Plovdiv 40,000 objects. The Museum of Natural Science was inaugurated in 1955 in the old edifice of the Plovdiv Municipality built in 1880. It is among the most important museums in the country with rich collections in its Paleontology, Mineralogy, and Botanic sections. There are several rooms for wildlife and it contains Bulgaria's largest freshwater aquarium with 40 fish species. It has a collection of minerals from the Rhodope mountains. The Museum of Aviation was established on 21 September 1991 on the territory of the Krumovo airbase to the southeast of the city. The museum possesses 59 aircraft and indoor and
Plovdiv in Silistra Eyalet between 1593 and 1826, the sanjak centre in Eyalet of Adrianople between 1826 and1867 and the sanjak centre of Edirne Vilayet between 1867 and 1878. During that period Plovdiv was a major economic center along with Constantinople, Edirne, and Thessaloniki. The richer citizens constructed beautiful houses many of which can still be seen in the Architectural reserve Old Plovdiv. Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Filibe (as the city was known at that time) was a focal point for the Bulgarian national movement and survived as one of the major cultural centers for Bulgarian culture and