4 Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About Plovdiv

Located in the heart of Bulgaria, Plovdiv is an increasingly popular tourist destination. Whether you are heading to the sea, the mountains, or exploring the country, your journey will almost certainly pass through the second-largest city in Bulgaria. Plovdiv impresses with its ancient history combined with a modern and rapidly developing urban life. Here are some interesting facts about the city of the hills:

1. Plovdiv is one of the oldest living cities in the world
According to various sources, settlements on this territory date back to 6,000 BC, while others suggest around 4,000 BC. What is certain is that this area has been continuously inhabited since ancient times. Plovdiv has been a Thracian settlement, later a major Roman city, and then came under Byzantine and Ottoman rule. This places it among the 10 oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and according to Nick Compton in The Guardian, it is considered the oldest living city in Europe.

2. The longest pedestrian street in Europe
Since 2014, Plovdiv has been known for having the longest pedestrian street in Europe. The central street, closed to cars, stretches 1,750 meters from the former Party House to the pedestrian bridge near Novotel. This makes it longer than Copenhagen’s pedestrian zone by around 200 meters.

3. The Rowing Canal – the largest sports base in the Balkans
The Rowing Canal in Plovdiv is the largest facility of its kind in the Balkans. It is 2,200 meters long, 120 meters wide, and 3 meters deep. Every year it hosts European rowing championships for men and women.

4. Plovdiv once had 9 hills
Plovdiv is famous as the City of the Seven Hills, but few people know that there were originally 9. Two of them no longer exist – Markovo Hill and Kameniца Hill, both of which were removed due to urban development.