Plovdiv a horse racing club and a horse base near the city. Plovdiv has several volleyball and basketball teams. Three of the city's seven hills are protected natural territories since 1995. Two of the first parks in Bulgaria are located in the city center "Tsar Simeon garden – city garden", where the very first work of the Italian sculptor Arnoldo Zocchi could be seen, and "Dondukov garden – old city garden". Some of the larger parks include the "Botanical garden", "Beli Brezi", "Ribnitsa", and "Lauta". Plovdiv is twinned with the following cities: The asteroid (minor planet) is named after the city.
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