Plovdiv printing-press. The city's traditions as a literary centre are preserved by the first public library in Bulgaria, the Ivan Vazov National Library, the 19 "chitalishta" (cultural centres), and by numerous booksellers and publishers. The library was founded in 1879 and named after the famous Bulgarian writer and poet Ivan Vazov who worked in Plovdiv for five years creating some of his best works. Today the Ivan Vazov National Library is the second largest national library institution with more than 1.5 million books, owning rare Bulgarian and European publications. The city has traditions in iconography since the Middle Ages. During the
PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv Another merger follows in 1945 with the "Catholic" club "Parchevich". After this wave of mergers, like many others in the country, the club is renamed to an abbreviation of the biggest clubs merged - the new name is "S.P.-45", meaning "Sportclub Parchevich - 1945". However, because of the "Western" phrasing ("sport" and "club" are non-Slavic words) the team is renamed again before the start of the season - the name of the club becomes ""Slavia" Plovdiv". In 1947 a new wave of consolidations of the sport organisations in the country sees Slavia Plovdiv merge with the team of the cooperative