Plovdiv city guide

Plovdiv is found on the banks of the Maritsa River in Upper Thrace. It has an especially beautiful city although it is surrounded by sparsely populated and bare country side. Plovdiv happens to be one of the oldest cities in Europe, on par with such cities as Troy and Mycenae. Plovdiv even pre-dates Rome, Athens, Carthage and Constantinople.

Despite its long history, Plovdiv only became a province of Bulgaria in about 815 AD. Then during the Byzantine occupation of Bulgaria, the city took on a distinctly Greek influence. After that Plovdiv came under the control of the Latin Empire in 1204. The city exchanged hands several times after that until Ottoman rule descended on the entire country. During the Ottoman occupation, Plovdiv remained a center of Bulgarian culture and tradition. Following World War II, the city then became the birthplace of Bulgaria’s democratic reform, which came to full fruition with the collapse of the USSR in 1989.

The city is renowned for the sheer number of historical sites that it boasts. There are over 200 known architectural sites with 30 of them being of national importance. Over 30,000 artefacts from the city’s long existence are housed in five museums that are open to tourists year round.

Plovdiv, however, is not a very big tourist town. Instead, the city’s most important industry is agriculture and food processing. It also produces machinery, textiles and chemicals.

Recently Plovdiv's property market has been heating up with many large construction projects in the works including two large malls. Although the residential property market is also growing, housing in the city remains highly affordable when compared to other major European towns. The property market in Plovdiv has been especially hot this summer. The residential property market stagnated for a bit but the industrial and retail real estate sectors were on fire. In fact, even land transactions were way above average as more people consider the merits of moving to the historic city.

Living in Plovdiv is, by all accounts, enchanting. The slow pace of life and the small community feel of the city are intoxicating to those wishing to escape the hassles and stress of big city living. Although, the city is like a small village in many ways, everything needed to live comfortably is easily obtainable. The cost of living is also far lower than in many other parts of the country.

Although you will have to face some amount of corruption and it would be in your best interests to learn the local language, making the transition to life in Plovdiv is relatively easy. As long as you are patient, like to meet new people and enjoy the kind of community found in a small town, then you are sure to find Plovdiv one of the most enchanting places on earth.

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