Sofia

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Sofia София
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Flag Coat of arms
Position of Sofia in Bulgaria
Coordinates: 42°42′N 23°20′E / 42.7°N 23.333°E / 42.7; 23.333
Country	Bulgaria
Province	Sofia-City
Government
- Mayor	Boyko Borisov
Area
- Total	1,349 km2 (520.9 sq mi)
Elevation	550 m (1,804 ft)
Population (2008-12-15)
- Total	▲1,400,307
- Density	1,030/km2 (2,667.7/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	sofia.bg

Sofia listen (help·info) (Bulgarian: София, IPA: [ˈsɔ.fi.ja]), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with 1.4 million people living in the Capital Municipality.^[1] It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of the mountain massif Vitosha, and is the administrative, cultural, economic, and educational centre of the country.

One of the oldest cities in Europe, the history of Serdica-Sredets-Sofia can be traced back some 7000 years; prehistoric settlements were excavated in the centre of the present city, near the royal palace, as well as in outer districts such as Slatina and Obelia. The well preserved town walls (especially their substructures) from antiquity date back before the 7th century BC, when Thracians established their city next to the most important and highly respected mineral spring, still functioning today. Sofia has had several names in the different periods of its existence, and remnants of the city's millenary history can still be seen today alongside modern landmarks.

Contents 1 Names 2 Geography 2.1 Climate 3 History 3.1 Antiquity 3.2 Middle Ages 3.3 Ottoman rule 3.4 End of Ottoman Rule 4 Administration 5 Demographics 6 Culture 6.1 Music and nightlife 6.2 Museums 6.3 Places of special interest 6.4 Tourist attractions 7 Economy 8 Transport and infrastructure 9 Architecture 9.1 Historical landmarks 9.2 Post-liberation and Communism 10 Education 11 Sports 11.1 Venues 12 Recreation 13 Mass media 14 Notable people 15 Twin towns - Sister cities 16 Honour 17 See also 18 References 19 Further reading 20 External links

[edit] Names

Sofia was first mentioned in the sources as Serdica in relation to Marcus Licinius Crassus' campaigns in 29 BC. The name Serdica or Sardica (Σερδική, Σαρδική) was popular in Latin, Ancient Greek and Byzantine Greek sources from Antiquity and the Middle Ages; it was related to the local Thracian tribe of the Serdi. The name was last used in the 19th century in a Bulgarian text, Service and hagiography of Saint George the New of Sofia: ВЪ САРДАКІИ. Another of Sofia's names, Triaditsa (Τριάδιτζα), was mentioned in Greek medieval sources. The Bulgarian name Sredets (СРѢДЄЦЪ), an adaptation of Serdica, first appeared in the 11th-century Vision of Daniel and was widely used in the Middle Ages. The current name Sofia was first used in the 14th-century Vitosha Charter of Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman or in a Ragusan merchant's notes of 1376; it refers to the famous Hagia Sophia Church, an ancient church in the city named after the Christian concept of the Holy Wisdom. Although Sredets remained in use until the late 18th century, Sofia gradually overcame the Slavic name in popularity.^[2]

[edit] Geography

Sofia's development as a significant settlement owes much to its central position in the Balkans. It is situated in western Bulgaria, at the northern foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the Sofia Valley that is surrounded by mountains on all sides. The valley is the largest one in the country with territory of 1,186 square kilometres (457.9 sq mi) and average altitude of 550 metres (1,804 ft). Three mountain passes lead to the city, which have been key roads since antiquity, connecting the Adriatic Sea and Central Europe with the Black and Aegean Seas.

A number of low rivers cross the city, including the Vladaiska and the Perlovska. The Iskar River in its upper course flows near eastern Sofia. The city is known for its numerous mineral and thermal springs. Artificial and dam lakes were built in the last century.

It is located 130 kilometres (81 mi) northwest of Plovdiv ^[3], Bulgaria's second largest city, 340 kilometres (211 mi) west of Burgas^[3], 380 kilometres (236 mi) west of Varna^[3], Bulgaria's major port-cities on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. The city is situated at less than 200 kilometres (124 mi) from the borders with three countries: 55 kilometres (34 mi) from Kalotina on the Serbian border, 113 kilometres (70 mi) from Gyueshevo on the frontier with the Republic of Macedonia and 183 kilometres (114 mi) from the Greek border at Kulata.

[edit] Climate

Sofia has a humid continental climate (Koppen Cfb)^[4] with high temperature amplitudes. The hottest month is August while January is the coldest. Up to 1936 the average annual temperature was 10.0 °C (50 °F) and since then it has risen by +0.5 °C (+1 °F).^[5] The city receives around 650 millimetres (25.6 in) annual precipitation with summer maximum and winter minimum. The temperatures in Sofia generally remain cooler than other parts of Bulgaria in summer, due to the high altitude of the valley in which it is situated. However temperatures can still reach up to 40 °C on occasions.

Weather averages for Sofia
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	2 (36)	4 (40)	9 (49)	14 (58)	19 (66)	23 (73)	26 (78)	26 (78)	22 (72)	16 (61)	8 (46)	3 (38)	14 (58)
Average low °C (°F)	-4 (25)	-3 (27)	1 (34)	5 (41)	9 (49)	13 (55)	14 (58)	14 (57)	11 (52)	7 (44)	1 (34)	-2 (28)	6 (42)
Precipitation mm (inches)	33 (1.3)	35.6 (1.4)	38.1 (1.5)	53.3 (2.1)	68.6 (2.7)	78.7 (3.1)	55.9 (2.2)	43.2 (1.7)	40.6 (1.6)	35.6 (1.4)	50.8 (2)	43.2 (1.7)	579.1 (22.8)
Source: [6]

[edit] History

[edit] Antiquity

Sofia was originally a Thracian settlement called Serdica, or Sardica, possibly named after the Thracian tribe Serdi. Around 500 BC another tribe settled in the region, the Odrysi, known as an ethnos with their own kingdom. For a short period during the 4th century BC, the city was ruled by Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great.

Around BC 29, Serdica was conquered by the Romans. It became a municipium, or centre of an administrative region, during the reign of Emperor Trajan (98-117) and was renamed Ulpia Serdica.

It seems that the first written mention of Serdica was made by Ptolemy (around 100 AD).

Serdica (Sardica) expanded, as turrets, protective walls, public baths, administrative and cult buildings, a civic basilica, an amphitheatre - the City Council (Boulé), a large Forum, a big Circus (Theatre), etc. were built. When Emperor Diocletian divided the province of Dacia into Dacia Ripensis (at the banks of the Danube) and Dacia Mediterranea, Serdica became the capital of Dacia Mediterranea. The city subsequently expanded for a century and a half, it became a significant political and economical centre, moreso — it became one of the first roman cities where Christianity was recognized as an official religion (Еmperor Galerius). So it was only very natural that Constantine the Great called Serdica (Sardica) "My Rome". In 343 A.D. , the Council of Sardica was held in the city, in a church located where the current 6th century Church of Saint Sofia was later built. Serdica was of moderate size, but magnificent as an urban concept of planning and architecture, with abundant amusements and an active social life. It flourished during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, when it was surrounded with great fortress walls whose remnants can still be seen today.

The city was destroyed by the Huns in 447 but was rebuilt by Justinian and for a while called Triaditsa.

A fresco depicting Desislava, a 13th century patron of the church

Sofia has been a centre of Christianity since the times of the Roman Empire

[edit] Middle Ages

Sofia first became part of the First Bulgarian Empire during the reign of Khan Krum in 809 after a long siege. ^[7] Afterwards, it was known by the Bulgarian name Sredets and grew into an important fortress and administrative centre. After the fall of North-eastern Bulgaria under John I Tzimiskes' armies in 971, the Bulgarian Patriarch Damyan chose Sofia for his seat in the next year. After a number of unsuccessful sieges, the city fell to the Byzantine Empire in 1018, but once again was incorporated into the restored Bulgarian Empire at the time of Tsar Ivan Asen I.

From the 12th to the 14th century, Sofia was a thriving centre of trade and crafts. It is possible that it has been called by the common population Sofia (meaning "wisdom" in Ancient Greek) about 1376 after the Church of St. Sofia. However, in different testimonies it was called both "Sofia" and "Sredets" until the end of the 19th century. In 1382 Sofia was seized by the Ottoman Empire in the course of the Bulgarian-Ottoman Wars - after a long siege the city was captured with treason. The new name — Sofia, replaced the old one — Sredets, after the liberation of the city from Turkish rule in 1878. Quite a time after 1878 there was a strong will, expressed by Bulgarian committees, to keep the name Sredets, but the Russian administration accepted Sofia.

[edit] Ottoman rule

After the campaign of Władysław III of Poland in 1443 towards Sofia, the city's Christian elite was annihilated and became the capital of the Ottoman province (beylerbeylik) of Rumelia for more than 4 centuries, which encouraged many Turks to settle there. In the 16th century Sofia's urban layout and appearance began to exhibit a clear Ottoman style, with many mosques, fountains and hamams (bathhouses). During that time the town had a population of around 7,000 which rose to 55,000 by the mid 17th century.

The town was seized for several weeks by Bulgarian haiduks in 1599. In 1610 the Vatican established the See of Sofia for Catholics of Rumelia, which existed until 1715 when most Catholics had emigrated^[8]. In the 16th century there were 126 Jewish households, and there has been a synagogue in Sofia since 967.

[edit] End of Ottoman Rule

Sofia was taken by Russian forces on January 4, 1878, during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78, and became the capital of the autonomous Principality of Bulgaria in 1879, which became the Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1908. It was proposed as a capital by Marin Drinov and was accepted as such on 3 April, 1879. By the time of its liberation the population of the city was 11,649.^[9] For a few decades after the liberation the city experienced large population growth mainly from other regions of the country.

In 1925 the St Nedelya Church assault was carried out by the Bulgarian Communist Party which claimed the lives of 170 people and injured another 500.

During World War II, Sofia was bombed by Allied aircraft in late 1943 and early 1944. As a consequence of the invasion of the Red Army after war declaration by the Soviet Union with the approval of the Allied countries USA, Great Britain, France, Bulgaria's government, which allied the country with Germany, was overthrown. Like Prague, Warsaw, Bucharest etc. Sofia became a capital of the Communist-ruled People's Republic (1944). The population of Sofia expanded at high rates because of the collectivisation of agriculture and the related land dispossession of people in the province, and also because a large emphasis was placed on the industrial development of the city — many new large factories and manufacturing plants were built in and around it. The city expansion accelerated after 1958 when the collectivisation and the construction of the huge Kremikovtsi Steel Complex near Sofia were completed. That led to the creation of many new neighbourhoods and the expansion of the public transport network.

[edit] Administration

The city of Sofia is one of 28 Provinces of Bulgaria (not to be confused with Sofia Province, which surrounds but does not include the city). Besides the city of Sofia, the capital province encompasses three other cities and 34 villages, being split into a total of 24 municipalities. Each municipality has a head person who is elected in a popular election. The head of the county is its mayor. The assembly members are chosen every four years. The current mayor of Sofia is Boyko Borisov.

Municipalities of Sofia City:

Rank	Name	Unemployment (2004, %)	Population[not in citation given]	(Sub)Urban/Town
1	Bankya	10.4	9,186	Town
2	Vitosha	3.5	42,953	Suburban
3	Vrabnitsa	4.6	47,417	Urban
4	Vazrazhdane	5.3	47,794	Urban
5	Izgrev	3.1	33,611	Urban
6	Ilinden	4.5	37,256	Urban
7	Iskar	3.9	69,896	Urban
8	Krasna polyana	9.2	65,442	Urban
9	Krasno selo	3.7	72,302	Urban
10	Kremikovtsi	5.8	23,599	Suburban
11	Lozenets	3.3	45,630	Urban
12	Lyulin	5.4	120,897	Urban
13	Mladost	4.2	110,852	Urban
14	Nadezhda	3.8	77,000	Urban
15	Novi Iskar	4.5	26,544	Town
16	Ovcha kupel	3.8	47,380	Urban
17	Oborishte	2.8	36,000	Urban
18	Pancharevo	5.3	24,342	Suburban
19	Poduyane	4.5	85,996	Urban
20	Serdika	3.6	52,918	Urban
21	Slatina	4.1	65,772	Urban
22	Studentski grad	2.9	50,368	Urban
23	Sredets	4.0	41,000	Urban
24	Triaditsa	3.7	65,000	Urban
	TOTAL	4.5	1,299,155	[10][11]

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1887	20856	-
1892	30928	+48.3%
1900	46593	+50.6%
1920	154025	+230%
1946	530168	+244%
2001	1177577	+122%
2006	1253680[not in citation given]	+12%
2008	1394214	+12%
2015	2000000[not in citation given]	exp

According to 1999 data,^[12] the whole Capital Municipality, with a population of 1,246,651 ^[1], had a population density of 917.8.

The ratio of women per 1,000 men was 1,114 and the rate of population ageing was 100.3. The birth rate per 1000 people was 7.9 and steadily declining in the last 15 years, the death rate reaching 12.2 and growing. The population was declining by 4.3 percent. However, considerable immigration to the capital from poorer regions of the country, as well as urbanization, are the reasons Sofia's population is in practice increasing. 5.7 people of every one thousand were married (only heterosexual marriage is possible in Bulgaria) and the infant mortality rate was 11 dead babies per 1,000 born alive, down from 18.9 in 1980.

According to the 2001 census, Sofia's population is made up of 96% ethnic Bulgarians; among minority communities, nearly 18,000 (1.5%) officially identified themselves as Roma^[13], 6,000 as Turkish, 3,000 as Russian, 1,700 as Armenian, and 1,200 as Greek.^[14]

The unemployment is lower than in other parts of the country — 2.45% of the active population in 1999 and declining, compared to 7.25% for the whole of Bulgaria as of July 1, 2007 (also on the decrease).^[15] The large share of unemployed people with higher education, 27% as compared to 7% for the whole country, is a characteristic feature of the capital.

When Sofia was declared capital in 1879 it was the fifth-largest city in the country after Plovdiv, Ruse, Varna and Shumen. Plovdiv remained the most populous town in Bulgaria till 1892 when Sofia took the lead.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Music and nightlife

Sofia has an extensive nightlife scene with many night clubs, live venues, pubs, mehani (Bulgarian traditional taverns), and restaurants. The city has played host to many world star concerts.

[edit] Museums

Sofia houses numerous museums, notably the National Historical Museum, the Bulgarian Natural History Museum, the Museum of Earth and Men, the Ethnographic Museum, the National Museum of Military History, the National Polytechnical Museum and the National Archaeological Museum. In addition, there are the Sofia City Art Gallery, the Bulgarian National Gallery of Arts, the Bulgarian National Gallery for Foreign Art as well as numerous private art galleries.

[edit] Places of special interest

The city also offers many places of special interest such as the Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Library (which houses the largest national book collection and is Bulgaria's oldest cultural institute), the Sofia State Library, the British Council, the Russian Cultural Institute, the Polish Cultural Institute, the Hungarian Institute, the Czech and the Slovak Cultural Institutes, the Italian Cultural Institute, the French Cultural Institute, Goethe Institut, Instituto Cervantes, and the Open Society Institute. The city is also known for the Boyana Church, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. In addition, Sofia houses the Sofia Zoological Garden, which was founded in 1888.

Several international film productions were made here. Vitosha Boulevard, also called Vitoshka — ranked as the world's 22nd most expensive commercial street — represents numerous fashion boutiques and luxury goods stores and features exhibitions by world fashion designers. Sofia's geographic location, situated in the foothills of the weekend retreat Vitosha mountain, further adds to the city's specific atmosphere.

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences building	The former royal palace at Battenberg Square, now the National Art Gallery	National Palace of Culture	The Neoclassical old Royal Printing Office built in 1882–1884 is today the National Gallery for Foreign Art
The architecture in Sofia centre is a unique mixture of Western and Central European Architecture.	The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox churches in the world.	The centre of the city is well-known for being paved with yellow Viennese cobblestones.	The Largo
Sofia downtown panorama	Another downtown panorama	Monument to the Tsar Liberator	Central Military Club

[edit] Tourist attractions

Sofia's tourist attractions include:

Churches

Church	Description	Picture
Church of St George	The Church of St George is a late Roman rotunda dated from 4th century situated in the courtyard of the Sheraton Sofia Hotel. It was constructed with red bricks and is considered the oldest building in Sofia. It is known for its Medieval frescoes in the central dome dating from 12-14th centuries.
Church of St Sophia	The early Byzantine Church of St Sophia was built in the 6th century on the place of an ancient Roman theatre and several earlier churches. During the Second Bulgarian Empire the structure served as the cathedral of the city but was later converted to a mosque by the Ottoman invaders.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral	The gold-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in the early 20th century in memory of the 200,000 Russian soldiers, who died in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878. It is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world. The cathedral's gold-plated dome is 45 m high, with the bell tower reaching 50.52 m.
St Nedelya Church	St Nedelya is a medieval church that has suffered destruction through the ages and has been reconstructed many times. It was razed in the assault in 1925 that claimed over 150 victims. After the assault, the church was restored to its modern appearance. Today St Nedelya is a cathedral of the Sofia bishopric of the Bulgarian Patriarchate.
Church of St Petka	The tiny Church of St Petka of the Saddlers from the 14th century featuring some fine frescoes. It is a one-nave edifice dedicated to St Petka, a 11th century Bulgarian saint.
Russian Church	The Russian Church or the Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker, built in 1914 is dedicated to the patron-saint of the Russian Tsar at the time Nicholas II. The construction was supervised by the architect A. Smirnov, who was building the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral nearby.

Museums and galleries

Museum	Description	Picture
National Historical Museum	The National Historical museums is among the largest museums in Eastern Europe and possess more than 650,000 artifacts. Ancient Thracian treasures, old armoury and weaponry, medieval church plates are among the most valuable objects in the collection.
National Archaeological Museum	The National Archaeological Museum occupies the largest and oldest former Ottoman mosque in the city built in 1474. It has a large collection of archaeological artifacts from all over the Balkans including some of the golden Thracian treasures. The museum is among Bulgaria's oldest and was inaugurated in 1905.
National Gallery of Foreign Art	The National Gallery of Foreign Art occupies an imposing 19th century building. The gallery's permanent exposition features European, Asian (Buddhist, Japanese and Indian) and African art, as well as separate contemporary art and engraving sections.

Miscellaneous places of culture

Place	Description	Picture
Ivan Vazov National Theatre	The Ivan Vazov National Theatre is Bulgaria's national theatre, as well as the oldest and most authoritative theatre in the country and one of the important landmarks of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

• The outdoor book-market on Slaveykov Square.
• The National Palace of Culture cultural and congressional centre — the largest multifunctional complex in Southeastern Europe, inaugurated in 1981 and situated in a lush green park surroundings.

Outdoors sights

• The Monument to the Tsar Liberator commemorating Alexander II of Russia.
• Sofia's central boulevards paved with Viennese yellow cobblestones.

• Vitosha mountain, one of the symbols of Sofia, just a short drive or lift trip away, open year round. Ski and snowboard are popular in the winter, and hiking in the summer.
• Borisova gradina, Sofia's main and oldest garden, the construction of which began in 1884.

Other places of interest

• Sofia Public Mineral Baths, decorated with the finest majolica tiles and completed in 1911.
• TZUM, Sofia's oldest and largest department store.
• The Largo, an architectural complex in downtown Sofia which includes the headquarters of many national institutions
• Sofia Zoo

[edit] Economy

Sofia is the major economic center of Bulgaria and home to most major Bulgarian and international companies operating in Bulgaria. Sofia is also the country's financial hub, home to the Bulgarian National Bank, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, the Financial Supervision Commission as well as the headquarters of all commercial banks operating in the country. Construction, trade and transport are other important sectors of the local economy. Increasingly, Sofia is becoming an outsourcing destination for multinational companies, among them IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Sony.^{[citation needed]}

Fuelled by Bulgaria's sustained economic growth, the real estate market in Sofia has skyrocketed in recent years. Apartment prices have more than tripled since 2003, with a growth rate of 30% in 2008.^[16] The construction industry has exploded with the emergence of new residential and office buildings, hotels, business parks, shopping malls and logistics space. Unemployment is rather low at about 2.5% compared to the Bulgarian average of 6.25% and to levels in other European countries.

[edit] Transport and infrastructure

With its developing infrastructure and strategic location, Sofia is an important centre for international railway and automobile routes. Three Trans-European Transport Corridors cross the city: 4, 8 and 10. All major types of transport (except water transport) are represented in the city. It is home to eight railway stations ^[17], the biggest of which is the Central Railway Station. Just next to it is the new Central Bus Station, the biggest and most modern of its kind in the country.^[18] A number of other Bus Stations allow interurban and international trips from different parts of the city. The Sofia Airport with its new second terminal, finished in 2006, ^[19] handled some 2.7 million passengers in 2007. ^[20]

Public transport is well-developed with bus, tram (153,6 km network^[17]) and trolley (97 km network^[17]) lines running in all areas of the city. ^[21] The Sofia underground became operational from 1998 and is yet largely underdeveloped with one line and eight stations only.^[22] At present six new stations are under construction and will become operational in 2009. ^[22] The masterplan for the Sofia underground includes three lines with a total of 47 stations.^[22] In recent years the marshrutka, a private passenger van, began serving fixed routes and proved an efficient and popular means of transportation by being faster than public transport but cheaper than taxis. As of 2005 these vans numbered 368 and serviced 48 lines around the city and suburbs. ^[17] There are some 6,000 licensed taxi cabs operating in the city and another 2,000 operating somewhat illegally. ^[23] Low fares in comparison with other European countries, make taxis affordable and popular among a big part of the city population.

Private automobile ownership has grown rapidly in the 1990s; more than 1,000,000 cars were registered in Sofia in the last five years. The Sofia municipality is known for the minor and cosmetic repairs and most streets are in a poor condition.^[24]. Consequently traffic and air pollution problems have become more severe and receive regular criticism in local media. The extension of the underground system is hoped to alleviate the city's immense traffic problems.

Sofia has a unique, very large combined heat and power (CHP) plant. Virtually the entire city (900,000 households and 5,900 companies) is centrally heated, using residual heat from electricity generation (3,000 MW) and gas- and oil-fired heating furnaces; total heat capacity is 4,640 MW. The heat distribution piping network is 900 km long and comprises 14,000 substations and 10,000 heated buildings.

Terminal 2 at Sofia Airport	Old-style tram — trams are a typical transport in Sofia	Sofia Bus	City Sightseeing Bus
Central Bus Station Sofia	Central Railway Station, Sofia	Sofia Metro	A Bulgarian built T8M-900 tram with low-floor middle section.

[edit] Architecture

[edit] Historical landmarks

A number of ancient Roman and Byzantine buildings have been preserved in the city and its outskirts. Most notably, the 10th century Boyana Church (one of the UNESCO World Heritage protected sites), the Church of St. George, considered the oldest building in Sofia, and the early Byzantine Church of St Sophia.

A medieval monument of significant interest is The Church of St. Petka located in the very centre of the city providing a sharp contrast to the surrounding three Socialist Classicism edifices of the former Party House, TZUM, and Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan.

[edit] Post-liberation and Communism

After the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878 and the establishment of an autonomous Bulgarian monarchy with its capital in Sofia, Knyaz Alexander Battenberg invited architects from Austria-Hungary to shape the new capital's architectural appearance.^[25]

Among the architects invited to work in Bulgaria were Friedrich Grünanger, Adolf Václav Kolář, Viktor Rumpelmayer and others, who designed the most important public buildings needed by the newly-reestablished Bulgarian government, as well as numerous houses for the country's elite.^[25] Later, many foreign-educated Bulgarian architects also contributed.

The architecture of Sofia's centre is thus a combination of Neo-Baroque, Neo-Rococo, Neo-Renaissance and Neoclassicism, with the Vienna Secession also later playing an important part, but it is mostly typically Central European.

Among the most important buildings constructed in Sofia in the period are the former royal palace, today housing the National Art Gallery and the National Ethnographic Museum (1882); the Ivan Vazov National Theatre (1907); the former royal printing office, today the National Gallery for Foreign Art; the National Assembly of Bulgaria (1886), the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1893), etc.

After the Second World War and the establishment of a Communist government in Bulgaria in 1944, the architectural line was substantially altered. Socialist Classicism public buildings emerged in the centre, but as the city grew outwards, the new neighbourhoods were dominated by many Communist-era tower blocks (panelki) and examples of Brutalist architecture.

After the abolishment of Communism in 1989, Sofia has witnessed the construction of whole business districts and neighbourhoods, as well as modern skryscraper-like glass-fronted office buildings, but also top-class residential neighbourhoods.

The seven-storey house of Baron Gendovich, one of the first high-rise buildings in the city, was completed in 1914	A business district: Mall of Sofia, Sofia Tower and the first IMAX cinema in Southeastern Europe.	Typical Architecture	Street Lamps
A typical narrow street in Sofia	Neoclassical architecture	View of Central Sofia	Central Department Store

[edit] Education

There are 16 universities in Sofia. The Saint Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia is often regarded as the most prestigious university of Bulgaria, being founded in 1888^[26] and having an incoming class of 14,000 students each year. Other important universities include the National Academy of Arts, the Technical University of Sofia, the University for National and World Economics, Sofia Medical University, the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, the University of Forestry and New Bulgarian University.

Furthermore, institutions of national significance, such as the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library are located in Sofia. The American College of Sofia, founded in 1860 and often regarded as the oldest American academic institution outside the United States^[27] provides secondary education to some of Bulgaria's brightest students.^[28]

[edit] Sports

Being the country's capital, Sofia is also the centre of Bulgaria's sporting activities, with a large number of sports clubs based in the city. These include most of Bulgaria's primary football teams, such as CSKA, Levski, Lokomotiv Sofia and Slavia, as well as formerly great clubs like Akademik, Spartak Sofia and Septemvri ^[29]. The capital's dominance in the sport is reflected in the fact that Sofia-based teams, including dissolved clubs like A.S. 23 ^[30], have been Bulgarian football champions on all but thirteen occasions since the national league was formed in 1923.

Although football is popular, sports such as basketball and volleyball have strong traditions. A notable basketball team in the capital is Lukoil Academic, who were twice European Champions Cup finalists.

While no major volleyball teams exist at club level (excluding multiple times champion and Volleyball Champions League participant Levski Sikonko), Bulgaria has always been among the world's top nations at the sport. The Bulgarian Volleyball Federation is the world's second-oldest, and it was an exhibition tournament organised by them in Sofia that in 1957 convinced the IOC to include volleyball as an olympic sport.^[31]

Tennis is increasingly popular in Sofia. Currently there are some ten^[32] tennis court complexes within the city including the one founded by former WTA top-ten athlete Magdalena Maleeva.^[33]

While rugby is a minor sport in Bulgaria, and certainly not a spectator sport, there are several rugby clubs in Sofia for aficionados of the game.

Most other sports, especially individual sports such as boxing, wrestling, and archery can be practiced at the sports complex of the NSA or at that of any of the sports clubs mentioned above. This is because, during the communist era, all sports clubs concentrated on all-round sporting development.

Sofia applied to host the Winter Olympic Games in 1992 and in 1994, coming 2nd and 3rd respectively. The city was also an applicant for the 2014 Winter Olympics, but was not selected as candidate. In addition, Sofia hosted Eurobasket 1957 and the 1961 and 1977 Summer Universiades, as well as the 1983 and 1989 winter editions.

[edit] Venues

The capital is home to a large number of sports venues, including the 43,000-seat Vasil Levski National Stadium which hosts most major outdoor events in Bulgaria, Levski Sofia's Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, CSKA Sofia's Balgarska Armiya Stadium, Slavia Sofia's Ovcha Kupel Stadium, and Lokomotiv Stadium stadium, which has hosted many major music concerts in recent years.

An important sports facility is the 3,000-capacity Universiade Hall, where in turn many indoor events are held, including Akademik's European basketball games. There are two ice skating complexes — the Winter Palace of Sports (capacity 4,000) and the Slavia Winter Stadium (capacity 2,000), both containing two rinks each.^[34]

There is a velodrome with 5,000 seats in the city's central park. It is currently disused but undergoing renovation.^[35]

[edit] Recreation

Most football stadiums have tennis courts, astroturf pitches and other sports facilities joined to them, and there are other such facilities scattered throughout the city, mainly in the parks.

There are also various other all-round sports complexes in the city which belong to institutions other than the football clubs, such as those of the National Sports Academy, of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, or those of the capital's various universities.

There are more than fifteen swimming complexes in the city, most of them outdoor.^[36] Nearly all of these were constructed as competition venues and therefore have seating facilities for several hundred people.

There are two golf courses just to the east of Sofia — in Elin Pelin (St Sofia club) and in Ihtiman (Air Sofia club), and a horseriding club (St George club).

The capital's main attraction is probably the ample opportunity provided to Sofianites for making use of the city's sprawling parklands, many of which are densely forested. There are four such major parks - Tsar Boris's Garden in the city centre, as well as the Southern, Western and Northern and several other smaller parks, most notable of which is the City Garden. The Vitosha Nature Park (the oldest national park in the Balkans ^[37]), which includes a big part of the Vitosha mountain to the south of Sofia, covers an area of almost 270 km² and lies entirely within the city limits.^[38] Many Sofianites take weekly hikes up the mountain, and most do so at least a couple of times a year. There are bungalows as well as several ski slopes on Vitosha, allowing locals to take full advantage of the countryside and of the mountains without having to leave the city.

[edit] Mass media

Some of the biggest and most popular telecommunications companies, TV and radio stations, cable television companies, newspapers, magazines, and web portals are based in Sofia. Some television companies and channels include Bulgarian National Television (featuring BNT Channel 1 and TV Bulgaria), bTV and Nova Television among others. Top-circulation newspapers include 24 chasa, Trud, Sega and others.

[edit] Notable people

See also: Category:People from Sofia

People that were born in Sofia:

• Galerius (c. 250–311), Roman Emperor (near Sofia, then Serdica)
• Elisaveta Bagryana (1893–1991), Bulgarian poetess
• Boris III (1894–1943), Tsar of Bulgaria
• Assen Jordanoff (1896–1967), Bulgarian-American aviation pioneer
• Cyril (1901–1971), Patriarch of Bulgaria
• Valeri Petrov (b. 1920), Bulgarian writer
• Stoyanka Mutafova (b. 1922), Bulgarian actress
• Itzhak Fintzi (b. 1933), Bulgarian actor
• Simeon II (b. 1937), former Tsar of Bulgaria and former Prime Minister of Bulgaria
• Georgi Asparuhov (1943–1971), Bulgarian football player
• Borislav Mikhailov (b. 1963), Bulgarian football player and Bulgarian Soccer Union president
• Evgenia Radanova (b. 1977), Bulgarian ice skater
• Antoaneta Stefanova (b. 1979), Bulgarian chess player and Women's World Chess Champion
• Viktor Antonov , Main Art designer of Valve worked on Half-Life 2 video-game series.

[edit] Twin towns - Sister cities

Sofia is twinned with:

Algiers, Algeria Ankara, Turkey Skopje, Macedonia Athens, Greece Berlin, Germany Bratislava, Slovakia[citation needed] Brussels, Belgium Bucharest, Romania Budapest, Hungary Helsinki, Finland

Bursa, Turkey Kiev, Ukraine London, UK Paris, France Pittsburgh, USA Prague, Czech Republic Saint Petersburg, Russia Tel Aviv, Israel Warsaw, Poland Milan, Italy

[edit] Honour

Serdica Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Serdica.

[edit] See also

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (June 2008)

• Sofia University
• Sofia Metro
• Sofia Airport
• List of malls in Sofia
• List of cities in Bulgaria
• Bulgaria
• Sofia Province
• Plovdiv
• Varna

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• "Sofia — 127 Years Capital" (in Bulgarian). Municipality of Sofia. http://sofia.bg/history_content.asp. Retrieved on 2006-04-05. 

[edit] External links

• City of Sofia
• Sofia City Council (Bulgarian)
• Sofia in old pictures and postcards
• Sofia travel guide from Wikitravel
• Wikia has a wiki on this subject at Sofia
• Sofia at the Open Directory Project
• Virtual panoramas from Sofia
• Gallery of Sofia by Night
• Image Gallery from Sofia
• Bulgaria - video presentation from Bulgaria Tourism Authority
• Video Photo Gallery of Sofia, Bulgaria (video)
• Archival images of Sofia

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