Roman period, late 1st c.
Ancient Theatre
Probably the best-known ancient monument in Bulgaria, built in the 90s of the 1st century AD under Emperor Domitian. Set in the saddle between two of the three hills, it seated about 7,000 on two tiers of 14 rows each. Studied and restored between 1968 and 1984, it is among the best-preserved Roman theatres in the world and still hosts the Opera Open and other festivals.
Current status
Publicly documented historic site; detailed visiting status still needs verification.
Visit and orientation
- Coordinates
- 42.14684, 24.75101 · wikidata_coordinate
- Built/date
- Roman period, late 1st c.
- Architect/builder
- not identified in the current public source
Then/now
Then Now Uncovering the Ancient Theatre - image 1 — then/now
Comparison between the archive image “Uncovering the Ancient Theatre - image 1” and a modern open-licensed image of Ancient Theatre.
- Match
- same place, approximate viewpoint
- Then
- Credit: Realsteel007 Media file CC BY 4.0 accessed 2026-06-19
- Now
- Credit: Edal Anton Lefterov Media file CC BY-SA 3.0 accessed 2026-06-19
Archive for this place
excavation period, 20th c.
Uncovering the Ancient Theatre - image 1
Photographic archive material from the uncovering of the Ancient Theatre.
Source: Wikimedia Commons — Razkrivane antichen teatur.jpg ↗
excavation period, 20th c.
Uncovering the Ancient Theatre - image 2
Second archive image from the uncovering of the Ancient Theatre.
Source: Wikimedia Commons — Razkrivane antichen teatur1.jpg ↗