Plovdiv Photo Gallery

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Plovdiv, on the banks of the Maritsa River, rises from the Thracian plains.

view of the new city from Nebet Tepe

Excavations on the Nebet Tepe hill, the northern hill of the three hills in the Old Town area, show a Thracian settlement existed here from around the 12th century BCE.

Nebet Tepe archeological site

In 341 BCE Philip II of Macedon (father of Alexander the Great) conquered the town and renamed it Philippopolis after himself.

eastern gate of Philippopolis

The Romans captured the city in 46 CE and renamed it Trimontium (Three Hills). Remains of the Roman theater, stadium, and forum are still visible today.

restored ancient Roman theater

remains of the 2nd century Roman stadium in the Kapana district. Only the northern part is accessible.

The wealthy town was plundered and destroyed by the Goths and Huns and then reconstructed during the two Bulgarian kingdoms. The Ottoman conquest caused more destruction, but its strategic location convinced the Turks to rebuld the city and and use it as a regional center of government. According to the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878, Plovdiv was to be the captial of newly-liberated Bulgaria, but the Congress of Berlin instead divided the country into two parts: Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia (with Plovdiv as its capital). The two united on 6 September 1885 with Sofia as the capital.

Plovdiv Old Town occupies three hills: Nebet Tepe in the north and Taxim Tepe and Dzhambaz Tepe in the south.

Our friend's apartment where we stayed overlooks the NE side of Old Town and St. Nedelya Church.