The Mosaic Tour of Plovdiv will introduce you to the city’s ancient and contemporary mosaics. Plovdiv can be proud of its diverse mosaic heritage, which decorates public and private buildings dating to the 3rd – 6th centuries AD as well as to public and the 1970s and 80s.
On this website, you can find information about the history, technology, and construction technique of mosaics from twelve sites you can visit in Plovdiv. For your convenience, we have created four versions of the mosaic tour, each of which is of a different length and contains different content.
The tour and website were created by the Balkan Heritage Foundation with additional financial support from the Municipality of Plovdiv as part of the project “Mosaic Week Plovdiv 2021.” This initiative coincides with the Balkan Heritage Foundation’s policy to support the research, preservation, and management of cultural heritage (including mosaic art) in Southeastern Europe.
This tour was introduced at an open-air exhibition in the square northeast of the Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis on October 4-24, 2021 as part of “Mosaic Week Plovdiv 2021.” Mosaic Week opened with a public lecture (The ancient mosaics of Philippopolis and the contemporary mosaics of Plovdiv) by Assoc. Prof. Elena Kantareva-Decheva at the Episcopal (Bishop’s) Basilica at 6.30 pm on Monday, October 4, 2021.
Mosaic Tour Plovdiv
Ancient Roman Mosaics: walking tour of 4 sites in one day (4 hours total)
Small Basilica (visitor center)
A mosaic floor from the second half of the 5th century and a mosaic floor of the baptistery from the beginning of the 6th century
40 min sightseeing
6 min walk
The Episcopal (Bishop’s) Basilica of Philippopolis (visitor center)
Mosaic floors, built in stages between the middle of the 4th and the beginning of the 6th century
90 min sightseeing
5 min walk
Late Antique residential building “Еirene” / Trakart Cultural Center
Mosaic floors, built in the second half of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th century
40 min sightseeing
17 min walk
Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum
Fragments of the mosaic floors of the Narcissus building (first half of the 3rd century) and the Ancient Synagogue (second half of the 3rd – beginning of the 4th), a mosaic with birds (first half of the 3rd century)
30 min sightseeing
Contemporary mosaics: walking tour of 6 sites in one day (2 hours total)
Central Post Office Building (interior)
Mosaic “Postal pigeons” by Georgi Bozhilov-Slona, 1977
15 min sightseeing
2 min walk
The former Communist Party House (facade)
Mosaic by Ioan Leviev and architect Vladimir Rangelov, 1969-1970
15 min sightseeing
17 min walk
Chitalishte “Aleko Konstantinov” (facade)
Mosaic by Valchan Petrov, 1980s
15 min sightseeing
3 min walk
Underpass to Banya Starinna (Chifte Ottoman Baths)
Mosaic panels by Ioan Leviev, 1970s
20 min sightseeing
8 min walk
Plovdiv International Fair Central Building (facade)
Mosaic “Mercury” by Hristo Stefanov and Valentin Starchev, 1987
15 min sightseeing
3 min walk
The roundabout at the Plovdiv International Fair
Mosaic “Yuri Gagarin” by Ioan Leviev, 1970
15 min sightseeing
Ancient Roman and Contemporary Mosaics: walking tour of 8 sites in one day (5 hours total)
Small Basilica (visitor center)
A mosaic floor from the second half of the 5th century and a mosaic floor of the baptistery from the beginning of the 6th century
40 min sightseeing
6 min walk
The Episcopal (Bishop’s) Basilica of Philippopolis (visitor center)
Mosaic floors, built in stages between the middle of the 4th and the beginning of the 6th century
90 min sightseeing
9 min walk
Central Post Office Building (interior)
Mosaic “Postal pigeons” by Georgi Bozhilov-Slona, 1977
15 min sightseeing
2 min walk
The former Communist Party House (facade)
Mosaic by Ioan Leviev and architect Vladimir Rangelov, 1969-1970
15 min sightseeing
10 min walk
Late Antique residential building “Еirene” / Trakart Cultural Center
Mosaic floors, built in the second half of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th century
40 min sightseeing
16 min walk
Chitalishte “Aleko Konstantinov” (facade)
Mosaic by Valchan Petrov, 1980s
15 min sightseeing
3 min walk
Underpass to Banya Starinna (Chifte Ottoman Baths)
Mosaic panels by Ioan Leviev, 1970s
20 min sightseeing
6 min walk
Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum
Fragments of the mosaic floors of the Narcissus building (first half of the 3rd century) and the Ancient Synagogue (second half of the 3rd – beginning of the 4th), a mosaic with birds (first half of the 3rd century)
30 min sightseeing
All mosaics: combined tour (by foot and by car) of 12 sites (total 7-8 hours within one or two days)
Small Basilica (visitor center)
A mosaic floor from the second half of the 5th century and a mosaic floor of the baptistery from the beginning of the 6th century
40 min sightseeing
6 min walk
The Episcopal (Bishop’s) Basilica of Philippopolis (visitor center)
Mosaic floors, built in stages between the middle of the 4th and the beginning of the 6th century
90 min sightseeing
9 min walk
Central Post Office Building (interior)
Mosaic “Postal pigeons” by Georgi Bozhilov-Slona, 1977
15 min sightseeing
2 min walk
The former Communist Party House (facade)
Mosaic by Ioan Leviev and architect Vladimir Rangelov, 1969-1970
15 min sightseeing
10 min walk
Late Antique residential building “Еirene” / Trakart Cultural Center
Mosaic floors, built in the second half of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th century
40 min sightseeing
16 min walk
Chitalishte “Aleko Konstantinov” (facade)
Mosaic by Valchan Petrov, 1980s
15 min sightseeing
3 min walk
Underpass to Banya Starinna (Chifte Ottoman Baths)
Mosaic panels by Ioan Leviev, 1970s
20 min sightseeing
6 min walk
Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum
Fragments of the mosaic floors of the Narcissus building (first half of the 3rd century) and the Ancient Synagogue (second half of the 3rd – beginning of the 4th), a mosaic with birds (first half of the 3rd century)
30 min sightseeing
16 min walk
Plovdiv International Fair Central Building (facade)
Mosaic “Mercury” by Hristo Stefanov and Valentin Starchev, 1987
15 min sightseeing
3 min walk
The roundabout at the Plovdiv International Fair
Mosaic “Yuri Gagarin” by Ioan Leviev, 1970
15 min sightseeing
14 min by car
Block 15 next to the Old Town Hall of Trakiya neighbourhood (facade)
Mosaic by Trifon Nedelchev, Margarita Tomova and Sasho Baldev, 1980s
15 min sightseeing
4 min by car / 20 min walk
The polyclinic of Trakiya neighbourhood (water facility in front of the main facade)
Mosaic by Trifon Nedelchev and Margarita Tomova, 1980s
15 min sightseeing
Tour guides for contact
Petya Peytcheva (English & French)
peytcheva@yahoo.com
The tour guides above attended the Balkan Heritage Foundation training on the Mosaic Tour of Plovdiv within the project Plovdiv Mosaic Week 2021 and agreed to publish their contacts on the Tour’s website.
The Balkan Heritage Foundation and the Municipality of Plovdiv shall not be responsible for their services.
Additional information
All photos and text on this website are Copyright © 2021 of thе Balkan Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved. Archaeological Museum Plovdiv has allowed the Balkan Heritage Foundation to photograph museum exhibits free of charge – the mosaic with Allen’s gallinule birds, a fragment from a mosaic floor with an emblem “Narcissus” and a mosaic fragment from the ancient synagogue depicting a menorah, with the condition that the photographs bear a watermark with the museum logo.
Editors:
Texts about ancient mosaics: Stanislav Stanev
Texts about contemporary mosaics: Rayna Decheva-Uchkunova
Editors: Angela Pencheva, Stanislav Stanev
Photos and web design: Anton Chalakov
English translation: Lyuba Manoilova
English proofreading: Matthew Schueller
Contacts:
е-mail: balkanheritage@gmail.com
