Plovdiv once-bright greens and blues. Torah scrolls are kept in the gilded Aron-ha-Kodesh. The Plovdiv Drama Theatre is a successor of the first professional theatre group in Bulgaria founded in 1881. The Plovdiv Puppet Theatre, founded in 1948, remains one of the leading institutions in this genre. The Plovdiv Opera was established in 1953. Another pillar of Plovdiv's culture is the Philharmonic, founded in 1945. Soloists such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yuri Boukov, and Mincho Minchev have worked with the Plovdiv Philharmonic. The orchestra has toured in almost all of the European countries. The Trakiya Folklore Ensemble, founded
PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv club of the railway workers in Plovdiv". The first years of the team are difficult as its performance does not bring about such glory as some of the other teams of the city like Sportclub or Botev Plovdiv. The club is accepted as a member of the national sport federation a whole three years after its creation. Nevertheless, in the early 1940s the team betters their performance and in 1944 wins the Championship of Plovdiv. In an economical aspect the railway club contributes heavily to the development of sports in the region of Plovdiv, making large inputs for the improvement