Ottoman era · Socialist era
Komatevo
the village of 1477 that became a southern quarter
Documented as early as 1477, Komatevo was a village of Christian voynugans with Ottoman-era privileges — keepers of horses for the sultans' campaigns. Joined to Plovdiv in 1969, it keeps its village grid, its three churches of three confessions, and the traces of a 5th-century early-Christian basilica.
Why this quarter matters
Komatevo is the deepest village root on city territory: documented in 1477 as a village of voynugans — Christians privileged to keep horses for the sultans' campaigns — it also guards traces of a 5th-century basilica. The quarter is a living atlas of the village-to-city passage, with three churches of three confessions.
For the visitor
- What to see
- The village grid around the square, the three churches and Botev's training complex.
- How long
- About an hour; pair with Proslav for the village west.
- When to come
- Sunday morning, when all three congregations are awake.
- Food nearby
- Neighbourhood eateries around the square.
Where the name comes from
Legend has a passing sultan calling it "a village small as a komat (a hunk of bread)"; the sources note, however, that the link is uncertain.
Getting there
At the city's south-western edge by the Ring Road; reached by bus along Komatevsko Shose.
Quarter timeline
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5th century
The basilica
A three-nave early-Christian basilica rises over an older structure — the settlement's earliest page.
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1477
First record
The village appears in Ottoman registers: privileged Christian voynugans maintain horses for the sultans' campaigns.
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1912
The volunteers
Four Komatevo men volunteer in the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Corps.
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1969
A Plovdiv quarter
The village is annexed to the city; today Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches share the quarter.
People, communities and institutions
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Community
The voynugans
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Faith
Three churches, three confessions
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Institution
The Botev 1912 training ground
