Location: Plovdiv
Ancient theatre of Plovdiv is one of the easily recognizable symbols of the city that is located in the Old Town region. This magnificent ancient structure was erected in the time of reign (98- 117 AD) of Emperor Trajan back then Plovdiv was known as Philippopolis. In the 5th century AD the settlement was sacked by the barbarian tribe of Huns under leadership of Attila. They destroyed many buildings and greatly damaged ancient theatre. Its ruins were discovered by chance: the specialists of the Archaeological Museum carried out work here to strengthen the fortress wall. This is the only case when in Plovdiv not individual fragments were discovered, but the whole object. It took almost 10 years to dig up the ancient theater, which was under a 15-meter layer of earth. Despite the fact that once the complex was significantly damaged, today it is one of the best-preserved buildings of this type in the world.
Ancient Roman Theatre had 14 rows of benches for
spectators that were divided into two main sectors. Theatre seats
had inscriptions with the names of urban district of ancient
Plovdiv. Residents of these areas would come here and sit at their
respective assigned seats. In total Plovdiv Theatre could include
about seven thousand spectators. After the completion of the
excavation and restoration of this architectural monument in 1981, a
theatrical performance was shown here, which was seen by almost five
thousand spectators. At present, the theater is equipped in
accordance with modern requirements, concerts, festivals, etc. are
regularly held here.
When visiting this place you can book a
tour in Bulgarian, Russian, English, German or French.