1st Bilateral Study Visit of the INSiGHTS project was conducted on 19 - 20 June 2017 in the city of Plovdiv between Regional Development Agency with Business Support Centre for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Bulgaria) and Regional Economic Development Agency for Šumadija and Pomoravlje (Serbia) with the support of experts from partner CEEweb for Biodiversity (Hungary).

The partners started with the afternoon programme and visited Plovdiv Old Town (craft houses, churches, Roman and Ancient theatre). The guided tour started with the Forum of Philippopolis (agora), Plovdiv Odeon, the new excavations on the central square, the longest pedestrian street in Europe, the Roman stadium of Plovdiv, the oldest mosque on the Balkan Peninsula - Dzhumaya mosque, the Ancient Roman theatre, Klianty house. Lamartin’s house, Puldin restaurant and Dervish dancers, Museum of icons, the Orthodox Church of Elena and Konstantin, The Ethnographic museum, Ndeet tepe with panoramic view of the other three hills – protected areas and Matirsa river – Natura 2000.

The tour continued with visit to the representative old house of winery Pulpudeva - T where the owner Mr. Todor Kovachev presented his company and all of the participants tasted 5 types of wine, rose and melon spirits and received a special package each with species. The participants visited the three reopened houses of different crafts of Plovdiv municipality and Regional Chamber of Crafts – bakery, souvenirs and fossils, paintings on glass, pottery, etc.

All participants took part in the training on product development and promotion delivered by Mr. Michael Meyer and Mrs. Krisztina Campbell (from CEEweb) with presentation and discussions.
The study visit continued in the afternoon with visiting the city central garden, Bunardzhik hill – natural landmark, Kapana quarter with its renewed buildings, cafes, restaurants, and cultural events, fests, exhibitions for leisure time.

More photos from the event can be found in the Gallery.

Text prepared by RDA with BSC for SMEs team, Plovdiv