The Ancient Plovdiv

Photo by Els Slots.

The Ancient Plovdiv is part of the Tentative list of Bulgaria in order to qualify for inclusion in the World Heritage List.

The Ancient Plovdiv covers the city’s monuments from prehistory to the 20th century. Especially notable are the Roman remains and the vernacular architecture from the Ottoman period. Plovdiv has always been in a strategic position to connect East and West.

Map of The Ancient Plovdiv

Load map

The coordinates shown for all tentative sites were produced as a community effort. They are not official and may change on inscription.

Community Reviews

Write a review


Philipp Peterer

Switzerland - 23-Aug-19 -

The Ancient Plovdiv (T) by Philipp Peterer

Plovdiv is one of several cities that claim to be the world’s oldest. I visited Bulgaria’s second largest city before the community meeting 2018, covering a bunch of TWHS on the way. The Bachkovo Monastery, the Alexandrovo tomb, the Neolithic Dwellings in Stara Sagora and Kazanlak WHS are all close.

It’s certainly not the worst place in Bulgaria. The old town is small but very nice, with some traditional houses. The Roman theatre is still occasionally used for shows and theatre performances. The new town has a rather communist flair, but offers a good variety of restaurants and shops. Further, there is a second TWHS within the city, the Bishop's Basilica and Late-Antique Mosaics of Philippopolis. None of the sites is a real highlight, but the ensemble of sites at least justifies a visit to Plovdiv.

The town is best reached by car. It’s on the A1 between Sofia and Burgas.


Full Name
The Ancient Plovdiv
Country
Bulgaria
Added
2004
Type
Cultural
Categories
Urban landscape - Urban continuity
Link
By ID
2006 Requested by State Party to not be examined

Withdrawn at request of Bulgaria before WHC meeting, after the ICOMOS report advised on Rejection. Reason: interesting, but not exceptional enough and doesn't meet the test of authenticity.

2004 Added to Tentative List

1983 Rejected

Not yet able to include vernacular architecture

Unesco Website: The Ancient Plovdiv
Forum discussion on this site's nomination history

The site has 1 locations

The Ancient Plovdiv (T)
WHS 1997-2023