If there is a central artery in the creative district, it is definitely HristoDyukmedzhievStreet, where it’s full of life. The small street starts from Marukyan Square, better known as Shirokoto, and after 30 numbers ends at the entrance to Ancient Plovdiv - Zhelezarska Street. On this short stretch are located some of the most famous bars under the hills, and you can literally stay, have breakfast, drink coffee, have lunch and dinner, and finally finish the day with a beer or a cocktail in hand.
It was named after one of the great Plovdiv figures, who are not so popular among the city residents. HristoDyukmedzhiev was born in Dupnitsa, but his family is from Samokov. Having joined the Liberation War, he arrived in Plovdiv, where his group was disbanded. Then he returned briefly to Samokov, but after three years he settled permanently in Plovdiv and opened a foundry workshop on the street, which presently bears his name. It was located on number 6, where he not only worked but also lived.
Its second floor served as the focal point for meetings of the Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee, which later completed the Union of Principality of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia. The organization's leader ZahariStoyanov also stayed there often. Dyukmedzhiev produced the seal of the Union, and subsequently participated in the Serbo-Bulgarian War.
Two years after the Unification, he ran for and was elected mayor of Plovdiv. He is known for his credit for running the first water main from the Rhodopes to the city, renaming the streets with modern names instead of their Turkish names, and organizing their numbering. On the occasion of his heroic participation in the Militia, the Liberation and the Serbo-Bulgarian Wars, he received over 10 medals, including a special order from Knyaz Ferdinand. An interesting fact is that he himself thought he had no merit for the latter, so he exchanged it for a mug of beer, which enraged the knyaz. Dyukmedzhievhad to leave Plovdiv and return to his native Samokov. He was elected mayor there, too, for 4 years, where he died in 1905.
Today the street is the busiest in the district and on the ground floor in almost every house there is a bar or a restaurant. During the warmer months, it is difficult to pass through people in the evenings, and finding a place to sit outside is like winning the lottery. In the winter the crowd is certainly smaller, but the place never loses its charm.
