Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second largest city, and it is among the oldest cities in the entire Balkans. Plovdiv has had many names throughout its long history, belonging to various kingdoms in the region, Thrace, Byzantium, the Roman Empire, Macedonia and of course Bulgaria. As a result, the city has also had many different names in its history. Plovdiv was finally freed from Ottoman rule in 1885, and then quickly connected to Sofia by rail, Plovdiv became a city of international exhibitions, great trade and many industries.

In Plovdiv you can see many preserved ruins from the Thracian Philippopolis and the Roman city. The square Ploshtad Tsentralen is located where the city’s old Forum was located, and where there are still significant ruins from it. From here you can walk along the main street of ul. Knjaz Alexander I to the north to the preserved part of the historic stadium, and close to this are the ruins of the quite well-preserved theater from the 100s. If you want to learn more about Plovdiv’s early history, you can visit the city’s archaeological museum, which covers e.g. Thracian, Greek and Roman cultures and finds.

You can also make some lovely walks in Plovdiv’s old Bulgarian quarter, which is one of the city’s attractions. Plovdiv was built on three mounds, and in the center’s narrow streets are full of 19th century houses in national romantic style side by side with ruins from antiquity. In this part of the city, you just have to explore, and you can visit sights such as Saint Constantine and Helena Church, whose history goes back to the year 337. The current church was built in the 1830s, and near the church there is an interesting ethnographic museum and the 12th-century gate Hisar Kapia.

There are other interesting churches in Plovdiv as well. Saint Louis Cathedral is the city’s Roman Catholic cathedral, and it was built in beautiful neo-baroque style in the 1850s. You can also see the Church of the Holy Mother of God, which was built in 1844 as the city’s main church. In the center is also a mosque from the 15th century, Dzhumaja Mosque, which was built under Sultan Murad I during the Ottoman rule over the area. Another interesting place is the ridge Bunarjik, located west of the city. Here there is a beautiful view, and you can see Alyosha, a statue commemorating fallen Soviet soldiers during World War II, and a monument to Tsar Alexander II.