Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria. It is located on both banks of Maritsa River in the Upper Valley at 144 km southeast of the capital Sofia. The city is situated at 42°9’ north latitude and 24°45’ east longitude, and the lowest point is at 160 m above sea level. Plovdiv was the European Capital of Culture in 1999 and 2019. It is an important industrial, economic, commercial, cultural, transportation-communications, scientific and educational center on the Balkans region. The city is a strategic railway junction and the airport “Plovdiv” recently established itself as an alternative to the airport “Sofia”.
Plovdiv is considered one of the oldest cities in the world and the oldest living city in Europe. It has been inhabited since the 6th millennium BC, when the first neolithic settlements were established. The city was subsequently a Thracian settlement, later being conquered and ruled also by Persians, Ancient Macedonians, Celts, Romans, Byzantines, Goths, Huns, Bulgarians, Thraco-Romans, Bulgars, Slavic tribes, Crusaders, and Ottoman Turks. Over the years it has been known by many names: Evmolpia, Philippopolis, Trimontium, Pulpudeva, Puldin, Filibe, Plovdiv… The city has historically developed on seven syenite hills. Because of that, Plovdiv is often referred as “The City of the Seven Hills”. The history of the region spans more than eight millennia. There are many preserved ruins such as the ancient Plovdiv Roman theatre, the Roman odeon, the Roman aqueduct, the Plovdiv Roman Stadium, the archaeological complex Eirene, Nebet Tepe, and many others. Plovdiv is host to a huge variety of cultural events such as the International Fair Plovdiv, the international theatrical festival “A stage on a crossroad”, different festivals, such as Night/Plovdiv in September, Kapana Fest, and Opera Open. Unique and ancient, beautiful and artistic, spiritual and challenging – such in a nutshell is the city of Plovdiv and even today one is enticed to exclaim just like the medieval travelers: “You, stranger, stop for a while in the heart of Thrace so that you feel its rhythm and that you get impregnated by its harmony”.
The climate in Bulgaria is temperate, transitional continental, typical of central and southern Europe. There are four distinct seasons with large temperature jumps between them. The average annual temperature is 12.3 °C. The average maximum temperature in July is 30.3 °C. The average annual minimum temperature is 6.5 °C. The average annual relative humidity is 73%, with the highest in December (86%) and the lowest in August (62%). In Plovdiv the average maximum temperatures in April are 18°C, and the minimum – 2°C. The average daily precipitation varies between 0.5 mm and 4.2 mm, and the humidity is from 66% to 74%.