According to historical data, a café existed on Danov Hill as far back as 1880. It was located a stone's throw from the Clock Tower. “The city’s high society came here along a steep street from Dzhumaya Square to stay cool in the warm summer evenings, to listen to military music, to drink a cup of coffee or lemonade”, writes the researcher Nikola Alvadzhiev.
The actual afforestation of the hill, however, began during the administration of the writer Hristo G. Danov (1897-1899), while the improvement of Sahat Tepe took place under the mayor Enyo Manolov in the late 20s and early 30s. Then the road to the top, started during the mayorship of Hristo G. Danov at the end of the 19th century, was completed, retaining walls and stairs were built, and the paths to the park were shaped.
On August 3, 1932, the Plovdiv municipality announced a competition for the construction of a buffet in this place. On February 19 of the following year, the restaurant was opened on the site of a former Turkish gunpowder warehouse. The project was by the famous Plovdiv architect Nikola Ovcharov. The one-story building with an elegant volume and lightweight structure fully corresponded to the function of the place as a garden and a place for entertainment. In it, the then mayor Bozhidar Zdravkov welcomed the mayor of Bucharest Dobrescu in May, and in August the prominent French politician, statesman, former prime minister, historian and writer Edouard Erriot, accompanied by the Bulgarian prime minister Nikola Mushanov. An orchestra awaited them there, playing first the Marseillaise, and then the Bulgarian national anthem.
The restaurant was located a meter from a small fountain, and there wasn’t a view of Plovdiv from above, as the tables were practically located on a kind of mini plateau. The restaurant was the most ecological establishment, ventilated from all sides, and the music could be heard in the 4 corners of Plovdiv.
After 1944, it continued to work under the name “Youth Meeting”. In 1975, however, it was demolished for good, and the local administration had the intention of building a glamorous restaurant named “Hebros” on the same place. However, the idea was not implemented and everything was deserted.
Nowadays, only the fountain has been preserved, and in recent years, an idea was discussed to restore the buffet in its former form, which to date has apparently been frozen.
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