Sahat Tepe (Danov Hill)

Sahat Tepe is one of today's six hills in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv. [1] Its altitude is 210.7 m. It is located in the central part of the city and is about 46 m high on the city grounds. It is officially named Danov Hill in honor of the Bulgarian Revivalist and book publisher Hristo G. Danov - public figure and mayor of Plovdiv. For some time, the hill was named after Vasil Kolarov - former head of state and prime minister.
It is believed that in Roman times a temple of Venus was located on the top of the hill.
Its name in Turkish means Clock Hill because of the Clock Tower, built in the 16th century on top of it. It is one of the oldest in Eastern Europe and is a stone prism with a height of 17.5 m. In the first modern urban plan, prepared by Josef Schneiter, the hill was named the Hour Hill. Over time, it underwent changes, the most serious of which was in 1812 (according to the Arabic inscription above the entrance). The tower was used as a fire station in the period between the two world wars. [3] In 1896 was the first planned afforestation of the hill with the adopted "Plan for afforestation of the hills Sahat Tepe". [4] The hill has a good infrastructure, which is the reason for the smaller number of native plant and animal species. [2] Along with the hills of Youth Hill and Liberators' Hill, the hill was declared a natural landmark in early 1996. [5]