📷 My recent trip to Plovdiv

Hello, dear Hivers!

In this post, I will share with you some pictures from my recent trip to Plovdiv (2nd biggest city in my country Bulgaria).

This is just a random picture from the city center of Plovdiv:

So, let me start! On Tuesday, October 5th, I decided to go to Plovdiv, in the afternoon, have a stroll and enjoy the beautiful weather. Because these were the last warm days and sunny days. So, I traveled by train from my home town to Plovdiv. The journey takes approximately 1 hour. At about 3 p.m. I was already in Plovdiv. This is a place not far away from the train station (where I arrived):

There are two red buildings in the picture. The first one is the National High School of Trade and Commerce. The second one is the Profesional School of Architecture and Woodworking 'Hristo Botev'. Behind the school there is a monument on the top of the hill. This is the Alyosha Monument - an 11-meter tall reinforced concrete statue of a Soviet soldier commemorating the Soviet soldiers from the 2nd World War.

On my way to the city center, I walked by the House of Culture 'Boris Hristov':

It is a building from the Communist era. I find it very beautiful.

Then I continued to walk to the city center:

In about 10 minutes, I was already in the city center:

And took a picture of the small nice old buildings:

However, instead of starting my stroll in the city center from the main pedestrian area, I decided to go first to the old town. So, I continued to walk ...

On my way to the old town, I walked by the Saint Ludwig Cathedral:

It is a Roman Catholic cathedral built in the 1850s. According to Wikipedia, 'the belfry was built in 1898 and was equipped with five bells cast in the German city of Bochum, a gift from Pope Leo XIII'.

Right now, the cathedral is being renovated:

Within walking distance from the 'St. Ludwig Cathedral' is an orthodox church called 'Sveta (Saint) Petka' that dates back to the 19th century as well:

From there, I continued to walk towards the old town that is located on one of the seven hills in the city:

I entered the old city from 'Petko R. Slaveikov' street:

Petko Rachov Slaveykov (17 November 1827 – 1 July 1895) was a Bulgarian poet, publicist, politician, and folklorist in the 19th century.

This is the building of 'Geo Milev' Secondary School in the old town:

Geo Milev (27 January 1895, Radne mahle – 15 May 1925, Sofia), was a Bulgarian poet, journalist, and translator at the beginning of the 20th century.

These are some old-style houses from the 18 and 19 centuries:

Of course, these houses are a bit renovated in order to look well:

During my stroll in the old town, I walked by St. Nedelya Church (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Constantine_and_Helena):

The church is supposed to have been built, initially, in 1578.

Then I went to the Hisar Kapia Gate:

It is a medieval gate built during the Second Bulgarian Empire in the 11th century over the foundations of a gate from Roman times (probably from the 2nd century AD, according to Wikipedia):

This is the Street of Crafts next to the gate:

So, I walked through the gate ...

And entered the other part of the old city.

In front of me stood up St. Konstantin and Elena Church:

This church is considered to be among the oldest churches in the city - built in 337. The church was named after Roman Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother Elena. The church was destroyed many times. The current edifice is built in 1832.

From there, I continued to walk on the beautiful small streets in the old town:

In this old-style building, is the restaurant Paldin:

This is Lamartine's House:

This house in typical 18-19 centuries style is named after the French author, poet, and statesman Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine. He stayed in this house for a few days in the early 19th century while returning from his trip to the Orient. Orient is a Latin term for the East, traditionally comprising anything that belongs to the Eastern world, in relation to Europe.

From there, I went to the Amphitheatrum or The Roman theatre of Philippopolis:

Archeologists say that the theater was constructed in the 90s of the 1st century AD, probably during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian.

Nowadays, the theatre can host between 5,000 and 7,000 spectators and it is currently in use:

And, actually, many spectacles, operas, theaters take place there during the summer there.

By, the way, I do like the view from the theater:

After that, I continued my stroll in the old city:

And I found a very old orthodox church called St. Nicholas:

It is assumed to be constructed in around 1355 during the reign of Bulgarian ruler Ivan Alexander.

From there, I decided to go to the city center. So, I walked by the Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God:

A small church existed on the site as early as the 9th century. However, the current edifice was built in 1844:

This is how it looks like inside:

In front of the cathedral, there is a statue of Gavril Krastevich:

He was a very influential Bulgarian in the late 19th century and was appointed Secretary-General of the Governor of Eastern Rumelia.

From there I continued my stroll to the city center. On the wall of one of the buildings I saw an interesting mosaic and decided to take a picture of it:

So, from the old town, I went to the Kapana area:

In the 18 and 19th century it used to be the Crafts area:

But, now, it is just a lively area with a lot of bars, small restaurants, and cafeterias:

Usually, a lot of young people gather there in the evening when the weather is good:

After a short walk, I left Kapana area:

And entered the main pedestrian area in the city center:

This is how the small streets in the city center look like:

This is the Dzhumaya Mosque in the city center:

The mosque was built in 1363–1364 on the site of the St. Petka Tarnovska Cathedral after the conquest of Plovdiv by the Ottoman army.

Next to the mosque are the ruins of the Ancient Stadium of Philippopolis.

The stadium was built in the 2nd century AD, during the reign of the emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138).
According to Wikipedia, the stadium was :

... approximately 240 m (790 ft) long and 50 m wide, it could seat up to 30000 spectators. The length of the track is one stadion – 625 Roman feet or 600 Greek feet, or approximately 180 m (590 ft).

After that, I continued my stroll ...

And walked through the Knyaz Alexander street. It is the main pedestrianized street in the city:

I really like some of the buildings there:

This is one of my favorite ones because it has an interesting clock on the top:

Usually, in the evening, the street becomes very busy, because the workday of many people ends and they just go to the city center:

Ah, I wanted to mention that I do like the tops of these old buildings:

Some of them have interesting statues:

Or, they are just good-looking buildings. At least I like them because it is old style:

This is the building of the Municipality of Plovdiv:

And, this is the fountain in front of it:

Because my stroll was almost nearing its I decided to visit a cafeteria and to have a cup of cappuccino. So, I decided to find a small cozy cafeteria in the city center: