Knowra Plovdiv Plovdiv Plovdiv is a city in southern Bulgaria, built around seven hills beside the Maritsa River. Its ancient and modern layers include a Roman theater, an Ottoman-era old town, and a lively contemporary center.
Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis : A well-preserved Roman theater in Plovdiv, built in the first century CE and still used for performances. This landmark is among the clearest surviving signs of Roman Philippopolis.
Thracians : Ancient Indo-European peoples who inhabited parts of the Balkans, including the region around Plovdiv. Thracian settlement preceded the city’s better-documented Greek and Roman phases.
Maritsa : A river flowing through Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey before reaching the Aegean Sea. The river shaped Plovdiv’s setting and links it to the wider Thracian plain.
Eastern Rumelia : An autonomous province created in 1878 under Ottoman suzerainty, with Plovdiv as its capital until its union with Bulgaria in 1885. Plovdiv became the political center of the province before the union with Bulgaria.
Sofia : The capital and largest city of Bulgaria, located in the country’s west. Sofia is Bulgaria’s political capital, while Plovdiv is its second-largest city and a historic cultural center.
Plovdiv Roman Stadium : A Roman stadium in central Plovdiv, whose excavated northern end is visible beneath the modern pedestrian street. Its remains reveal how Roman public buildings lie beneath the present-day center.
Philippopolis : The ancient city founded or expanded under Philip II of Macedon, whose name became associated with Plovdiv. The name records the Macedonian era that shaped the ancient city.
Thracian Plain : A broad fertile lowland in southern Bulgaria, drained chiefly by the Maritsa River. Plovdiv stands near the plain’s center, where routes and agriculture converge.
Unification of Bulgaria : The 1885 union of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, formerly an autonomous Ottoman province. The movement was organized in Plovdiv, then Eastern Rumelia’s capital.
Varna : A major Bulgarian city and Black Sea port in the country’s northeast. Varna’s coastal setting contrasts with Plovdiv’s inland position on the Thracian Plain.
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