Route TOBACCO QUARTER
The Alternative Map of Plovdiv draws attention to the buildings and monuments of architectural and cultural significance which are characteristic of the city’s outlook, but are neglected and in danger of being demolished or slowly crumbling.
The Tobacco Quarter is located on the southern side of Ivan Vazov St., one of Plovdiv’s most beautiful streets. Dating back to a spell of economic prosperity in the 1920s, the tobacco warehouses continue to impress with their architectural quality, although a large number of them have fallen into disrepair due to conflicting property claims. Built in the style of the Vienna Secession, neo-Classicism and Art Nouveau the warehouses were designed by some of Plovdiv’s most talented architects of the period like Kamen Petkov and Dimitar Popov. They were commissioned by prominent tobacco merchants and benefactors, such as Dimitar Kudoglu, Anastas Kutsoglu and Tomasyan. Following the communist coup in 1944, the warehouses were nationalized. In 1962, parts of the movie Tobacco, based on the novel by Dimitar Dimov, wеrе filmed in the quarter. The Tobacco Quarter is a patchwork of older and more recent buildings, inner courtyards, overpasses connecting various production units, green areas and even sports grounds hiding behind tall walls. Even today the area still smells of tobacco and preserves a quaintly Romantic atmosphere. Check the full site here