Plovdiv municipal triangle of Plovdiv, including Maritsa municipality and Rodopi municipality. Population of Plovdiv: At the first census after the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1880 with 24,053 citizens, Plovdiv is the second largest city behind Ruse, which had 26,163 citizens then, and ahead of the capital Sofia, which had 20,501 citizens then. As of the 1887 census, Plovdiv was the largest city in the country for several years with 33,032 inhabitants compared to 30,428 for Sofia. According to the 1946 census, Plovdiv was the second largest city with 126,563 inhabitants compared to 487,000 for the capital. In its ethnic character Plovdiv
Plovdiv the year. Mists are common in the cooler months, especially along the banks of the Maritsa. On average there are 33 days with mist during the year. The history of Plovdiv spans more than eight millennia. Numerous nations have left their traces on the cultural layers of the city. The earliest signs of habitation on the territory of Plovdiv date as far back as the 6th millennium BCE. Plovdiv has settlement traces including necropolises dating from the Neolithic era, roughly 6000–5000 BCE, like the mounds Yasa Tepe 1 in Philipovo district and Yasa Tepe 2 in Lauta park. Archaeologists have