Today, the topic of public transportation is one of the most sensitive ones, with the administration constantly facing criticism regarding the quality and options for transportation. The truth is that Plovdiv has been searching for eco-friendly transportation alternatives for years, with tram transport being a frequent suggestion.
However, a lesser-known fact is that discussions about trams in public transportation date back to the period after Bulgaria's liberation. A project for a tram line in Plovdiv existed as early as April 1892, nine years before trams were introduced in Sofia. It was planned to be implemented during the First National Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition, with a route from the railway station to the main entrance of the fair. The tram was to be powered by a motor running on petrol. The proposal for execution came from the "Eastern Railways".
After this idea did not become a reality, a second attempt followed in April 1898, three years before the first tram was launched in Sofia. The municipality of Plovdiv announced a tender for the construction of a tram network in the city. The French company "Compagnie générale de Construction et de Wagons-Lits" won the concession and proposed lighting the entire city of Plovdiv. To make the enterprise profitable in the small town (as Plovdiv was not that big at the time), one of the lines was also proposed to extend to the nearby town of Stanimaka (now Asenovgrad) with an electric tram. A project for the line was created as well.
It is unclear why both projects failed within a span of six years.
In 1930, the municipality received a new proposal from a German company to build a tram line with concession rights for 25 years, but again, it did not happen. Similarly, the French company's offer to establish a tram network in Plovdiv in 1933 also failed.
Later, the German architect Hermann Jansen proposed a bold and avant-garde solution for the city—a tram-based urban transportation system. It was an ecological, clean, and forward-looking solution! If implemented, Plovdiv would have had a modern transportation system as early as the 1940s. The Museum of Technology in Berlin preserves a remarkable document related to Plovdiv, dated 1942. In the plan, six tram lines cross the city from end to end. The solution appears promising from an environmental perspective but not from an economic one, as discussed today. During those years, Plovdiv was a small city where a tram system was suitable, but it might not have been essential for its citizens.
Jansen's plan (preserved in the Plovdiv archive) shows a well-placed layout of the lines, which could serve as a foundation for future development. The lines go around the hills and even reach... an airport. It was planned by the architect to be located in the east, where the Trakia railway station is situated today. It is noteworthy that Prof. Jansen envisioned Plovdiv's development primarily to the south and planned significant expansion of the city in that direction, even encircling it with a tram line.
Of course, Jansen's routes can no longer be built in modern times. They have been absorbed by the new transportation network of the city. However, despite this, Prof. Jansen's concept remains unique! Experts say that it demonstrates a grand vision, a correct view of the city's future, and a good combination of practicality and aesthetics. If the project had been realized, Plovdiv would have had a functional public transportation system as early as the 1940s, following the German model. Prof. Jansen is well-known in Germany as the author of the first comprehensive plan for Berlin.
At one time, the German urban planner also considered a way to connect Main Street (Glavnata) with the top of Sahat Tepe. The idea was later realized by architect Zhelyazko Stoykov, who designed the beautiful "Kamenitza" stairs with the intention of resembling the "Spanish Steps" in Rome, as we previously noted in our article on the five similarities between Plovdiv and Rome.
These events are described by several chroniclers of Plovdiv, collected and published in the "Encyclopedia of Plovdiv," compiled by Bozhidar Totev.
Тhere are no comments yet.