Sahat tepe – the Clock Hill of Plovdiv

Published by freeplovdivtour at August 15, 2023

The clock tower

This place got its name because of a small clock tower situated on one of its tops. It is one of the oldest functioning clock towers on the Balkan peninsula. It dates back all the way to the 16th century when even cities like Thessaloniki, Odrin and nowadays Istanbul (the Dolmabahçe Clock Tower dates back to the end of the 19th century) did not have such. Firstly, the clock tower was made of wood. But even before that, the hill had clocks. There have been a water clock and a sun clock during the Roman period.

Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the wooden clock tower. Over time, it underwent changes, the most serious of which was in 1812 (according to the Arabic inscription above the entrance). Now built out of stone it can survive the tests of time. The construction that remains on top of the hill till today is almost 18 meters high and was modeled after lighthouses.

The mechanism of the clock was made in Vienna and brought to Plovdiv in 1883. It stopped functioning in the 1940s, so a replica was made. The mechanism requires that it is synchronized a couple of times a week which may sound like an easy task if each of the clock hands didn’t weigh around 100 kg. Fortunately, the love of the locals for this place makes them willing to overcome any challenge to keep it going which has now turned it into one of the symbols of the city.

Photos: Nikolina Mihaylova

Danov’s Hill

Sahat tepe has a contemporary name as well, which is Danov’s Hill – named after Hristo G. Danov who is widely regarded as the father of organized book publishing in Bulgaria. There’s a monument of Danov near the clock tower on the hill. He lived during the Bulgarian revival period. After the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, he became a politician and also served as the mayor of Plovdiv. His service was entirely in the name of the higher good of the people and the city as he specifically asked to receive no salary. His house in the Old Town is nowadays a museum dedicated to the history of Bulgarian publishing.

Radio and TV tower

The Clock Hill actually has two hilltops and in older maps, it was marked as two hills. The other hilltop houses the city’s radio and TV station. Just under it, on the side of the hill, you will find Plovdiv’s summer theatre where over the long summer nights you can catch a movie, a theatre, or a concert.

From either side you will have a good view of the city, despite the fact that the hill is only around 210 meters high. Together with the Youth Hill and the Bunardzhik Hill, it has been declared as a protected natural phenomenon.

Photos: Dimitra Lefterova

At the foot of the hill, there used to be graffiti portraits dedicated to some of the Bulgarian national heroes. The first one showed up back in 2012 and was of our most significant national hero – the revolutionary Vasil Levski. Every night a new portrait would show up and the author would remain anonymous for a long time. You can learn more about the portraits’ history and faith on our Graffiti tour.