The building of the Greek school in Plovdiv is the first in the city, specifically built to be used as an educational institution. It was constructed in 1780 on Dzhambaz Tepe. Before that, children learned to write and read in the church vestibules or in the homes of the teachers. In the first half of the 19th century, the Central Greek School was a general city institution in Plovdiv, and both Greek and Bulgarian boys were educated there. For years, the school's maintenance fund was managed by the Chalukov family. The first headmaster of the school was Hieromonk Antim. In 1790, he was succeeded by Economos Konstantin, who published "A Description of the Plovdiv Eparchy" in Vienna in 1819. Headmaster of the school later in 1828 became Hadji Ioanis from Sliven, who was better known as Dr. Ivan Seliminski. Having graduated from the prestigious high school in Kydonies (Asia Minor) and traveled across half of Europe, Seliminski impressed students with his extensive knowledge. No one in Plovdiv suspected that Hadji Ioanis had participated in the Greek Revolution of 1821, had ties with leaders of the national liberation movements in Hungary and the Czech lands, or with the Carbonari in Italy. During the Russo-Turkish War (1828-1829), he organized the supply of weapons to Bulgarians and founded revolutionary committees in Sliven and other towns. Some authors even call him the first major Bulgarian revolutionary organizer. Subsequently, in the second half of the 19th century, Bulgarians established their own church community, founded Bulgarian schools, and separated from the Greeks.
Also on Dzhambaz Tepe, in the 1860s, the Main Greek Girls' School was built. In 1874, a new type of school appeared, called the Zarifov School (a complete high school and teacher's institute). In 1900, the representative building of the "Grigoriy Marazli" School was built. The boys' Zarifov School moved into this new three-story building, while the old Central Greek School building was occupied by the students of the Central Girls' School. The latter was first renovated in 1811, and the second renovation took place in 1832. After 1840, the state of the building became terrible, and during the great Plovdiv fire of 1846, the school burned down to the ground, but it was quickly rebuilt and regained its most attractive form.
At the time, it could be seen from the Plovdiv railway station. Directly below the building stood the bell tower of the Church of St. Petka (Old), and the church itself was located nearby. These three buildings, together with the magnificent rocks of the hill, formed an unforgettable ensemble. We see it in the first "Panorama of Philippopolis" from 1873, created by the photographer Dimitar Kavrakov, and also in a photograph from 1875 by Dmitry Ermakov, one of the prominent masters of 19th-century world photography. Up close, the building impresses with its elegance and refinement. The individual details of the building are most clearly seen in a work by court photographer Ivan Karastoyanov from 1892.
After the anti-Greek movement in the summer of 1906, the former Central Greek School was closed permanently. A few years later, it was remodeled, and the now bland facade bore the inscription "Carpentry School" (i.e., craftsmen were trained there in furniture making). After 1925, the building became a tobacco warehouse.
In more recent times, a project to restore the Greek school building was developed in 1971 by the architects Matei Mateev and Vera Kolarova, two individuals who contributed significantly to the study of Plovdiv's history. The idea was to turn the building into a "Restaurant Complex." It was to have 350 seats, with different types of rooms on each floor. On the upper two floors, there were plans to create a "Plovdiv Room," a "Rhodopian Room," and a "Srednogorie Room." The idea was that the entrance would be from the top floor, from the Old Town. On the next floor down, there was to be a "Thracian Tavern" with a square hall dedicated to the Panagyurishte Treasure, featuring replicas of some of the objects. This idea is connected with the fact that the Archaeological Museum, where the treasure was expected to be housed, was nearby. The lowest level was planned as a wine cellar. However, the 18 years from the project's announcement in 1971 until 1989 were not enough for the totalitarian regime to complete this interesting project by Mateev and Kolarova.
The oldest building still in use for its original purpose is the Yellow School. It was built in 1868 by the master from Bratsigovo, Todor Damov. After its construction, it housed the Plovdiv Main School – the first high school in Plovdiv, created on the basis of the eparchial school "Sts. Cyril and Methodius," with the aim of training teachers and priests. Ivan Vazov, Todor Kableshkov, and Dimcho Debelyanov studied there, and after the Liberation, P.R. Slaveykov, Petko Karavelov, and others taught in the Yellow School, as well. On the eastern corner, between "Tsar Ivaylo" and "Todor Samodumov" streets, original inscriptions in Bulgarian and Ottoman Turkish can still be seen, stating that the school was built in 1868 with the blessing of Sultan Abdulaziz Khan.
In the first post-war school year, 143 students were enrolled in the high school, but by the 1879-1880 school year, the number increased to about 600. As the school's building quickly became too small for all students, the regional administration decided to build a new one, about which we've told you in our article on the oldest high school in Bulgaria.
Since 1964, the building has been used by the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts. Unfortunately, it has been awaiting reconstruction for several years now.
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