Not too far away was the time when there were no big supermarket chains in the City under the hills, and the internet was a rarity in Bulgarian homes. At that time, market days were of the utmost importance, not only to supply households with the right products but also as an occasion to learn all the news about your neighbors. There are still several places in Plovdiv where manufacturers and traders sell their goods on a particular day of the week or permanently. There you can come across fruits and vegetables, both grown on personal farms and by the elderly, and offered by resellers from stock markets around the city. Haggling is quite possible, and if you come across chatty sellers, they will explain in detail the origin of the goods.
Thursday Market
This is the oldest marketplace in the City under the hills and is said to be more than 350 years old. The history of the Plovdiv markets, and in particular of the legendary city and region market, goes back a long time. They were described as early as the 13th century during the Crusades. However, the most accurate data are only available from Ottoman and European travelers from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
Thursday Market is known to have occupied the area around the bridge over the Maritza River by July 1893. It was then relocated to the current Saedinenie Square by the decision of the City Council. In April 1955 it was called the "Plovdiv Cooperative Market". Its stalls are 1400 in number and there were still between 150 - 175 pavilions and wooden houses. There were also a few pubs on the market itself, where often, in addition to eating, people would gather together to clarify politics.
On 18 August 1984, it was decided to relocate the market and to erect the Union Monument in its place.
On September 26, 1986, Thursday Market began operating at its present location on an area of 3,342 square meters.
Monday Market
There is no reliable information as to when exactly the market started, but it is known that in 1950 its beginning was still on the square during the excavations at the East Gate. There was a barrier at the beginning of the street to stop the entry of carts on Monday, the market day. The first gas station in 1942 was built in the area. The monument of YoakimGruev is located on the square.
Grape Market
Today, this is the name of a neighborhood in the Central District of Plovdiv, but in the past, there was an old Turkish farmstead and market from which the name originated. During socialism, the square was called "Vela Blagoeva". In the local consciousness, however, the place has always remained the Grape Market. They sold grapes there when Ruski Blvd. was a Plovdiv ring road. The square was a bus station and the crowds of people passing by made traders form a fruit market. In the 1950s and 1960s, the city's central bus station was located in the neighborhood. In the 1970s, the Quiet Place Tavern operated on the Grape Market, gathering the intellectual elite of Plovdiv.
Saturday Market
This is what the area after the Stochna Railway Station in the Southern Quarter is called. Years ago, a lot of fresh fruit and vegetable traders were gathering here, but at the moment the market is quite fragmented. Now, the stalls can be found both in the covered space in front of the polyclinic and in the new separate area in front of the large hypermarkets next to the police station.
Grain Market
The Plovdiv Grain Market was located at the foot of the Old Town at the crossroads next to the Ancient Bath. Following the start of the tunnel excavation in the 1950s and the formation of the new boulevard, the grain market has moved east to where the square is today. It bears its name from the original purpose of this space, where a weekly market for grain was held in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Before 1989 the square was named after StepanShahbazyan, but today it is better known by this name among Plovdiv residents.
Farmers’ Market
The Farmers' Market in Plovdiv is an urban event, held for the first time almost seven years ago. Today, this is where you can get fresh organic fruits and vegetables, farm cheese, sourdough bread, yeast, homemade jam and lutenitsa, tea and spices, homemade sweets and vegan cuisine. Among producers who have already increased their numbers almost four times, you may come across well-known individuals as well as brand new farms. The Farmers’ Market - Plovdiv has recently returned to its original location in the newly renovated Plovdiv Plaza Mall and will is held every Sunday at level 1 in the central atrium from 10 am to 2 pm.
Inside the Plovdiv neighborhoods, you may also find separate market spaces, but unfortunately, they are less and less at the expense of supply in large chains. Nowadays, shopping can even happen on the Internet, and all the gossip is learned on social media.
