Plovdiv

Plovdiv, known in ancient times as Philippoupolis, is situated at the geometric center of Bulgaria. After the liberation in 1878, there was debate as to whether it should become the capital of Bulgaria. Sofia won by only one vote. This probably proved for the better, since today Plovdiv has kept a huge inventory of its cultural heritage untouched by the communists, even though the road tunnel under the main square has cut through the ancient Roman forum. In comparison, the fate of Sofia was very different. Because it became a capital during WWII, the bombings destroyed almost all of the ancient buildings and the communists did not rebuild or renovate any of them. For that reason, the landscape of the old town of Sofia was very much altered. Thankfully, Plovdiv is almost untouched by time, since only a few key buildings have been demolished.The cultural heritage of Plovdiv consists of a unique combination and co-existence of different cultural layers – Thracian, antiquity, Ottoman, Renaissance, separation and communism.

The landscape is also very interesting. Plovdiv is famous for its seven hills, also called Tepeta. One was demolished during the socialist rule and the rocks were used to construct the streets of the city. But this was not the first major intervention in the natural landscape, for it is a known fact that there was yet another one, the eighth hill, which the Romans demolished to use for their roads. The name of that hill is today the name of the most famous Plovdiv beer, Kamenitza. As a matter of fact, the Kamenitza factory stands today in the same area as the hill used to stand in the past.