Church of
Sveta Bogoroditsa has a
distinctive pink and blue
bell tower which was added
with Russian assistance in
1880, after the Liberation.
Its murals echo the mood of
the late 19th century. They
depict Bulgarian Orthodox
saints alongside leaders of
the Liberation movement.Mountains beyond, was
dis covered during construc-
tion work in 1972. It was
built in the 2nd century
AD, when Roman Plovdiv
(Trimontium) was at its
height, and formed part of
the acropolis. Today, the
theatre is used for plays
and concerts.