The Untold Stories of Plovdiv’s Old “Vacha” Power Plant

A photo of the old “Vacha” power plant on “Kicevo” street in “Kyuchuk Paris” caused a stormy discussion on the social network, saw Plovdiv24.bg.

“They barely demolished it. The Germans had built it”, “In 1928 they put it into operation. The coal was brought in by trains”, “They tried with an explosion at one time, but the other buildings would have fallen” – Plovdiv residents recall.

People remember that this is the old Vachha. “How much we used to play there as kids…then the drug addicts and gamblers came and it became a hangout,” wrote a commenter. Others add that a murder and rape took place in the building years ago.

“I got into this plant thanks to the father of a neighbor boy. It was very German about it – neat and clean! Turns out it was a mistake to liquidate it, despite its small power! I remember the big sgur chamber on the northwest side of today’s intersection of “N. Vaptsarov” and “Pere Toshev” – shared a man.

“After the explosion attempt, they brought a tank, with thick steel ropes they tried to knock it down, but the tank only plowed. The half of “Yane” (b.a. – the students of “Yane Sandanski” school) we went to watch. It was before 1984 somewhere” – recalls another.

Petar Georgiev has clear memories of “Vacha”, who told about Plovdiv24.bg details:

“Now there is nothing at the site of the old Vacha power plant. Only a part of some old premises that were at the bottom remained. From the Yane Sandanski school to Pere Toshev, there were warehouses, poles, cables, to Nikola Boulevard itself Vaptsarov”. There were buildings, but they pushed them against the blocks. There were also many trees, but they cut them down.

The plant has been around for centuries. I know from my mother that she worked until 1953. She said that she threw out burnt balls – by leaving dishes at the tap and finding them in them. Sgurta was used in the houses under the floors for insulation.

It was a paradise for the children – there were places for us to play and hide. There was a manager Katsarev, he constantly chased us. It was the wild west! But the blocks started and it was time for the cone wars.”

A check of Plovdiv24.bg showed that the ownership of the land of the former “Vacha” plant is unclear. The property is huge, with an area of ​​23 acres. According to the latest amendment in the cadastre from 2019, the land is included in a large complex, explained the director of the “Municipal Property” Directorate, Nikolay Ajellarov. The building itself has been removed and deleted from the cadastre.

For years, the municipality of Plovdiv and the state, in particular – NEK, could not understand which institution owns which part of the property. According to Ajellarov, the state-owned company must prove its ownership with documents from its balance sheet.