Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria.
It is in 13th place by the number of inhabitants in the European
Union. According to GRAO, the population at current address is
1,280,646 people, and at permanent address is 1,386,779 people (as
of December 15, 2022). According to the results of the census in
2011, the population of the city is 1,291,591, which represents
17.5% of the population of Bulgaria. Sofia is located in the central
part of Western Bulgaria, in the Sofia Valley and is surrounded by 5
mountains: Vitosha and Plana from the south, Sofia Mountain (part of
the Stara Planina) from the north, Lyulin from the west, and
Lozenska Planina (part of the Ikhtimanska Sredna Gora ) from the
east. This makes it the fourth highest capital in Europe. It was
built on the four terraces of the Iskar River and its tributaries:
Perlovska and Vladajska (Eleshnica). There are mineral springs in
the central part of the city, as well as in the districts of Ovcha
Kupel, Kniazhevo, Gorna Banya and Pancharevo. The climate of Sofia
is moderately continental.
Sofia is the main administrative,
industrial, transport, cultural and educational center of the
country, and 1/6 of Bulgaria's industrial production is concentrated
there. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the central buildings of
Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio, Bulgarian
Telegraph Agency, many universities, theaters, cinemas, as well as
the National Art Gallery, archaeological, historical, natural
history and other museums are also located here. Visible
archaeological monuments from Roman times have been preserved in
many places in the city center.
Sofia bears the name of the
late antique early Christian cathedral church of the city "Saint
Sophia" (in Greek Ἁγία Σοφία, in Latin: Sancta Sophia, "Holy Wisdom
of God", one of the names of the young Jesus Christ). However, the
city's holiday is on September 17, when the Orthodox Church
commemorates the Holy Martyrs Sophia, Faith, Hope and Love. The date
was set as Sofia Holiday by decision of the Sofia Municipal Council
of March 25, 1992.
Sofia was declared the capital on April 3,
1879 by the Constituent National Assembly on the proposal of Prof.
Marin Drinov, as an old Bulgarian city, far from the Turkish border
and centrally located in the Bulgarian ethnic territory.
The
capital's motto is "Growing, but not aging". It was inscribed in
1911 on the coat of arms of Sofia, created in 1900, and in 1928 it
was decorated with laurel branches on both sides. The coat of arms
depicts the symbols of the capital: Ulpia Serdika (the Roman empress
Julia Domna), Mount Vitosha, the Church of Saint Sophia and a golden
canopy with Apollo the healer; among them there is a lion in the
center, and above - a fortress wall with 3 towers.
Most of the sights are spread across the city center of Sofia and consist of numerous historic church buildings from different eras and religions as well as museums, often housed in magnificent palaces. There are also imposing government and administrative buildings in magnificent Soviet architecture from the 1950s to 1980s. At the same time, many parks run through the city and the countless small owner-managed specialist shops, which are still part of everyday life here, invite you to browse.
Aleksander Nevski Memorial Church (Хррам-паметник Свети
Александър Невскиам-паметник Свети Александър Невски, Chram-pametnik
Sveti Alexander Nevski), Alexander Nevski Square. The symbol of Sofia
par excellence. The sacred building, which has a magnificent facade and
decorative windows, is located on a traffic-calmed square, which is
crossed by a road - watch out for cars when taking photos! At night, the
facade is illuminated from one side. Open: daily 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Saint Sophia Church
(Базиликата Света София, Basilicata Sveta Sofija), Alexander Nevski
Square. The second oldest surviving church in the capital.
Rotunda aka Church of Saint
George (Ротондата Свети Георги, Rotondata Sveti Georgi),
Boulevard Alexander Stambolijski. It is the oldest structure in the city
and dates back to the 4th or 5th century. Previously a Roman bath took
its place, later it was used as a mosque under the Turkish rule. The
church and some ruins in front of it are located in a courtyard
surrounded by tall Soviet buildings of the 50s, directly behind the
Sofia Hotel Balkan.
Saint Nicholas - Russian Church
(Свети Николай (София)), Boulevard Tzar Osvoboditel 3. Actually called
Church of St. Nicholas or Russian Church (Руската църква Свети Николай,
Ruskata tzarkva Sveti Nikolai): Moscow-style church with five gilded
onion domes.
Saint Petka (Sveta Petka) of the saddlers
Saint Nedelya Church (Holy Sunday Church)
Church of Saint Paraskeva (Църква Света Параскева)
Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church (Църква Свети Седмочисленици)
Archaeological Museum
(Национален археологически музей), Sabornastr. 2, ул. Sъборна 2
. Open: Summer hours 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; in winter 10:30
a.m.–3:30 p.m. with lunch break; Mon is a rest day.
Ethnographic Museum (Етнографски музей), Batenberg Square, pl.
Batenberg. It is located in the building of the former Tsar's
Palace. Collections from the works of Bulgarian traditional
crafts, suits, fabrics, jewelry and musical instruments are on
display. Open: Hours: Summer 10am-5pm; in winter 11:00 a.m. –
4:00 p.m.; Mon is a rest day.
The National Historical Museum
(Национален исторически музей), Vitoshko Lale 16, ул. Витошко
лале 16 . in the Rezidentsia Boyana shows an overview of
Bulgarian history from antiquity to the present day. The main
attractions are probably the gold and silver vessels and
jewelery from the Thracian (approx. 4th century BC) and Roman
times. Open: from 9.30 a.m., in winter until 6 p.m., in summer
until 7 p.m.
National Museum of
Natural History (Национален природонаучен музей), Tsar
Osvoboditel Boulevard No. 1, бул. Цар Освободител 1 . Open:
Opening hours: daily 10:00 - 18:00.
Central mineral bath
(Музей за история) wikipedia. Historical exhibitions from
antiquity to modern times and cultural events in a traditional
building.
Museum of Military History (военноисторически
музей), ul. "Cherkovna" 92, 1505 Oborishte, Sofia (Tram 20:
Rumansko Posolstvo. Bus 9: 31-vo SUCHEM) . Open: Wed-Sun
10am-6pm.
Museum of Socialist Art (Музей на социалистическото
изкуство), ul. "Lachezar Stanchev" 7, 1756 g.k. Iztok, Sofia
(Bus 67, 413: zh.k. Dianabad or Metro 1, 4: 600 m). Open: Thu -
Sun 10:00 - 18:00.
Vrana Park & Museum (Парк-музей "Врана"; 11 km from the center. Bus 505 on opening days from Orlov Most) . Designed landscape park. Created from 1900-9 over 40 years as part of a 140 ha mansion dedicated to the Bulgarian kings Ferdinand I and Boris III. belonged. In 2001 it was donated to the city by the son of Tsar Boris III, Simeon Koburgotski. The manor house, still owned by the royal family, has belonged to a foundation since 2011, which has partially renovated it, it is not (yet in 2021) (regularly) open to visitors. Open: Sat-Sun 10am-6pm. Price: adults 5 L., children 2 L.
Free Sofia Tour - offers a 2-hour guided walking tour of the
city center. The guided tour is conducted by students with a
good knowledge of English; the explanations are in English. It
is free of charge - of course a tip at the end of the tour is
gladly accepted, as this is the only way to finance the tours.
The starting point of the tour is the Palace of Justice, a
monumental building with large columns and two lion monuments in
front of it, right in the center on the corner of Boulevard
Vitosha and Ulica Alabin in the immediate vicinity of the Church
of Sveta Nedelja - the one that stands in the middle of the
street. The guided tours take place daily (Monday to Sunday),
starting at 11 a.m. and in winter at 2 p.m. and in summer at 6
p.m. Registration is not required. Route: Palace of Justice, St.
Nedelya Church, ZUM, Mosque, Central Mineral Baths, then back to
Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard, Grand Mosque of Sofia, Central Bank,
Ivan Vazov Theater, Russian Church, St. Sofia Church, Alexander
Nevsky Cathedral, Parliament. The tour ends at Parliament. A
visit to the individual sights is not planned because there is
not enough time. Overall highly recommended.
City tours
are offered quite sparsely in Sofia. A central departure point
for buses for sightseeing tours is directly at the Alexander
Nevsky Cathedral. Tourist city tours are advertised in larger
hotels, but day trips to the greater area around Sofia are
usually offered (Rila Monastery, Koprivchitsa, Plovdiv).
Sofia is in no way inferior to other capitals in terms of things to
do. Cinema, concerts, theatre, winter sports on the Vitosha... -
everything is possible. The free culture guide Programata offers a very
good overview. On the homepage there is information about all events in
the larger cities. In many restaurants, cinemas or hotels you can take
an up-to-date booklet with you.
swimming pools
Note: Swimming
Pool ("Суиминг пуул"), "Tsar Osvoboditel" 10, fl. 5, 1000 Sofia is an
art gallery.
Indoor swimming pool Madara, bul. "Praga" 21, 1463
Sofia Center (Metro Meditsinski university). Indoor pool with 25 m pool.
Open: Mon.-Fri. 7.00-8.00, 13.00-14.00, 20.45-21.45; Sat., Sun. 10.00
a.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Vazrazhdane (Аквапарк "Възраждане"). Indoor pool
with 25 m pool, all year round. Part of the aqua park of the same name,
in summer with an outdoor pool, slides, etc. Swim caps are compulsory
(available at the cash desk). Open: 7.00-23.00. Price: 9.00 L + 5 L. Key
deposit.
Swimming pool in the Sports Palace (Басейн "Спортна
палата"), bul. "Vasil Levski" 75, 1000 Sofia Center (Metro 1, 4: SU Sv.
Kliment Ohridski; Metro 3: Orlov most. In both cases 300m through Park
Knyazheska). Simple 25m indoor pool. Cold showers, saunas only
temporarily in operation. Neither butter nor guns in the basin. Open:
Mon.-Fri. 6.30-18.30, Sat. until 16.00.
By plane
Sofia Airport (Летище София, formerly also
Sofia-Vrazhdebna, IATA: SOF), bul. "Christopher Columbus" №1 1540 Sofia
(about 12km east of the city center.). The airport consists of the
modern, bright Terminal 2 (including Lufthansa, Ryanair) and the
historic Terminal 1, about 1.5 km away, which is now only used for cheap
and charter flights (Wizz Air, easyJet). A free shuttle bus runs between
the two from 05:00-23:00 every 15-30 minutes (duration 5-10 minutes).
Terminal 2, which is also the home base for the national airline
Bulgaria Air, has all the amenities you would expect, including free
WiFi and a business lounge. Terminal 1 is much more spartan, but also
has a small range of restaurants and a duty-free area. Feature: free
wifi.
Sofia is served by a number of major European airlines and
also by low-cost airlines. As of 2023, there are the following
connections from German-speaking countries:
Austrian Airlines from
Vienna
Bulgaria Air from Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Vienna and Zurich
Lufthansa from Frankfurt am Main and Munich
Ryanair from Berlin,
Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Cologne/Bonn, Memmingen, Nuremberg and Vienna
Wizz Air from Basel, Dortmund, Hahn and Memmingen
airport arrival
For an Eastern European airport, Sofia Airport is exceptionally well
connected by public transport. Oftentimes, the subway is the best way to
get into the city, but there are a few precautions to take when using
cheap taxis.
metro
The airport is the terminus of metro line 4
(yellow), which runs about every 5-10 minutes during the day and takes
about 30 minutes to get to the city center (Serdica station). Trains are
clean, safe and reliable, and most stations are wheelchair accessible.
The metro station Sofia Airport Метростанция "Летище София" is on the
ground floor next to the departure area of Terminal 2 (i.e. on the other
side of the building on arrival), in front of the platform there are
ticket machines (some of them accept VISA and Mastercard in addition to
Lev) and a service counter and a kiosk that also sell tickets. You can
also pay directly at the access barriers with a contactless credit card.
If you arrive at Terminal 1, you can use a free airport shuttle
between both terminals, they leave every 15 minutes (every 30 minutes
early in the morning and every 30 minutes late in the evening) in front
of the arrivals areas and it takes about 5 minutes between both
terminals. Alternatively, you can use lines 184 (terminal 1 to 2) or 84
(terminal 2 to 1) for a fee.
buses
Three bus lines connect the
airport with Sofia's city center during the day. Services are reliable
and the buses are clean and modern - note, however, that timetables are
only written in Cyrillic and Google Maps does not show travel times
entirely correctly. Depending on the destination, the metro is usually
the better alternative.
Lines 84 and 184 run between the main
building of Sofia University to Eagle Bridge, then via Zarigradsko
Chaussee to both terminals every 10 to 15 minutes between 4:30 am and
11:30 pm. The journey time is about 40 minutes. Line 84 starts at
Terminal 2 and runs into the city via Terminal 1, Line 184 serves the
terminals in a different order, which is important to note if you're
only going back and forth within the airport grounds. To continue your
journey by public transport from the university or the Eagle Bridge to
Serdica, the immediate center, you have to change to the metro or tram.
Line 384 connects Terminal 2 with the Druzhba residential complex every
15 to 30 minutes between 5:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., but is rather
insignificant for visitors.
The easiest way to buy a ticket on
the bus is with a contactless credit card (see Mobility section), but
the newsstand next to the arrivals area of Terminal 2 also sells single
and day tickets.
Taxis
Taxis are very common in Sofia due to
the cheap prices (therefore there are no car service providers like Uber
or Bolt), however the industry has gained a bad reputation due to past
attempts at fraud. Of the city's many taxi companies, only one has an
official contract with the airport: OK Supertrans 9732121 - other
companies have long had a reputation for impersonating their logo and
phone number, but this has diminished in recent years. The official
company has two counters opposite the arrivals areas of Terminals 1 and
2. It is advisable to book and pay for a taxi directly there, stating
the destination.
These "regular" taxis are in the taxi waiting
area next to Terminal 2 (seen from the arrivals area on the right in
front of the tower) or directly in front of the arrivals area at
Terminal 1, while the "overpriced" taxis are not allowed to stand at
these large designated taxi ranks - they stand in front (not next to)
the terminals in the short-term parking area with private cars and
should be avoided.
Alternatively, Yellow! a common provider that
you can also book via your own app.
By train
In summer from/to
2 Sofia Central Station wikipediacommons direct international trains
(tickets only counter 23):
Balkan Express from Beograd Topcide
Sofia-Istanbul Express (night train) from Istanbul-Halkali, a station on
the Marmaray line. Price 2019, incl. couchette surcharge approx. 40 €.
Arrival is early morning. To change you have to buy an Istanbul Kart.
Slow-moving train: Sofia - Craiova with a change in the border town of
Vidin, departure at both ends shortly before 8.
winters:
from
Belgrade with changes in Niš and Dimitrovgrad
from Istanbul 3 hours
longer drive
By bus
The central bus station (Централна
автогара) is located north of the city center near the main train
station. From here there are bus lines to many cities in Bulgaria and
some international connections.
However, most international bus
connections end at the Serdika bus station (Автогара "Сердика", for many
years this bus station was known under the name "Traffic Market", the
old name can still be found in many travel guides and directions).
In the street
The Sofia Ring Road (No. 18) runs around the city.
The city ring road is not fully developed as a freeway, many
intersections are still at the same level and are controlled by traffic
lights. A motorway junction has been built in the Obelja / Ljulin area,
where the connection with the A3 “Struma” motorway to the south (towards
the Greek border) takes place. There will also be a motorway junction
with the A6 “Europe” motorway to the Serbian border crossing at Kalotina
(54 km). The I-1 trunk road runs north to the Romanian border at Wildin.
The country's most important east-west axis, the I-6 (E871, E773),
branches off to the east, past Sliven to Burgas.
Metro, tram and buses
Numerous buses, trams, trolleybuses,
minibuses and metro lines operate in Sofia from 5 a.m. to 11.30 p.m.
Connections are safe, reliable (traffic permitting) and reasonably
clean. In the city center in particular, the frequency and route network
are very dense. An official route planner, the current tariff overview
and a list of personal points of sale can be found online. Unlike buses
and trams, most of the signage in the metro is in Cyrillic and English,
and stop announcements are also made in English.
As of 2023, a
single trip costs 1.60 leva and a day ticket for the entire network 4.00
leva - there are no different tariff zones for the city center and the
outer area. Both are available as paper tickets (from machines or
counters) and as rechargeable credit cards (from personal points of
sale). The paper tickets have to be punched (= validated) on the orange
"levers" on the bus and tram, and the credit card held up to the reader.
After changing to another bus or tram, new tickets must be validated,
only within the metro can you change on the same ticket, provided you do
not leave the station.
In the meantime, all metro stations and
the vast majority of buses and trams are also equipped with blue readers
for contactless card payments with credit and debit cards (VISA and
MasterCard as well as Apple/Google Pay). At the end of the day, the
cheapest collected price, usually a day pass, burdened. You have to hold
the card or the activated smartphone to the reader at the bottom of the
device until a sound signal and a smiley symbol appear. This is the
easiest way to use public transport. Some ticket machines also accept
credit cards and Apple/Google Pay.
In older travel guides there
is still a note that a separate ticket must be purchased for large
luggage - but this has been abolished.
Marshrutki (minibuses)
also operate, but are unlikely to be of much use to short-term visitors.
Details in Bulgarian.
By car
Park
There are paid parking
zones in the city (“blue zone,” “green zone”). In order to be allowed to
stand here, you have to send a paid SMS (from a Bulgarian number) with
the number plate, then e.g. B. debited in the blue zone 1 lev, for which
you can stand for one hour. If you want to park longer, you send a
slightly different text. The procedure is clearly described on the
on-site signs, also in English.
For certain municipal parking
spaces you pay for cars, e.g. B. from Apr. 1, 2022 on the courses
"NDK-Southwest" (НДК-Югозапад) and "Hemus" 2 l./h. at "Sándor Petőfi"
(Шандор Петьофи) 3 l./h.
The city's traffic website shows
real-time parking space occupancy. The “towed-away vehicle” item in the
“eServices” menu also makes sense. Here, by entering the license plate
number, you can find out whether your car was actually towed away.
taxis
There are many taxis in Sofia. The reason is that it is one
of the few cities in Bulgaria where the number of concessions is not
limited by the authorities. At the same time, the lobby of taxi drivers
is very strong, which is why there are no transport service providers
such as Uber or Bolt, which are otherwise very common in Eastern Europe,
in Sofia. For visitors who are not planning an absolute cheap holiday in
Sofia, the taxi is the most convenient and yet the cheapest means of
transport after public transport such as the metro.
Taxis in
Sofia are yellow with large company logos and a sign on the roof that
reads "ТАКСИ" (pronounced Taksi) in Cyrillic. If they are occupied, a
red lamp lights up in the windscreen. Few taxi drivers speak a foreign
language at an understandable level. Calling a taxi over the phone can
be tricky. Despite clearly visible phone numbers on the taxis, many
centers block calls from cell phones that are not registered in
Bulgaria. Also, the taxi operator does not necessarily have to have
foreign language skills. However, several of the larger taxi companies
now offer their own apps.
The fare is now regulated by the
authorities. On both doors, passengers usually sit in the back, as well
as on the front passenger seat, there is a list of valid prices. These
vary somewhat depending on vehicle size and time of day.
There
are no official taxi ranks apart from the airport, but there are queues
of waiting taxis in many places, especially in front of the big hotels.
There is no obligation for the passenger to take the first taxi in the
queue (it may be too small or too expensive for him, or he would have to
walk too far to do so, or in principle he will use another taxi
company). So it is advisable to go there first name the destination when
the taxi is waved to you and wait for the driver's agreement (note: a
casual nod of the head means a "no" and not a "yes" as in Germany), so
as not to have to get out again immediately, humiliated.
Bulgarian tax laws (similar to Italy and Greece) require each customer
to be issued with a receipt: so at the end of each journey, a receipt is
printed in the taxi and given to the passenger. The receipt also
contains the number of the taxi and the telephone number of the relevant
taxi company (perhaps you forgot your umbrella in the taxi - the taxi
companies take care of such small problems very correctly). Furthermore,
every taxi driver is obliged to display his taxi license card on the
dashboard in front of the passenger (with a passport photo and name in
Bulgarian).
The passenger has the right to the driver not smoking
if requested to do so, and the passenger can also choose the radio
station.
trips
Inconceivable in Germany, but day trips by taxi
are also recommended in Bulgaria. For example to the Rilakloster
(approx. 130km there). For several people together, such trips are often
cheaper than with tourist companies. In 2010, for example, a bus ride to
the Rilakloster was offered by tourist companies for €60. A taxi driver
charges €130 for this. With two people there is not really a price
difference to the bus excursion and you can freely arrange the route and
departure times as well as the return time. You can determine your
breaks (photo stops, snack breaks, pee breaks, short detours to places
along the way that suddenly appear interesting, changes in plans due to
weather problems). It's just a completely different journey in a taxi
than in a bus. If you then catch a driver who speaks a little German or
English, then you at least have some contact with the locals. Of course
you don't have any fellow travelers or a tour guide with you, which has
advantages and disadvantages. And you can also pay for the 3 hour
waiting time at the Rilakloster (insider tip: turn right 20km before the
Rilakloster and make a short detour to the sandstone formation Pyramiden
von Stob - about 3km walk one way). Of course, the price must be
clarified before starting the journey: the drivers are very happy to
take such long tours and have a list with the corresponding fares with
them. For long-distance journeys, however, there is no official
obligation to carry. So it's hard to get into a taxi and insist that the
good man just do a 7-hour tour. He probably has nothing against such
spontaneous orders. But it makes sense to check the driver the day
before when taking a taxi (or several taxi rides in Sofia) (is he nice,
is the car clean, does he understand a little "our language") and with
him for the next day or the day after to arrange the tour and fare.
Maybe you would like to write down your car number and cell phone number
("GSM" - [Dzhi Es Em] - pronounced in English - is the Bulgarian word
for "cell phone") and leave it on a piece of paper in the hotel. A taxi
driver also has much better language skills to organize lunch in a
village restaurant on the way (he will not choose any tourist trap like
some tour companies, he knows many good places, he can order original
Bulgarian specialties). Since the food in simple restaurants in the
country is not expensive, you can safely pay for his food. The taxi fare
is usually paid on return in Sofia.
Business Park Sofia (Бизнес парк София). A large commercial area in
the south, which has been successively developed since 2001, directly on
the ring road. There is a dedicated metro station on line 1. Buses 76,
111, 314, 413 also go here.
Shopping centers
There are several
larger, modern shopping centers (malls) in Sofia. In these, mainly large
international brands are represented. It usually opens at 10:00 a.m.
Mall of Sofia (Мол София). With cinema center and Swedish furniture
made of pressboard. Almost immediately in the center; Aleksandar
Stamboliyski Boulevard at the corner of Opalchenska Street. From 2022 to
2023 there will be extensions and conversions, therefore closed.
City Center Sofia, Boulevard Cherni vrach (corner of Boulevard
Arsenalski; seen from Boulevard Vitosha behind the Palace of Culture
"NDK"; at the metro station "European Union"; diagonally opposite the
large Hotel Hemus.).
The Mall (Дъ Мол), Tsarigradsko Road 115. A
little further from the center; the largest shopping mall in the
Balkans.
Serdika Center (Сердика Център София; Sitnjakovo Boulevard
at the corner of Oborishte Street). A little further away from the
center.
Bulgaria Mall (България Мол; Boulevard Bulgaria and corner of
Boulevard Kableshkov, tram 7: bul. Todor Kableshkov) .
ZUM (Централен
универсален магазин, TZUM) . The old state department store in the city
center - seemed a bit dimly lit and antiquated inside for a long time;
the remains of the old socialist flair could still be sensed there. In
the meantime, however, modernized as of 2023, with the exception of the
entrance hall, which is worth seeing, for a "new development" and
largely empty.
markets and bazaars
Interesting places to shop:
Central Market Hall (Централни софийски хали) . Supermarket in the
basement, there next to the cafe also archaeologically prepared remains
of the Serdica Fortress. As of February 2023 closed for renovation work
indefinitely.
Shenski pasar (women's market; stop ul. Knyaz Boris I:
trolleybus 6, buses 78, 85, 285, 309, 310. (Several cheap accommodations
in the area.)). Starts at the Lion Bridge; fruits and vegetables and
much more. Open: open every day.
Bulgarian specialties are described in detail in the country article.
Sofia has numerous restaurants that offer guests national and
international dishes. Specialties include kebapcheta, grilled rolls of
spiced minced meat. They are usually served with french fries and a
mixed salad. Tarator is a refreshing cold dish made from finely chopped
cucumbers, ground walnuts, dill and yoghurt mixed with water and salad
oil.
If the visitor is after "Western" fast food or coffee, there
are several branches of McDonald's, KFC, Starbucks and Costa Coffee in
downtown Sofia.
A large and diverse club scene has been established in Sofia since
the 2000s, with a focus on a wide variety of music styles from rock to
hip-hop. The focus is on the city center and Studentski grad (Студентски
град) near the university.
Princess Casino, boulevard "Knyaginya
Maria Luiza" 131, 1000 Sofia Center, Sofia (On the ground floor of the
Ramada Hotel. Between the train station and the Lion Bridge). In
contrast to the numerous slot machine arcades, table games are also on
offer here. Open: 24h.
Sin City, bul. "Христо Ботев" 61, Sofia
Camping
Camping Ribkata, с. Владо Тричков ул.126 N: 7 село = 2299
Vlado Trichkov (just outside the city limits. Regional railway station
Romcha (Ромча), 500m dir. river).
Camping Vrana (Къмпинг "Врана"),
Boulevard "Tsarigradsko shose", Sofia (Large parking lot near the A1.
Stop Mosta za Rezidentsia Vrana: buses 5, 5B, 6, 7). Conveniently
located if you want to head towards the coast. Receives mixed reviews in
2021.
Cheap
In the area around the "women's bazaar" near the
lion's bridge, a number of the cheap, simple(st) accommodations in the
city are concentrated. Unfortunately, there are still some here in 2022
that are politely described with "hole" (optionally with the prefix
"dirt"). You always inspect the rooms before you pay.
Kniaz Boris
Hotel (Княз Борис I, sign To Fmily Hotel Street”), ul. "Knyaz Boris I"
188, 1202 Sofia Center. Tel: +359 2 931 31 42. In this neighborhood of
cheap accommodation, the laudable exception, clean and tidy. Open: 24h.
Price: LS: 45-80 L., HS: 60-100 L.
easy Hotel Sofia. Feature: ★.
Middle class
Best Western Terminus Hotel. Feature: ★★★.
Ibis
Sofia Airport. Feature: ★★★.
Ramada by Wyndham Sofia City Center.
Feature: ★★★★.
Eurostars Sofia City. Feature: ★★★★.
Upscale
InterContinental Sofia. Feature: ★★★★★.
Sofia Hotel Balkans. Historic
city center luxury hotel, but no longer part of the Marriott "Luxury
Collection" as of 2023. Feature: ★★★★★.
Hyatt Regency Sofia. Feature:
★★★★★.
Hilton Sofia. Feature: ★★★★★.
Immigration Office (Directory “Миграция”), bulevard "Knyaginya Maria Luiza" 48, 1202 Sofia. Open: Mon.-Fri. 8.30-17.00.
Sofia city center is considered safe for visitors during the day. At
night, however, you should avoid the area around the main and bus
stations (especially the underground connecting routes and the deserted
passage on the station square) as well as Löwenbrücke and the city
parks, as drug addicts, illegal prostitutes and petty criminals often
congregate here. Otherwise, the usual precautionary measures apply, in
particular not displaying valuables - including smartphones - and not
going alone into remote, dark corners and only using ATMs in monitored
buildings. Also, avoid venturing into the poorer neighborhoods, where
theft is not uncommon - but it's not an attraction for tourists anyway.
Avoid contact with obviously drunk people or groups of football fans
as they may be unprovokedly aggressive. Unfortunately, you cannot rely
on the local police to be there quickly and to help you.
Traffic,
which is characterized by congested streets and annoyed drivers, is
often problematic for visitors. Don't expect pedestrians to always stop
at red lights or crosswalks.
The numbers for medical emergencies are 112 and 150.
In Sofia, tap
water is generally drinkable, which is not the case everywhere in
Bulgaria. However, this should be avoided in older buildings due to the
questionable condition of the pipes.
Main Post Office (Софийска централна пощенска станция "Български
пощи" ЕАД), ulitsa "Akademik Stefan Mladenov" №1, бл. 31. DHL in the
annex around the corner. Stamps are hard to find in the city outside of
post offices. Letter boxes are in many trams - the mail slot is located
on the outside next to the front door (please only post at stops). Open:
Mon.-Fri. 8.00-20.00.
The cell phone number and cell phone is
referred to as "GSM" (pronounced: [Dzhi Es Em]). There is no phone book
for Sofia. Free WiFi can be found, for example, in shopping centers and
branches of the well-known coffee chains Starbucks and Costa Coffee.
Widespread banks are UniCredit Bulbank (the logo is reminiscent of
Hypovereinsbank and Bank Austria, both of which are sister companies)
and Fibank, which operate numerous branches in the city area, which are
often accessible around the clock.
Well-known supermarket chains are
known from Austria and Germany, Billa and Lidl, some of which are also
open on Sundays.
Boyana Church (Боянска църква). It is located 8 kilometers south of
Sofia city center at the foot of Mount Vitosha and was included in the
UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. Originally conceived as a fortress,
after extensions it is now a three-part church complex, known for a
fresco from 1259. This is one of the most important examples of medieval
Eastern European painting.
Thermal bath Bankjanaturh (Банкя). The spa
with mineral springs and sanatoriums is located 17 km south-east of
Sofia, at an altitude of 630 meters on the slopes of the Lyulin
Mountains. An oak here is considered Ivan Vazov's favorite spot. You can
get there by regional train from Sofia, 5-6 departures a day.
In
addition to day trips to the surrounding area, for example to the Rila
Monastery, some local providers also offer trips to Skopje in North
Macedonia, which is about 3.5 hours away, with a city tour.
The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation on the territory
of Sofia is from the early Neolithic (6th millennium BC) - among them is
the Slatina Neolithic settlement. The earliest evidence of settlement in
the ancient center of the city - the area around the mineral springs of
today's Central Mineral Bath - is from the Bronze Age (2nd millennium
BC). Information about this settlement is scarce, as the city continued
to exist on this site for millennia and many of the remains were
destroyed, but it has existed without interruption to the present day.
Information about the region of today's Sofia appears in ancient
Greek written sources in the middle of the 5th century BC, and at that
time this part of the Balkan Peninsula was inhabited by various tribes
from the Thracian group. When the Romans appeared in the region in the
2nd century BC. the sources call the local inhabitants Serdi, and the
settlement at the mineral spring Serdonpolis ("City of the Serdi").
There is almost no information about the city during the Thracian
period, but probably in the 4th century BC, under Philip II, the lands
of the Serds were conquered by Ancient Macedonia, remaining part of
Macedonia proper even after the collapse of the empire of Alexander the
Great. With the decline of the kingdom in the 3rd century BC. it lost
its possessions in the interior of the Balkan Peninsula and during its
conquest by the Romans in the middle of the II century BC. Sofia Field
is no longer part of it.
The Serdi were subjugated by the Roman
Republic in 28 BC. by the proconsul of Macedonia, Marcus Licinius
Crassus, who conquered their lands, applying great cruelties and forced
exiles. In the year 45, Serdika was included in the borders of the newly
created Roman province of Thrace, and during this period the settlement
of veterans from the Roman army began. During the reign of Emperor
Marcus Aurelius, Serdika received the right to mint its own coins and
around 180 it was fortified with a fortress wall, which for centuries
defined the core of the city.
During the Roman era, active
economic activity developed far outside the city walls, but within
today's borders of Sofia. An example of this are the brickyards used
until the modern era in today's Gotse Delchev district, mining
facilities for iron ore on Vitosha and for gold in Gorubliane and
Darvenica, as well as dozens of famous suburban villas - some of them
include luxurious living quarters, while others are entirely oriented to
agricultural production, and some are also surrounded by significant
fortifications. Most of the investigated villas arose between the end of
the 2nd and the end of the 3rd century and were destroyed during various
attacks between the end of the 3rd and the middle of the 5th century.
Around 271, Serdika became the center of the newly created province
of Dacia Aureliana, and after its division in 285 - of its southern part
- Inner Dacia. When the diocese of Mysia was divided into two, it became
the capital of the northern diocese - Dacia. In the second half of the
3rd century, the city of Rome lost its place as the political center of
the Empire and the rulers began to travel between different cities in
the provinces. One of these cities was Serdica, where the emperors
Galerius (probably born and died in the city or its surroundings) and
especially Constantine I often stayed. According to Peter Patricius, he
expressed a special preference for the city: "Constantine first intended
to transfer the government to Sardica ; and because he loves that city,
he often says, "Sardinia is my Rome."
Constantine undertook
large-scale construction in Serdika, demolishing the former residential
quarters in the south-eastern quarter of the space between the city
walls and building an architectural complex there, called by
archaeologists the "Constantine quarter", including the oldest fully
preserved building in Sofia - the St. George rotunda . The oldest known
Christian church in Serdika, discovered under today's Saint Sophia
Basilica, also dates from this period.
The Council of Serdicia of
343 was convened in Serdica by the Western Emperor Constans and the
Eastern Emperor Constantius II to settle disputes between Orthodox and
Arians, gathering in the city over 170 bishops from all over the Empire
with their accompanying delegations. However, the two camps remained
irreconcilable, and eventually the Arian bishops left Serdica and
continued their meetings in Philippopolis.
The attacks of the
Visigoths at the end of the 4th century, the Huns in the middle of the
5th century and the Slavs and Avars from the 6th century did not
seriously affect the city of Serdika itself, but they liquidated the
flourishing large farms around it. The building density of Serdika is
increasing, with housing also being built on parts of former streets and
squares. When the Roman Empire was divided in 395, the city remained in
its eastern part. Serdika is among the many fortresses in the Balkans,
fortified under Emperor Justinian the Great (527 – 565), under whom the
imposing basilica "Saint Sophia" preserved to this day was probably
built. Information about Serdika during the next two and a half
centuries is scarce.
In the spring of 809, on the eve of Easter, the Bulgarian ruler Krum,
returning from a raid in the Struma valley, captured Serdika and
(according to the unproven and future questions about the number, type
of armament and the strategic nature of Krum's Bulgarian army, statement
of Teofan the Confessor ) "killed 6 thousand soldiers and many
civilians". The fall of Sredets, however, seems to have occurred without
heavy destruction, it did not lead to major changes in the city, only
around the fortress wall many findings of ceramics appeared, which some
researchers define as characteristic of the Slavs of the Balkan
Peninsula, sometimes without dwelling on its Thracian and Bulgarian
appearance. At the very end of the 9th century or the first half of the
10th century, the Church of St. George was completely rebuilt. The city
was visited by Tsar Peter I, at whose request the canonized hermit Saint
Ivan of Rila, the Miracle Worker, called the Bulgarian Heavenly Patron,
was buried in Sredets immediately after his death in 946.
At the
end of the 10th century, Sredets was the center of the possessions of
one of the Komitopulis - Aron. After the capture of the capital Preslav,
the Bulgarian patriarch Damian settled in the city for a while. In the
summer of 986, Sredets was besieged for 20 days personally by Emperor
Basil II, and on the way back to Thrace he suffered a heavy defeat at
Trajan's Gate. Only in 1018, after the death of the last king of the
First Bulgarian Kingdom, Ivan Vladislav, the voivodes of 35 fortresses,
including Sredets, voluntarily accepted the supremacy of the Roman
emperor.
In 1040, the city fell under the control of the
insurgents of Peter Delyan, and Emperor Michael IV personally arrived
here to quell the rebellion. After 1048, the Byzantine authorities
settled a significant number of Pechenegs in Sofia field, some of whom
probably settled in the city as well. In 1059, Emperor Isaac I Comnenus
arrived in Sredets with a large army to stop the Hungarians advancing
towards the city, but the two sides reached an agreement without a major
military clash. At the end of 1066 or the beginning of 1067, the future
emperor Roman IV Diogenes was appointed governor of Sredets.
In
1183, Sredets was captured and devastated by the combined forces of the
Serbian Grand Duke Stefan Nemanja and the Hungarian King Béla III. In
1189, the northern beam of the Third Crusade passed through Sredets and
its surroundings - the troops of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, who,
unexpectedly for them, finding themselves in the city that had been
abandoned by the Sredets, without "market, food and wine", were forced
to continue their journey through Plovdiv to Edirne and Constantinople,
exhausted and extremely disappointed.
In 1194, Sredets was
permanently annexed to the Second Bulgarian Kingdom by Ivan Asen I.
Within the framework of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, Sredets was of
great strategic importance for Bulgarian control over Pomerania and
Macedonia. In the first decades after its accession, measures were taken
to restore the fortress wall and the significant destruction in the
interior of the city. The density of construction in the city itself
continues to increase and many streets become narrow passages, two-story
buildings appear. Several governors of Sredets in the middle of the 13th
century bear the title of sevastokrator, second in rank after the royal
one - Sevastokrator Alexander, brother of Tsar Ivan Asen II, his son
Kaloyan, and finally Alexander's son-in-law Peter, who after the death
of Ivan Asen II ruled all the western regions To Bulgaria.
Probably under Sebastocrator Kaloyan, the remains of the ancient
Constantinian quarter were reconstructed into a residence of the
governor of the city. Sevastoprator Kaloyan is the founder of the Boyan
Church, one of the most remarkable monuments of Bulgarian medieval art,
in which a full-length portrait of him, dated to 1259, is preserved. In
the 14th century, a literary school operated near the metropolitan
cathedral "Saint Sophia", from whose activity the Sredets Gospel was
preserved, the complex of monasteries around the city, later called the
Saint Sophia Forest, was formed, there were offices of merchants from
Dubrovnik in Sofia, and multicolored luxury sgraffito ceramics, jewelery
and ironwork.
In 1382, the Ottoman general Lala Shahin besieged
the city for 3 months, praising the natural conditions, wealth and
economic activity in it in his reports to the government, as well as its
political importance, and a little later Sofia was captured by his
subordinate Ince Balaban Bey. Sofia became the center of the Sofia Pasha
Sanjak from 1393 to 1878.
During the great campaign of Janos
Hunyadi in the fall of 1443, the Ottomans abandoned Sofia, evacuating
the population and burning the city to make it difficult for the enemy
to supply. The Hungarians were welcomed by the Christians with a solemn
service in the Hagia Sophia Cathedral, but a few weeks later they
retreated to Pirot and the Christians in Sofia and the surrounding area
were massacred because of the assistance given to the Hungarian army.
According to the testimonies of European travelers, in the middle of
the 15th century, Sofia mainly retained its Bulgarian character. Since
1460, Sofia has housed the relics of the Holy King - Stefan II Milutin,
and in 1469, an important event for the Orthodox community was the
passing through the city of the procession carrying the relics of Saint
Ivan of Rila from Tarnovo to the Rila Monastery. At that time in Sofia
and the surrounding monasteries of the Sofia Holy Forest, the Sofia Book
School developed.
After the accession of Sofia to the Ottoman
Empire, the colony of Dubrovnik merchants continued to flourish in the
city, joined by Italians from Florence and Venice, forming a Catholic
quarter in the area of the destroyed western gate of the fortress. In
the center of the city live Armenians, mainly goldsmiths and furriers,
and in the northeastern districts - Jews, who develop large-scale trade
with the Netherlands and France. During this period, the city began to
produce and export to Italy luxury products, such as woolen cloth chocha
and especially processed leather, a variety of which in Italy is called
"bulgarini". Glassware, medicines, earthenware are delivered to Sofia
from Italy. During this time, the city was on several occasions the
temporary seat of the Beylerbey of Rumelia, a post of particularly great
influence in the Empire, sometimes held by the Grand Vizier himself.
During the first decades of the 16th century, the cultural and
ethnic environment in Sofia changed sharply - in contrast to the
previous century, in the 1930s travelers already spoke of a Muslim
majority in the city, and in the middle of the 17th century of an
entirely Turkish population. At the beginning of the 16th century, the
two large ancient churches were converted into mosques - "Saint Sophia"
in the Siyavush Pasha Mosque and "Saint George" in the Gul Mosque, and
according to archaeological data, the inhabitants of a large part of the
city center are already Muslims. There is not much information about the
way in which the Islamization of Sofia proceeded, but during this period
a series of Christians who refused to accept Islam were declared martyrs
- George of Sofia the New (1515), Sophronius of Sofia (1515), George of
Sofia the New (1530) , Nicholas of Sofia Novi (1555), Terapontius of
Sofia (1555).
In 1530, Sofia permanently became the capital until
1836 of the Rumelia Eyalet (until 1590 the term Beylerbeystvo was used),
covering the central part of the Balkan Peninsula from Eastern Thrace to
Pomerania and Epirus. The following century was a period of economic
upswing, with many crafts flourishing in the city and for the first time
since Antiquity, coins were minted, using mainly gold and silver mined
in the mines around Chiprovtsi. From the middle of the 15th century and
mainly before the 16th century, impressive public buildings were built
in the city, such as the Buyuk Mosque (1451-1494), the Çelebi Mosque
(1502) located next to the Konak, the Koca Dervish Mehmed Pasha Mosque
(1528), which is now a church and today the Banya Bashi Mosque (1567),
built by the most famous Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan. The names of
another dozen mosques in Sofia are known, but according to authors from
this period, their number is about 150.
From the 17th century, Sofia gradually began to decline along with
the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the end of the great campaigns to
Central Europe, for which the city was an important starting point. Many
of the public buildings are neglected, the ancient water system is in
poor condition and in many places has been replaced by wells. At the end
of the century, the city was abandoned by the Dubrovnik and Italian
merchants, some of the Jewish merchant families moved out, as well as
the high-ranking Turkish officials, but at the same time, Bulgarians
from the neighboring villages settled in the outskirts. In the 18th
century, the Beylerbeys of Rumelia began to periodically reside in
Bitola, which officially became the center of the Rumelia Eyalet in
1836.
The uprising of the bishops in Sofia and Samokovsko broke
out in 1737, when it was suppressed at the end of July and the beginning
of August 1737, by order of Ali Pasha Küprülüoğlu, about 350 Sofia
citizens, priests, monks and people from the surrounding villages were
killed, including Metropolitan Simeon of Samokovski and Sofia, hanged in
Sofia by the Turks on August 21, 1773 - he is the ninth Saint of Sofia.
In 1738, the population of Sofia, like all important cities in the
European part of the Ottoman Empire, was predominantly Turkish.
The anarchy that began at the end of the 18th century, connected with
the Kardzhalism, the liberation of Serbia and the approach of the border
to Sofia, had a bad effect on Sofia. Added to all this was the great
fire of 1816, the plague of 1857 and two earthquakes – respectively in
1818 and 1858. Despite this, Sofia remains one of the great Bulgarian
cities. Consuls of France, Italy and Austria-Hungary reside in the city.
According to the testimony of American missionaries who visited the city
in 1862, it has 30,000 inhabitants, 1/3 of whom are Bulgarians, and the
city itself "has a rather poor appearance, but now the Bulgarian part of
it is rapidly becoming prosperous". In 1864, the city became the center
of the Sofia Sanjak in the newly created Danube Vilayet, and since 1876,
Sofia has been the administrative center of the Sofia Vilayet, which
covers a large part of modern Western Bulgaria - from Koprivshtitsa to
Nis and from Gorna Jumaya to Pirot with Orhanie , Vranya, Samokov and
Prokuple.
The Bulgarians in Sofia in the 19th century had their
own municipality, 7 churches and 2 secular schools - mutual (founded in
1825) and class, and there were cells at the churches and monasteries
since the time of the Sofia Book School. In 1867, the community center
"Tsviat" was founded, the Bulgarian women's society "Mother" was founded
in 1869, in 1874 the student group "Napreduk" was established. Here,
Baba Nedelya founded the first girls' school in the Bulgarian lands.
Since 1859, the celebrations in honor of the Slavic first teachers St.
Cyril and Methodius began.
Conflicts with the Greek clergy in
Sofia began as early as 1818. On October 15, 1872, in the church "St.
Stefan" in Constantinople, the Bulgarian Exarch Antim I ordained the
first Exarch Metropolitan Meletius of Sofia.
B 1870 Vasil Levski
founded revolutionary committees not only in the city, but also in the
surrounding villages. Prominent Sofia revivalists are Dimitar Trajkovich
- member of the Sofia Revolutionary Committee, Ivan Denkoglu, Sava
Filaretov, Yordanka Filaretova, Zahari Ikonomovich - Krusha, the
revolutionary bookseller Nikola Vardev, hieromonk Gennady Skitnik (Ivan
Ikhtimanski) - member of the Sofia Revolutionary Committee and abbot of
Dragalevsky monastery, where Levski often stayed and held meetings of
the committee, Nikola Stefanov Krushkin - Cholaka, associate of Levski,
member of the Sofia Revolutionary Committee, hanged by the Turks, Georgi
Abadzhiyat - bookseller, courier of the Sofia Revolutionary Committee
hanged by the Turks together with Cholaka, Kiro Geoshev (Kiro Kafedzhi),
Levski's accomplice and companion, hanged by the Turks, Hadji Stoyan
Knizhar hanged by the Turks, Hristo Kovachev, a member of the Sofia
Revolutionary Committee, exiled to Diyarbekir, the participants in the
April Uprising, Koprivshten residents Stoycho Rashkov and Todor Maleev,
who were assigned to take materials for casting bullets from Plovdiv and
were hanged by the Turks on the Lion Bridge, etc.
During the
retreat of the Turkish troops at the end of 1877, during the
Russo-Turkish War, the Turkish commander Suleiman Pasha planned the
complete burning of the city, similar to Stara Zagora, in which the
massacre of the Christian population became inevitable. The categorical
intervention of the consuls Leander Legge and Vito Positano, and
according to unconfirmed data, and the intercession of the Sofia rabbi
Gabriel Mercado Almosnino saved the city from burning. The
Austro-Hungarian consul, Josef Wallhardt, also supported actions in
defense of the city. Nevertheless, Russian and foreign correspondents
found 16 gallows on which Bulgarians were executed until the last moment
before the entry of the liberation troops.
At the very beginning of the new year, on January 4, 1878 (December
23, 1877 old style), after the battle of Sofia, Russian units under the
command of General Joseph Gurko entered the city. In February 1878, the
city's population decreased by almost half compared to the pre-war
period and, according to the municipality's data, amounted to 11,694
people, of which 6,560 were Bulgarians, 3,538 Jews, 839 Turks and 737
Gypsies.
On October 20, 1878, the seat of the Provisional Russian
Government was moved from Plovdiv to Sofia, and on April 3 (March 22 in
the old style) 1879, at the suggestion of Marin Drinov, the Constituent
Assembly elected Sofia as the capital of the Principality of Bulgaria
(April 4 was announced as a holiday of Sofia). As a result, the number
of residents is growing faster than other Bulgarian cities, mainly from
internal migration.
The selection of Sofia as the capital helped
to quickly transform it into a large and important political,
administrative, economic, scientific and cultural center of the country.
Urban planning changes began on a large scale soon after this event. The
center of the city began to move from the square near the Banya Bashi
Mosque to the square around the Cathedral of St. Kral" (today's church
"Sveta Nedelya"), where the four main road arteries of
Se(a)rdika-Sredets-Sofia meet at a right angle since Antiquity. Wide
radial boulevards were formed, and small crooked alleys were replaced by
parallel neighborhood streets intersecting at right angles. The
historical center of Sofia covers the territory enclosed within the
boulevards Slivnitsa, Vasil Levski, Patriarch Evtimiy, Hristo Botev - in
other words, the territory of the city from the time immediately after
the declaration of Sofia as the capital of Bulgaria in 1879. The
representative center of the city was formed around the Princely Palace
(later the Royal Palace) and the National Assembly, and the area became
the center not only of political life, but also of cultural and public
events. In 1907, the building of the National Theater was opened nearby.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Tsar Osvoboditel boulevard was
paved with the famous "yellow cobblestones" that connect the Palace with
the People's Assembly Square and the monument to the Russian Tsar
Alexander II (Tsar Osvoboditel). Further, the boulevard reaches the
beginning of formed at the end of the 19th century a new quarter of
teachers, politicians, lawyers and officers.This is also the direction
of the first more serious expansion of the city - to the bed of the
Pearl River and Orlov Bridge.
Also begins the concentration of
capital and the development of industry, the construction of enterprises
of the power mining, metal mining, brewing and wood processing
industries. In most cases, these are still small factories and
workshops. Towards the end of the century, the first hydroelectric plant
was built on the river Iskar above Pancharevo, which provides
electricity for the city. In 1893, the Sofia-Pernik railway was built,
and then to Plovdiv and Varna.
On Maundy Thursday, April 16,
1925, in Sofia, the attack was carried out in the "Holy Sunday" church
by operatives of the military wing of the BKP. 170 people were killed
and 500 were injured.
In 1938, an urban development plan (the
"Musmann Plan") developed by Prof. Adolf Muesmann (in German: Adolf
Muesmann) was adopted, which provided for the development of the city
when the population grew to 600,000 inhabitants.
During the
Second World War, at the beginning of which Bulgaria declared war on
Great Britain and the United States, the British and American air forces
carried out brutal bombings of Sofia. Civilian objects were mostly hit,
such as the National Theater (severely affected), the 11th-century
church of Saint Spas (heavily destroyed in 1944), the City Library
(completely destroyed on March 30, 1944, 40,000 volumes of books were
burned), the Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph (completely destroyed on
March 30, 1944), the Theological Academy (severely affected, the dome of
the temple built into it was burned), thousands of residential buildings
were blown up and burned, the city center was destroyed, more than 2,000
people were killed of the Sofia population and 12,657 buildings were
destroyed. Sofia has been evacuated - hospitals, pharmacies, state and
municipal institutions, schools, architectural bureaus, construction
companies, etc. have found shelter in towns and villages near and far
during the last two years of the war. The men were mobilized to the
front in the ensuing war against the Third Reich. They began to return
to the capital only after May 9, 1945 - in the second half of 1945.
The entire 1946 year of Bulgaria, incl. the beginning of 1947, was
dedicated to the difficult negotiations for the Paris Peace Treaty.
During the next 4-5 years, the state and its capital were rebuilt
according to the Soviet model and dictate, which practically paralyzed
every state, municipal and private initiative at that time.
In
1945, a new general urban development plan of the capital was approved,
the so-called "Neikov" plan.
After a referendum in 1946, Bulgaria
was proclaimed a people's republic and a patriotic front power was
established, significantly changing the appearance of the capital. Its
numbers began to grow rapidly, mainly due to centralization and
collectivization. Heavy industry and industrialization began to be given
more importance, with urban planning and housing construction
continuing. In 1958, the "Kremikovtsi" plant was put into operation. The
road network and urban transport are being expanded and renewed.
However, in the 1970s, the architects managed to fight the previous
plans to clear the city center for new socialist construction, according
to which the old buildings were to be demolished (see "Largo" Complex).
Thus, the former royal palace, the Military Club, the BAS and other
buildings near the Central Halls, the Women's Market, the Lion's Bridge,
along "Pirotska" Street and "Exarch Yosif" Street were saved from
destruction.
During the communist regime, a number of the city's
most iconic streets and squares were renamed for ideological reasons,
and after 1989 most of the previous names were restored.
In the
second half of the 20th century, many of the neighboring villages, which
until then were independent, were added to Sofia - Birimirtsi and
Obradovtsi in 1955, Kniazhevo in 1958, Boyana, Vrazhdebna, Vrabnitsa,
Gorna Banya, Dragalevtsi, Darvenitsa, Iliantsi, Malashevtsi , Obelya,
Orlandovtsi, Simeonovo and Slatina in 1961, Suhodol, Trebich and
Filipovtsi in 1971, Botunets, Gorubliane, Kremikovtsi, Seslavtsi and
Chelopechene in 1978.
Ring or district roads, boulevards and
roads of Sofia in the initial periods of the construction of the city
were the boulevards "Slivnitsa", "Ferdinand" (today "Vasil Levski"),
"Patriarch Evtimiy", "Hristo Botev", the northern part of "Knyaginya"
Maria-Luiza, "General Nikolay Stoletov", "Danail Nikolaev" in the
northeast, "Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi" in the east and southeast,
"Pencho Slaveykov" in the south, "Ing. Ivan Ivanov" and "Konstantin
Velichkov" in the west, as many of them also bore such names (e.g.
Okrzhen Blvd.). Most of these boulevards form the boundaries of today's
city center. In the later periods of the 20th century, the boulevards
Vardar, Gotse Delchev, Nikola Vaptsarov, and Peyo Yavorov played the
role of peers.
After the change of the socialist system, there was a period of
growth in private construction. New modern buildings were built, many of
them with the participation of foreign investors.
At the
beginning of 1998, the first stations of the Sofia Metro were opened.
In 2015, the Capital Fort building, located at the entrance to Sofia
from Tsarigradsko Shosse Blvd., was completed, becoming the tallest
building in Bulgaria, displacing the Rodina Hotel, built a quarter of a
century earlier.
Today, Sofia is the largest city in Bulgaria. In 1870, there were
about 19,000 inhabitants, of which only 11,684 remained after the
Russo-Turkish War. According to the first official census of 1880, the
population of Sofia was 20,501. At that time, Sofia was ethnically
divided as follows: 56% were Bulgarians, 30% Jews, 7% Turks and 6%
Gypsies. At that time, 60% of the city's residents were men, and 60% of
them were single. In 1880, Konstantin Irechek noted that there were 20
hamlets with about 5 thousand houses in Sofia.
A few years after
the Liberation, the city began to gradually grow with settlers from all
over Bulgaria, but mainly from Radomir, Trun, Brezni, Samokov, Orkhani
and Tsaribrod. During the period from 1900 to 1946, the city's
population experienced its greatest increase, from about 68,000 people
to 435,000 people.
According to data from the 2001 census,
1,177,577 people live in the Sofia region, of which 559,229 are men
(47.5%) and 618,348 are women (52.5%), or 1,106 women per 1,000 men .
1,094,410 people live in the city of Sofia, with 518,149 men and 576,261
women. The largest district is Lyulin with 120,117 inhabitants, followed
by Mladost with 110,877 inhabitants, Poduyane with 75,312 inhabitants
and Krasno Selo with 72,773. residents. The most are Sofians between the
ages of 18 and 64 (790,180 people), followed by residents up to the age
of 18 (201,202) and those over the age of 65 (183,049). The average age
is 38.3 years.
The population density at the end of 2000 was
909.1 people/km². According to some printed publications, the real
number of the population residing in the capital is over 2 million
people. According to the statements of officials, between 25,000 and
45,000 people from the province permanently settle in Sofia every year.
This causes many problems for the city - overpopulation, increase in the
number of cars, street congestion, air pollution, housing crisis, lack
of parking spaces and others.
The birth rate per 1000 people was
7.9, and until 2001 it was in continuous decline. The death rate is 12.2
per 1,000 and rising. Based on these data, the annual decline in
population would be 4.3 per thousand. In fact, due to the influx of
people from the countryside, the population of Sofia is increasing. The
infant mortality rate is 11 babies per 1,000 live births. In 1980, it
was 18.9 per 1000. Since 2001, the birth rate in Sofia has been
continuously increasing, reaching 13 per thousand. In just 10 years, the
number of children born doubles. This creates a problem with
kindergartens, the number of which has halved in the long-term decline
in the birth rate since 1989.
According to the 2011 census, the
population of Sofia consists of the following ethnic groups: 1,136,000
Bulgarians (96%); 18,300 Gypsies (1.5%); 6,500 Turks (0.6%). About
17,000 people indicated another ethnic group or did not identify
themselves. No difference was seen in the percentages of these three
main ethnic groups in the capital compared to the 2001 census; in terms
of numbers, the only major difference is found among the Bulgarian
population, which has increased by 12,000 people. The 2001 census also
listed several smaller communities in Sofia, including 3,100 Russians,
1,700 Armenians, and 1,200 Greeks.
As of March 15, 2016,
1,441,918 people are registered at their current address in Sofia
Municipality, of which 1,304,772 are residents of the city of Sofia.
In 2020, however, the population of the capital decreased by 1.53%,
or by 20,378 people to 1,308,412 people. This has not happened since
2001, when the population of Sofia decreased for the last time.
The historical center of Sofia is located immediately south of the
center of the Sofia Field, one of the Trans-Balkan valleys, located
between the Western Stara Planina (Murgash, Sofia Planina and Three
Ears) to the north and the Lyulin, Vitosha, Plana and Lozenska
mountains, parts of the Srednogarska mountain range system, to the
south. The modern city occupies a significant part of the Sofia field,
being developed to a greater extent in the southeast and southwest of
the historical center, reaching the low parts of Vitosha, but its most
northeastern neighborhoods - Seslavtsi and Kremikovtsi - are located on
the slopes of Stara Planina.
The land of the city of Sofia has an
area of 492 km², and in addition to the urbanized territory, it also
includes neighboring agricultural and forest lands, including a
significant part of the Vitosha mountain. It borders the lands of 3
cities (Bankya, Buhovo and Novi Iskar) and 27 villages (Bistrica,
Zheleznitsa, Plana, Busmantsi, Vladaya, Voluyak, German, Gorni Bogrov,
Dolni Bogrov, Dolni Pasarel, Ivanyane, Kazichene, Klisura, Kokalyane,
Krivina, Kubratovo, Lozen, Lokorsko, Malo Buchino, Mirovyane, Mramor,
Mrchaevo, Negovan, Ogoya, Pancharevo, Chepintsi and Yana) from Stolichna
municipality, 5 villages (Golemo Buchino, Divotino, Kladnitsa, Lyulin,
Chuipetlovo) from Pernik municipality, 2 villages (Gurmazovo, Pozharevo)
from Bozhurishte municipality and 1 village (Yablanitsa) from Svoge
municipality.
Five mountain passes lead to the city - Iskarski,
Vladaiski, Dragomanski, Petrohanski and Vitinia. Important roads
connecting the Adriatic and Central Europe with the Black and Aegean
seas and the Middle East have passed through them since ancient times.
Thanks to its strategic location on the Balkan Peninsula, Sofia was in
the past a large, lively city, a commercial, administrative, cultural,
and later tourist center. Several rivers flow through the capital:
Vladaiska, Perlovska, Iskar, Lesnovska reka, Suhodolska reka, Boyanska
reka, Blato. The river Iskar flows near the eastern districts, but in
this section it is not full of water. Sofia has been known since ancient
times for its numerous mineral springs (15 deposits with a total water
flow rate of 130 l/s). Artificial lakes and dams have also been built in
the last 60 years.
The capital is located 145 km from Plovdiv,
441 km from Varna, 360 km from Burgas on the Trakia Motorway, 309 km
from Ruse, 232 km from Stara Zagora, 34 km from Pernik, 103 km from
Kyustendil, on 101 km from Blagoevgrad, 58 km from Kalotina border
crossing, 99 km from Strezimirovtsi border crossing, 127 km from
Guyeshevo border crossing, 181 km from Kulata-Promahon border crossing.
The distance to the North Macedonian capital Skopje is 244 km, to the
Romanian capital Bucharest is 384 km, to the Serbian capital Belgrade is
393 km, to the metropolis and the largest Turkish city Istanbul is 550
km, to the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo is 602 km, to the
Croatian capital Zagreb is 781 km, and the Greek capital Athens is 791
km.
Sofia is located in the temperate climate zone and has a humid
continental climate with warm summers (Dfb in the Köppen climate
classification) – average monthly temperatures fall below 0 °C and do
not exceed 22 °C, with more than 3 months having an average temperature
above 10 ° C.
The average annual temperature of 10.6 °C. Winters
in the city are cold and snowy. On the coldest winter days, temperatures
can drop to -15 °C or even lower, especially in January. Fog is a
characteristic phenomenon at the beginning of the winter season. In
winter, Sofia has an average of 58 days with snow cover.
Summers
in Sofia are warm and sunny. In summer, the capital remains slightly
cooler than the rest of the country due to its higher altitude. However,
on the hottest summer days, temperatures can exceed 35 °C, most often in
July and August.
Spring and autumn in Sofia are relatively short
and have variable and dynamic weather.
The average annual
rainfall is 581.8 mm, reaching its maximum in late spring and early
summer, when thunderstorms are not uncommon.
A problem for Sofia's air pollution is its location in the Sofia
Valley, which is surrounded on all sides by mountains, reducing the
possibility of self-cleaning of the atmosphere. The air in the capital
is mainly polluted by fine dust particles and nitrogen oxides. After the
shutdown of the "Kremikovtsi" metallurgical combine, they are mainly
generated by road transport, heating with solid and liquid fuels,
polluted road surfaces and some thermal power plants. Thus, the
metropolitan districts of Druzhba, Nadezhda and Pavlovo have the most
polluted air, and for the first two, in addition to road transport, an
important factor for dirty air is the large thermal power plants there.
Sofia is in the thirty-third position in 2015 in terms of air
pollution among 157 European cities.