Stara Zagora

Stara Zagora was destroyed in 1877 and rebuilt from scratch on a grid plan with wide straight avenues and a large amount of planting, which makes it unlike other Bulgarian cities, and beneath that modern layout are much older layers that have been opened up. The Neolithic Dwellings Museum protects two houses of around the sixth millennium BC that burned and collapsed, preserving their walls, ovens, grinding stones and pots in place, and it is one of the best preserved neolithic interiors in Europe. The Roman forum of Augusta Traiana has been excavated in the centre with its theatre, and the regional museum holds a mosaic collection. The city is also known for its lime avenues, which scent the streets in June.

History

Four prehistoric settlements grew up here at the end of the 7th millennium BC, the Neolithic dwellings found in the town in 1968 date from the middle of the 6th millennium BC, and copper mines nearby, nearly 7,600 years old, are the oldest in Europe. The Thracian town of Beroe stood here in the 5th-4th centuries BC, and as Ulpia Augusta Traiana it became the leading city of Roman Thrace, largest under Marcus Aurelius, when walls of about 50 hectares with some 40 towers, a forum, baths and a theatre were built, and emperors from Septimius Severus to Diocletian visited it (Wikipedia, Stara Zagora).

Highlights

• Neolithic dwellings preserved in place - walls, ovens and pots as they collapsed.
• The Roman forum and theatre - Augusta Traiana excavated in the centre.
• A post-1878 grid plan - wide avenues unlike other Bulgarian cities.
• Lime avenues in June - the trees the city is known for.

When to go

April to October, with June for the lime blossom. Half a day. Museums close on some Mondays. The city is hot in high summer, being in the plain.

Practical notes

The neolithic museum is small and has limited hours. The Roman forum is fenced and viewed from the street in parts. The modern city is pleasant but unremarkable. Interpretation is largely in Bulgarian.

Nearby

Kazanlak and the Rose Valley are north; Plovdiv lies west.