The team of the only digital guide under the hood has collected for you 5 architectural pearls worth visiting

 

We often think that when we are tourists it is enough to visit the most popular places. Sometimes, however, hidden treasures are no less impressive. This is also the case with many of the houses in Old Plovdiv. We have already walked you virtually through the Balabanov House, the Nedkovich House, the Klianti House, and the Hindliyan House, but there are still architectural jewels that deserve our attention. The team of the only digital guide under the hood has collected for you 5 more architectural pearls worth visiting:

Danchov House (Georgi Danchov - Zografina’s House)

The building was built at the end of the eighteenth century. After Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottoman Empire, the famous Bulgarian artist and photographer Georgi Danchov - Zografina, a famous revolutionary, an ally of Vasil Levski, a former prisoner in Diyarbakir and a militiaman during the Liberation War, lived in it.

The house has an asymmetrical layout, with three floors, one of which is underground. The beautiful wood-carved ceilings are impressive. There is a winery on the ground floor and a multimedia room on the upper floor that can be used for events. For the time being, it is not open daily for a free visit, except on days when there is an exhibition there. It has been declared a cultural asset of national importance.

The building has been restored using authentic technologies as part of a joint project by the Crafts Chamber in Koblenz (Germany) and the Municipality of Plovdiv with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Pavliti House (The Blue House)

Argir Pavliti's house was built in 1849-1850. It is also known as The Blue House. One of the few mural portraits, most probably the owner, is preserved in it. The interior of the house is richly decorated - ceilings, doors, shutters, murals. Shortly after the first restoration, in the late 1970s, a fire broke out and burned the second floor. Fortunately, the portrait room is on the first floor and survived. A second restoration followed that recreated the rich wood-carved ceilings and restored some of the lost beauty. Many elements are missing today, there are some discrepancies with the authentic look of the building, but it is still impressive. Until recently, it housed the Plovdiv 2019 Municipal Foundation.

Dr. Sotir Antoniadi's House (Hippocrates Museum Pharmacy)

It was built in 1872 by one of the first Plovdiv medical doctors and a prominent representative of the Greek community in Plovdiv. There was a pharmacy on the ground floor of the house. Today, it has been converted into a museum exhibit, the only one of its kind in the country. The ordinance is reminiscent of the ancient-romantic style from the time of the Revival. The pharmacy is the only museum of pharmacy in Bulgaria. Here you can immerse yourself in the era of medicine and pharmacy from the time of the Bulgarian Revival to the beginning of the 20th century - a period in which medicines and drugs were prepared entirely from natural ingredients such as herbs, minerals, and natural fats.

The house is massive with an asymmetrical division. The ceilings are plastered and richly decorated with rosettes and ornaments.

It is open for visits.

Dr. Stoyan Chomakov's House (Permanent Exposition of Zlatyu Boyadzhiev)

Dr. Stoyan Chomakov is one of the most prominent fighters for an independent Bulgarian church during the Revival. The Chomakov House was built in 1858 - 1860. It stands out with its impressive posture on the main street in the Old Town. Architecturally it belongs to neoclassicism. The interior is richly ornamented with spectacular wood-carved suns and other motifs. After the Liberation, Dr. Chomakov's heirs provided the house for Knyaz Ferdinand's residence at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Since 1950, the building has housed the Children's Department of the Ivan Vazov National Library, and after 1984 is a permanent exhibition of the renowned Plovdiv artist Zlatyu Boyadzhiev. A monument to the artist was erected in the courtyard in front of the main facade of the house.

Atanas Krastev House Museum (Nacho Kulturata)

It is located almost at the top of Nebet Tepe. The building has a beautiful courtyard, which offers unique views of the city of the hills from the windows, is a model of an early Revival, asymmetrical house. The first owner of the house was BoyanNasev and the last one was Atanas Krastev, who was called “the Mayor of Old Plovdiv with love of Plovdiv”. The eminent Plovdiv citizen is at the heart of the establishment of the Ancient Plovdiv department in 1968. Between 1969 and 1986, when he was Director of Management, the most significant cultural monuments of national and local importance in the Old Plovdiv were restored.

Today the house is turned into a museum with a unique collection of portraits of the famous Plovdiv cultural figure. Some of the works he owned can be seen on the second floor of the house.