Information about Plovdiv

Plovdiv
The City of Plovdiv covers a territory of 53 sq. km. at a distance of 120 km. from Sofia. It is located on both banks of the Maritsa River, in the central part of the Upper Thracian Lowlands. The landscape is mostly plain though there are six hills in Plovdiv. The population of the city is 376 000 people. Key international thoroughfares cross the city, which have connected since ancient times the East with Europe, the Baltics with the Mediterranean, Black Sea with Adriatic Sea.   Its six syenite hills contribute to its unique and scenic beauty. Its great historical and cultural heritage has established the city long ago as a major tourist centre. Today Plovdiv is the second biggest city in Bulgaria, being a big and strategically important industrial, commercial, scientific, cultural and communication centre. Its key position in the geographical centre of Bulgaria provides very good transport connections (road and railway) with all parts of the country; Krumovo Airport is located in the vicinity of Plovdiv and the city is also relatively close to Bourgas Harbour on Black Sea (280 km) and to the harbours in Instanbul (380 km).  

The favourable climate and its geographical location have contributed to its ascending progress in all historical periods. Plovdiv is mainly inhabited by Christian population belonging to all branches of Christian religion, such as Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Armenian Apostolic Church and Protestants. There are Moslem and Jewish communities in the city.

Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Bulgaria as well as in Europe. Plovdiv is a contemporary of Troy and it is more ancient than Rome, Athens or Constantinople

Plovdiv’s history is closely connected with the two Thracian tribes of Odrysae and Bessi.  They inhabited the Maritsa valley and the Rhodope Mountains.  The Odrysian kingdom, founded about 480-460 BC, was the earliest union of Thracian tribes.  The city is full of remains from antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the contemporary culture which co-exist, entwined in the irresistible beauty of this eternal city. Plovdiv has preserved exceptionally valuable cultural monuments such as the Roman Stadium, the Ancient Theatre of Philipopol, the magnificent color mosaics, the Roman forum and the fortress walls, the Roman aqueduct, excavations of the first Thracian villages.   At the Three Hills there shines a quarter of houses, which are the most distinct representatives of the National Revival architecture.   For its exceptional merits in the preservation, restoration and conservation of the cultural monuments, the Old Town was awarded the gold medal of UNESCO.

Plovdiv’s cultural and historical heritage and its artistic atmosphere have turned Plovdiv long ago into an attractive destination in tourist routes. The great diversity in the landscape and the rich natural merits of Plovdiv and the region, and the presence of numerous geothermal springs with national and international importance provide a good basis for the development of summer and winter mountain and balneological recreational tourism, mainly in Hisarya, Banya, Krasnovo, Velingrad, Narechen and others.


Brief information about Plovdiv:
Region: Plovdiv
Population: 376,918 people
Transport:  land, air
Main religion: Orthodox Christian
Airport: 1 km
Altitude: 164 m
Postal Code: 4000
Telephone code: 032