Cultural tourism in Plovdiv

published on 11/23/09 2:59 PM

Photo: Aneliya Tsonkova

The City of Plovdiv, the second-largest in Bulgaria, is a most adequate choice for a starting point of cultural tourism in this country. Plovdiv people proudly call it an ancient and eternal city, Bulgaria’s cultural capital.

The most famous place to visit there is the Old Town. Foreign visitor groups are a familiar sight in the tiny cobbled streets of the Ancient Plovdiv Architecture Reserve. They walk about camera in hand taking pictures of lovely houses and having a glimpse at small antique shops and galleries.

What was life like in the Old Town many years ago? More insights from Mrs Rumyana Stoeva-Titeryakova from the Association of Tourist Guides in Bulgaria.

“Plovdiv architecture is stunning. The house exteriors are painted in different bright colors. Houses are beautiful, but more importantly they were quite comfortable for living. Most of them built in the second half of 19 c., would display the wealth of their owners that had to go with quite a bit of refined aesthetic taste. The Old Town was the place to live and enjoy. The workshops of craftsmen and the shopping district were elsewhere, in the Kapan Neighborhood. Unfortunately, the old workshops were totally destroyed in a big 1906 fire.”

Mrs Stoeva explains that Ancient Plovdiv has provided the setting for many Bulgarian and international film productions. It has more than 250 houses that keep their original interiors and exteriors. Some of them have been turned into museums and galleries, others are used for various events and theater shows. Here is more from Mrs Stoeva about another must-see in Plovdiv.

“Trakart Gallery was built over the surviving foundations of a Roman era house. Visitors walk along its ancient passages while looking at displayed works of art. This place is often the venue of seminars and film screenings. It is a museum of mosaic art of sorts as well. Everything around is authentic.”

Plovdiv is widely known as the city of festivals. Mrs Stoeva says more about some of them.

“The festival that attracts numerous foreign guests is the Verdi Nights festival of opera art. It is held in June. Verdi music is performed at Plovdiv’s Roman Theater. The Roman Theater is a well preserved facility dated to the late 1st, early 2nd c. AD. It was conserved in the 1980s and its acoustics are amazing. No wonder that the theater is the venue of many theater and operatic shows. It is also the venue of an international folklore festival. Philipopolis Film Nights is another important cultural event in Plovdiv. Ancient Plovdiv has its own festival held in September. For a third consecutive time this year we held the Night of Museums and Galleries. Plovdiv has 30 private galleries.”

For Rumyana Stoeva-Titeryakova Plovdiv is a mesmeric city – not only with its ancient places, but with its modern ones too. It has a few famous jazz clubs. In fact, Plovdiv is the birthplace of Bulgaria’s first jazz quartet White, Green & Red. The city has a dozen hotels in beautiful old buildings, and many modern ones that accommodate thousands of visitors during the annual technological fair, Bulgaria’s oldest one – ever since 1892. Most of the tourists, who have been to Plovdiv, return fascinated by the incredible atmosphere of this ancient and eternal city.

English version: Daniela Konstantinova

По публикацията работи: Lina Ivanova

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Cultural tourism in Plovdiv

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