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
Trolleybuses in Plovdiv the operator is a private company, the city lost the opportunity to acquire 65 mln lv EU funding for purchasing approximately 100 brand-new trolleybuses.The system was officially closed on 1 October 2012 although some trolleybuses continued operation for a few more weeks.Currently there is no trolleybus movement and the municipality has issued an order for dismantling the overhead network. The sole Plovdiv trolleybus line was: , the Plovdiv trolleybus fleet had 47 trolleybuses: Trolleybuses in Plovdiv The Plovdiv trolleybus system () was a part of the public transport network of the city and municipality of Plovdiv, the second most populous