SOFIA - PLOVDIV- KOPRIVSHTITSA - FULL-DAY TOUR BY CAR AND A DRIVER

In its northern part, the forum has a small Odeon, which can hardly be compared in terms of scale and splendor with the Ancient Theater, which is among the best preserved ancient theaters in the world and among the main tourist attractions of Plovdiv. It was built during the time of the Roman emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajan and was discovered during archaeological excavations in the 70s of the 20th century.

The theater of Philippopolis is the only preserved ancient theater building in the Bulgarian lands. Today, it has been adapted for the modern cultural life of Plovdiv and it hosts various performances for about 3,500 spectators.

Near the theater is the Roman Stadium, built at the beginning of the 2nd century at the time of Emperor Hadrian. The stadium had a capacity of 30,000 spectators, some of whom came specially to attend the games in Philippopolis.

In many places in the Old Town, remains of the Roman fortress walls can be seen. The pearl of the tour is the visit to The Bishop’s Basilica of Philippopolis - the largest Early Christian temple in this country. A coin dating back to the times of Emperor Licinius (308-324) discovered during the excavations of the Bishop’s Basilica, has spawned the hypothesis that the basilica was among the first to be erected in the Roman Empire after Christianity was legalized, in 313.

Its interior was adorned by columns with Christian symbols on their capitals, by murals and lavish mosaic floors. The mosaics are the best-preserved elements of the building. They were executed in three stages, form two layers and have a total area of 2,000 square meters.

Koprivshtitsa most likely was founded at the end of the Second Bulgarian Empire, at the end of the 14th century. Due to the massive fires in the time of the Ottoman Empire, the town was badly destroyed hence what you can see there now is the amazing architecture from the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century mostly during the Bulgarian Revival period.

Koprivshtitsa was also one of the centers of the April 1876 uprising against the Ottoman Empire (that Bulgaria was part of then) which eventually resulted in the re-establishment of Bulgaria two years later.

You can visit some of the houses inside too. Many of them were transformed into memorial houses of their former inhabitants – famous Bulgarian writers, revolutionaries, or politicians. Some of the most beautiful ones are the Oslekov House (built between 1853 and 1856, today it’s home to the Ethnographical Museum), the Georgi Benkovski Memorial House (1831), the Dimcho Debelyanov Memorial House (1830), the Todor Kableshkov Memorial House (1845) or the Lyutov House (1854).

Don’t miss other sights too, such as Kalachev most, St. Virgin Mary church or the Sts. Cyril and Methodius School from 1837, with the first class school in Bulgaria. All of them are also built in the Bulgarian Revival style and fit just perfectly in this little town. The best view of Koprivshtitsa is from the Georgi Benkovski monument located above the town. Going up there isn’t too difficult and you will be rewarded with some amazing views of Koprivshtitsa and the surrounding Sredna Gora mountains.

But the best thing to do in Koprivshtitsa is to just wander around the cobbled streets and fall for the charming town and its old-times vibe. Today Koprivshtitsa is a sleepy picturesque town that feels like time has stopped there.