October 5, Day of Stara Zagora city
Article published from Sylvia Nikolova - BNR on 2007-10-05 07:27:00Category: Travel in Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora is Bulgaria’s sixth largest city. It is surrounded by vineyards and orchards in all directions. The city, standing in Southern Bulgaria has not only a good location but also a mild climate. The mineral springs in its vicinity make it even more attractive for visitors. It is a place where roads cross, coming from the Danube River and heading to Edirne and the Mediterranean, from the capital Sofia, heading to Plovdiv and the Black Sea Coast. There has been a settlement on the spot as early as pre-historic times. A testimony of this early stage of development are the Neolithic dwellings of more than 8000 years old. The Thracians created a large settlement there and called it Augusta Trajana.
Margarita Krasteva from the Center for Tourist Information in the city explains:
"The Roman period of the history of Stara Zagora is very interesting. The town existed as an autonomous district and there exists evidence that Roman emperors visited the place. And that is why it was called like that – "the illustrious city of the Trojans". We have from those days the remains of the antique forum complex and the main street. On display is the Southern Gate of the fortress, antique mosaics from a private dwelling and a public building. The prominence of the ancient Augusta Trajana is also witnessed by the fact that the city was allowed to mint its own coins. This was the second largest city in Southern Thrace after Phillipopoulis, today’s city of Plovdiv. Another interesting site is also the complex of Roman thermal baths with numerous halls. It has been a place of busy social life. The restored amphitheater is used to this day for summer concerts."
During the excavations of a Thracian mound in the center of the town archeologists discovered the oldest preserved Neolithic dwelling in Europe dating back to the 7th millennium BC. But before you learn more on this unique find, let us tell you of an interesting fact. We, Bulgarians, are descendants of the oldest metallurgists in the world. The oldest mine for the extraction of copper was discovered near Stara Zagora. It was operating in the 4th millennium BC. The miners used to transport the ore 7 kilometers to the settlement where it was processed. Some 15 years ago the site gave the start of the film created by the BBC – "The Birth of Europe". But let us return to the time of the Neolithic dwellings.
"They are preserved with their full inventory," Mrs. Krasteva further explains. "Visitors can get an idea of how they were built and how they were furnished. The furnace is especially well preserved and it is present in the BBC documentary. It a furnace with a chimney and the smoke was lead out of the house. One can also see there the first stone hand mills. Our ancestors were making enormous pottery containers for keeping grain. The wheat discovered there is of the size of today’s, which means that people in the distant past had a fairly good knowledge of agriculture and a notion of plant selection. The place where cult rituals were performed is also well preserved. During the diggings a number of ellipse clay beads were discovered, presumably weights for a sling, which the ancient people shaped in the form of present-day bullets. They have obviously derived this knowledge from keen observation of the surrounding world – the for of the body of a bird, fish, etc."
The ground floor of the Stara Zagora museum building houses one more unique exposition informing on the pre-historic past of the region. It displays ancient tools: a sickle made of horn, an awl made of chicken bone and a copper-covered peak and a wooden drum dating back to the 5th millennium BC. It is considered the oldest instrument and believed to be the first one as its sound is closest to the mother’s heartbeat a baby hears even in the womb. One can also see a clay vessel with a chessboard decoration. The number of squared on it is exactly 365 – yet another proof that these people belonged to a brilliant civilization.
Here next is a glance at the modern city and the tourist opportunities it offers.
"Guests can stay at the good hotels," Mrs. Krasteva goes on to say. "They can visit the villages around where rural tourism is gaining popularity. Ecological tourism is also developing, offering cycling hikes and possibilities for recreation by the mineral springs near-by. Guests to Stara Zagora can also enjoy local cuisine and especially the wonderful local wines."
Margarita Krasteva from the Center for Tourist Information in the city explains:
"The Roman period of the history of Stara Zagora is very interesting. The town existed as an autonomous district and there exists evidence that Roman emperors visited the place. And that is why it was called like that – "the illustrious city of the Trojans". We have from those days the remains of the antique forum complex and the main street. On display is the Southern Gate of the fortress, antique mosaics from a private dwelling and a public building. The prominence of the ancient Augusta Trajana is also witnessed by the fact that the city was allowed to mint its own coins. This was the second largest city in Southern Thrace after Phillipopoulis, today’s city of Plovdiv. Another interesting site is also the complex of Roman thermal baths with numerous halls. It has been a place of busy social life. The restored amphitheater is used to this day for summer concerts."
During the excavations of a Thracian mound in the center of the town archeologists discovered the oldest preserved Neolithic dwelling in Europe dating back to the 7th millennium BC. But before you learn more on this unique find, let us tell you of an interesting fact. We, Bulgarians, are descendants of the oldest metallurgists in the world. The oldest mine for the extraction of copper was discovered near Stara Zagora. It was operating in the 4th millennium BC. The miners used to transport the ore 7 kilometers to the settlement where it was processed. Some 15 years ago the site gave the start of the film created by the BBC – "The Birth of Europe". But let us return to the time of the Neolithic dwellings.
"They are preserved with their full inventory," Mrs. Krasteva further explains. "Visitors can get an idea of how they were built and how they were furnished. The furnace is especially well preserved and it is present in the BBC documentary. It a furnace with a chimney and the smoke was lead out of the house. One can also see there the first stone hand mills. Our ancestors were making enormous pottery containers for keeping grain. The wheat discovered there is of the size of today’s, which means that people in the distant past had a fairly good knowledge of agriculture and a notion of plant selection. The place where cult rituals were performed is also well preserved. During the diggings a number of ellipse clay beads were discovered, presumably weights for a sling, which the ancient people shaped in the form of present-day bullets. They have obviously derived this knowledge from keen observation of the surrounding world – the for of the body of a bird, fish, etc."
The ground floor of the Stara Zagora museum building houses one more unique exposition informing on the pre-historic past of the region. It displays ancient tools: a sickle made of horn, an awl made of chicken bone and a copper-covered peak and a wooden drum dating back to the 5th millennium BC. It is considered the oldest instrument and believed to be the first one as its sound is closest to the mother’s heartbeat a baby hears even in the womb. One can also see a clay vessel with a chessboard decoration. The number of squared on it is exactly 365 – yet another proof that these people belonged to a brilliant civilization.
Here next is a glance at the modern city and the tourist opportunities it offers.
"Guests can stay at the good hotels," Mrs. Krasteva goes on to say. "They can visit the villages around where rural tourism is gaining popularity. Ecological tourism is also developing, offering cycling hikes and possibilities for recreation by the mineral springs near-by. Guests to Stara Zagora can also enjoy local cuisine and especially the wonderful local wines."
