Municipalities today

Plovdiv Municipality celebrates the International Day for the Preservation of Cultural Monuments with open doors in the Episcopal Basilica of Filipopol and emblematic houses in the Old Town. Citizens and guests of the city will have the opportunity to meet the teams involved in the research, restoration and display of the basilica, and representatives of the teams will be available at pre-determined times.

The Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis is a monument of extremely high historical, artistic and scientific value. The building is unique in its scale, architectural design and decoration and ranks among the most representative early Christian sites. It is the largest basilica building from the IV-VI century on the territory of Bulgaria and one of the largest in the Balkans. The floors of the basilica are covered with two layers of multicolored mosaics, with an area exceeding two thousand square meters. They have their own specific appearance, combining various influences with local culture, traditions and resources, enriching our knowledge of the spread and development of mosaic art in late antiquity.

Since 20.01.2018, the Episcopal Basilica has been included in UNESCO's Initiative List of Cultural and Natural Heritage for the Republic of Bulgaria as part of the series object "The Episcopal Basilica and Late Antique Mosaics of Philippopolis, Roman province of Thrace".

Municipal Institute "Ancient Plovdiv" celebrates April 18 with Open Doors Days with lectures in some of its sites. They started already on the holiday weekends with lectures in the "Nedkovich" house, the "Hindliyan" house and in the Balabanova house.

Lectures are coming up on April 22 at the Stambolyan House, on April 23 at the Klianti House, on April 29 at the Hippocrates Museum Pharmacy and on April 30 at the Zlatyu Boyadjiev Еxhibition.

The International Day for the Preservation of Cultural Monuments has been celebrated since 1984 by decision of UNESCO. It is an occasion to draw public attention in all countries of the world to the values of the national and common human cultural heritage and to involve new participants in the efforts for the preservation of cultural monuments.

Among the Bulgarian monuments, included in the UNESCO list of world cultural and natural heritage, are the Madar Horseman, the Rila Monastery, the Kazanlak Tomb, the city of Nessebar, the Boyan Church.