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Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria with a population of 380 683. One of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities, Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years. It is the administrative center of Plovdiv Province in southern Bulgaria and four municipalities (Plovdiv, Maritsa, Kouklen and Rodopi) and Bulgaria's Yuzhen tsentralen planning region (NUTS II), as well as the largest and most important city in Northern Thrace and the wider international historical region of Thrace. The city is an important economic, transport, cultural and educational center.
Known in ancient times as Philippoupolis, it was originally a Thracian settlement before becoming a major Roman city. In the Middle Ages, it retained its strategic regional importance, changing hands between the Byzantine and Bulgarian Empires. It came under Ottoman rule in the 14th century. In 1878, Plovdiv was made the capital of the autonomous Ottoman region of Eastern Rumelia; in 1885, it became part of Bulgaria with the unification of that region and the Principality of Bulgaria.
Plovdiv is host to economic and cultural events such as the International Fair Plovdiv, the international theatrical festival "A scene on a crossroad", the TV festival "The golden chest". There are many remains preserved from Antiquity such as the Ancient amphitheatre, Roman odeon, Roman Stadium, the archaeological complex Eirene and others.
The city has historically developed on seven syenite hills, some of which are 250 m high. Because of these seven hills, Plovdiv is often referred to in Bulgaria as "The City of the Seven Hills". Plovdiv is located on the banks of the Maritsa river, approximately 152 km (94 mi) southeast of the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The city is situated in the southern part of the Plain of Plovdiv, an alluvial plain forming the western portion of the Upper Thracian Plain. The heights of Sredna Gora rise to the northwest, to the east are the Chirpan Heights and the Rhodope mountains surround the plain from the south. The city had originally developed to the south of Maritsa and it spawned across the river in the last 100 years. Modern Plovdiv covers an area of 101 km2 (39 sq mi), which is less than 0.1% of Bulgaria's total area. This makes the city the most densely populated in the country with 3 769 inhabitants per km2.
Inside the city proper are located six syenite hills, called tepeta. In the beginning of the 20th century there used to be seven of them, but one (Markovo tepe) was destroyed. Traditionally the citizens have called them Dzhendem tepe, Bunardzhik, Sahat tepe, Nebet tepe, Dzhambaz tepe and Taksim tepe. The last three form the area of the Three Hills, a lively section of the city centre.
The Roman theatre is probably the best known monument from Antiquity in Bulgaria. It was built in the beginning of the 2nd century during the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan. It is situated in the natural saddle between the Dzhambaz Tepe and Taksim Tepe hills. It is divided into two parts with 14 rows each divided with a horizontal lane. The theatre could accommodate up to 7,000 people. The three-story scene is located on the southern part and is decorated with friezes, cornices and statues. The theatre was studied, conserved and restored between 1968 and 1984. Many events are still held on the scene including the Verdi festival and the International Folklore festival. The Roman Odeon was restored in 2004. It was built in the 2nd-5th centuries and is the second (and smaller) antique theatre of Philipopolis with 350 seats. It was initially built as a bulevterion - edifice of the city council - and was later reconstructed as a theatre.
The Roman Stadium is another important monument of the ancient city. It is situated between Sahat Tepe and the Three Hills in the modern Dzhumaya Square. It was built in the 2nd century and modeled after the stadium in Delphi. In Roman times it could hold 30,000 spectators. Only a small part of the northern section with 13 seat rows can be seen nowadays - the larger part lies under the main street and a number of buildings.
The Roman forum dates from the reign of Vespasian in 1st century and was finished in the 2nd century. It is located near the modern post office next to the Odeon. It has an area of 11 hectares and was surrounded by shops and public buildings. The forum was a focal point of the streets of the ancient city.
The Eirene Archaeological complex is located in the southern part of the Three Hills on the northern part of an ancient street in the Arheologicheski underpass. It includes remains of a public building from the 3rd-4th centuries which belonged to a noble citizen. Eirene is the Christian name for Penelopa - a maiden from Megadon who was converted to Christianity in 2nd century. There are colourful mosaics which have geometrical forms and figures.
On Nebet Tepe are found remains of the first settlement on the Three Hills which in 12th century BC grew to the Thracian city of Eumolpias, one of the first cities in South-eastern Europe. Massive walls surrounding a temple and a palace have been excavated. The oldest part of the fortress was constructed from large syenite blocks - the so called "cyclop construction".
Located in the middle of a rich agricultural region, since the beginning of the 20th century Plovdiv grew as an industrial center. Food processing, tobacco, brewing and textiles were the main pillars of the industry. During Communist rule the city's economy greatly expanded and was dominated by heavy industry - it still produces lead and zinc, machinery, electronics, motor trucks, chemicals and cosmetics. After the fall of Communism in 1989 and the collapse of Bulgaria's planned economy, a number of industrial complexes were closed.
Plovdiv has one of the country's fastest growing economies with average GDP growth of 12-13%. As of 2007 GDP of the area is 8.2 billion leva (approximately 4.2 billion euro), which is with 88% more than in 2001. The profits for the same period rose 4.5 times. Unemployment is 6,5% which is lower than the national average. One recent problem is the municipality's administrative borders, which almost completely coincide with the city limits. Due to the constant increase of investments which are 928 811 700 euro accumulated till 2008 some of the businesses have to be redirected to the Maritsa or Rodopi municipalities such as the industrial zone of Radinovo village.
Industry has been expanding again since the late 1990s, with manufacturing plants built in the city or in its outskirts, mainly the municipality of Maritsa. In this period, some 500,000,000 euro has been invested in construction of new factories. Some of the new plants include the Liebherr refrigerator plant with 1,850 employees and a capacity of 450,000 items per year, the Socotab tobacco processing plant (2,000 employees), a bicycle plant (500 workers, capacity 500,000 units), а Schneider electronics factory, a biodiesel plant, the Bulsaphil textile plant (790 workers), and several electronics and high-tech plants producing CD players and other electronic equipment. The largest electronics plant in the Balkans was inaugurated in the nearby village of Voivodinovo.
Due to the demand for business office space several office projects are going to be constructed in the district of Trakiya. The total investment is for 100,000,000 euro with total area of 150,000 m2. A commercial and industrial park is to be built in the village of Radinovo at several km to the north-west of the city with a built-up area of 50,000 m2.
The commercial sector is developing quickly. Shopping centers have been built mainly in the Central district and the district of Trakiya. Those include Shopping Center Grand, Market Center and two more all on the Kapitan Raycho Street, Forum in Trakiya and others. There are several malls under construction - the €40 million Mall of Plovdiv with a shopping area of 40,000 m2, 11 cinemas and parking for 700 cars, which opened in March 2009, €50 mln. Central Mall Markovo tepe, a huge €60 mln. mall and hotel complex in the district of Trakiya as well as several other projects planned or under construction.
Several hypermarkets have been built mainly on the outskirts of the city: Metro, Kaufland, Sani (2 outlets), Praktiker, Billa, Mr. Bricolage, Baumax, Technopolis, Technopark Europa, Jumbo and others. The main shopping area is the central street with its shops, cafés and restaurants. A number of cafés, craftsmen workshops and souvenir shops are situated in the Old Town and the small streets in the centre, known among the locals as "The trap".
The Plovdiv International Fair, held annually since 1892, is the largest and oldest fair in the country and all of southeastern Europe, gathering companies from all over the world in an exhibition area of 138,000 m2 located on a territory of 352,000 m2 on the northern banks of the Maristsa river. It attracts more than 600,000 visitors from different countries. The city also has a duty-free zone since 1987. It has a customs terminal handling cargo from trucks and trains.
