My little jubilee, the 50th country visited was Liechtenstein. And boy what a ceremony happened. The Principality of Liechtenstein and the Swiss Confederation were celebrating the 100 years of their common Dounae contract. We were about to cross the bridge that was built over the river Rhine, but we were stopped as the celebration was just…
Krapina is my hometown. Zagorje runs through veins. Kajkavian dialect is spoken out loud by my core. So please, allow me to show you a portion of heaven given to us people from Zagorje to enjoy, nourish, and remain proud. Krapina Krapina was first mentioned in 1193. It has always been a favorite site for…
This is a post of a lovely, walkable city that will charm all wine, gastronomy and history lovers. From Markets to Mustard! This capital of Burgundie is calling you to get all its tastes. And you will not know all of these existed! The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until…
Avignon is a city on the Rhône river in the south of France. It is surrounded by walls of Avignon (French: Les Remparts d’Avignon) – a series of defensive stone walls that were originally built in the 14th century during the Avignon papacy and have been continually rebuilt and repaired throughout their subsequent history. We entered through Porte Saint-Michel. The…
This historical province of southeastern France, extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It largely corresponds with the modern administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur . The largest city of the region and its modern-day capital is Marseille. Known for its diverse landscapes, miles of…
Michel de Notre-Dame, as we all know as Nostradamus, was an apothecary by profession, and published in the year 1555 a book called Les Prophéties (The Prophecies). In his collection of 942 poetic quatrains, he predicted various future events that experts, and many amateurs, find a way of interpreting into related events occurring in the present day. Some historical evidence suggests…
This is going to be a short post. Sanremo is a city on the west coast of Italy, in the province of Liguria. It is the capital of the Riviera dei Fiori or Riviera of Flowers. Its casino also makes it a sort of Italian version of Monte Carlo. This large building in Art Nouveau…
Vivid green pesto, great wine and fabulous walks … Genoa is a city of indulgence. Driving in the city, noticing it’s fabulous big secession buildings it reminded me of the importance of Italy: banks, trades, imports of goods and businesses… Genoa was a medieval rival to Venice. It’s not been primped for tourists like Venice, though.…
Rapallo was never on my list. I never thought there could actually be something about this city. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, just between Cinque Terre and Genoa. As a girl from Croatia, I know it from the history books as the Treaty of Rapallo was signed there, in Villa Pagana, formerly known as Villa Spinola. A treaty…
The five Cinque Terre villages are situated in northern Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, just 3 hours by train from Milan, Pisa and Florence. I have arrived by car and totally enjoyed the national park that spreads across the five villages. La Spezia My journey started in La Spezia. This was the very first stop as I…
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Plovdiv is the 6th oldest living city in the world and it is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia dating back to neotlithic settlements 6000 BCE. When Philip II of […]
Plovdiv is the 6th oldest living city in the world and it is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia dating back to neotlithic settlements 6000 BCE. When Philip II of Macedon, (after which the city was named Philippoppolis) father of Alexander Great conquered it in the 4th century BC, and later came numbers of civilisations like Persians, Greeks, Celts, Romans, Goths, Huns, Bulgarians, Slav-Vikings, Crusaders and Turks. Finally, in 1878, Plovdiv was liberated from Ottoman rule by the Russian army and it remained within the borders of Bulgaria.
Being situated on 7 fertile hills on the two banks of the Maritsa River, it is often linked to the Roman settlements as there are numerous famous sites since that times.
This incredibly rich history has given Plovdiv one of the most charming old towns in Eastern Europe, mixing the antic sites with mediaval streets and sacral buildings, recent communist era statues and building and nowadays modern squares and pedestrian roades.
This was my entrance to the city of huge contrasts: for the moment I thought I am passing Dubai. I must admit, the bus driver had a special taste for folk music. -_-
Entrance to Dubai…
Anyhow, the ancient myth of Orpheus in the lands of ancient Thrace, is right here in Plovdiv, situated between the Rhodope Mountains (the legendary homeland of Orpheus). Thereby, the Ancient theatre of Philipoppol as one of the best-preserved ancient theatres in the World!
Roman Amphitheatre of the city of Philippoppolis – as Plovdiv used to be called in the Roman times
The other important ancient site is The Stadium of Trimontium in Plovdiv. It is among the largest structures from the time of the Ancient Rome in the Balkan peninsula. The citizens still nowadays like to gather at the attached Forum / Agora and socialize, as the modern coffee places and bars are incorporated into the site.
Roman Stadium
As I said, the city was built on 7 hills of Rhodopi mountain. On the one of the hills is nowadays placed the Old town. The complex has been formed as a result of the long sequence of habitation from prehistoric times to present days and combines the architecture from Antiquity, Middle Ages and Bulgarian revival.
Behind me, up on the hill is the House of Argir Hristov Kuyumdzhioglu, a merchant from Plovdiv, who built this house in 19 century as a prominent homespun trader who owned a company in Vienna.
The house is mostly made of wood with sophisticated decorations.
After the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878, Argir Kuyumdzhioglu left Plovdiv to settle in Istanbul (Constantinople). The house was converted into a girls’ boarding house.
My favourite part of Plovdiv is the Kapana district! The part of cty where the craftsmen and rich merchants lived. Kapana means ‘the trap” since once you enter its narrow and tangeld streets, you get lost easily.
The district was a business-centre for craftsmen 5 centuries ago, so don’t be surprised of street names like Kozhuharska (Leather Str), Zhelezarska (Iron Str) and Zlatarska (Gold Str). Nowadays you will not find traditions craftsmen here but contemporary creative entrepreneurs converting the district into a real art centre and dedicated to creative industries.
Kapana district
Speaking about the streets named by craftsmen, I couldn’t not to see the street named after my birth city, also famous by craftsmen and it’s Old town Kaptol.
All little streets are part of the city’s pedestrian zone, so I really enjoyed walking around noticing galleries, workshops, ateliers, studios, cozy restaurants and shops, as well as other art spaces…
Another interesting district was the one with old factories. In 1939 there were 16,000 craftsmen and 17,000 workers in manufacturing factories, mainly for food and tobacco processing. During the Second World War the tobacco industry expanded, mostly led by Jews. It was the time of economic boom.
In 1943 the first deportation of the bulgarian Jews to concentration camps have started, factories are to be shoted down for the war times…
Old tabacco factory
During the communist times it was in a full speed, producing heavy industrial products, being crowded with busy working class mostly used by the governent.
Old factoroes district
The district is nowadays is destroyed completely but with the idea to be re-newed again, especially since the Plovdiv is selected as Bulgarian host of European Capital of Culture in 2019.
Destroyed factory in the district
From that time, the witnesses are many communist monuments and flat buildings with big letters, typical for the architectural style of socialism.
Communist monuments
Typical example is the post office of the photo below. I learnt, that once stood there a beautiful Bauhaus building…
Typical communist state building – post office
After the World War II, Bulgaria was deliberated by the Soviet troops, which is perpetuated with the Alyosha Monument – the momument to the unknown soviet soldier that commemorates the arrival of the Soviet troops. It also marks the end of World War II.
Alyosha Monument – the momument to the unknown soviet soldier that commemorates the arrival of the Soviet troops
The manin street is entirely pedestrian zone with many shops, as the commercial sector is developing quickly in Bulgaria.
Main street of Plovdiv
But what I mostly liked in the main street is the statue of Muljo – the deaf wanderer.
Apparently, Muljo was a citizen, likeable by the others, but unfortunately dead. The city of Plovdiv, after his death decided to raise the monument dedicated to his social spirit.
Bulgaria is known by the good wines, as the vineyards around Plovdiv are some of the oldest in the world.
My Bulgarian colleagues have brought me to a very specific and traditional place where we stayed long in the night.
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