Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. The city is at the foot of Vitosha Mountain in the western part of the country. Being in the centre of the Balkan peninsula, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and closest to the Aegean Sea.
Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. The recorded history of Sofia begins with the attestation of the conquest of Serdica by the Roman Republic in 29 BC from the Celtic tribe Serdi, raided by Huns in 343-347 AD and 447 AD, conquered by Visigoths in 376-382 AD, conquered by Avars and Slavs in 617 AD, and on 9th April, 809 Serdica was surrendered to Krum of Bulgaria. Bulgarian rule lasted until 1018, in 1040 and 1193-1382, which was interrupted by more than a century of Byzantine rule, several years of Serb, Hungarian and Crusader control, and by nearly five centuries-long Ottoman rule until Bulgarian rule was restored in 1878. During World War II Sofia was bombarded by the UK and US Air Forces and at the end of the war, it was seized by the Soviet Army.
In 1945 the communist Fatherland Front took power and executed several thousand people. The transformations of Bulgaria into the People’s Republic of Bulgaria in 1946 and into the Republic of Bulgaria in 1990 marked significant changes in the city’s appearance. The population of Sofia expanded rapidly due to migration from rural regions. New residential areas were built in the outskirts of the city, like Druzhba, Mladost and Lyulin.
During the Communist Party rule a number of the city’s most emblematic streets and squares were renamed for ideological reasons, with the original names restored after 1989.
(Pictures taken in 2013)
The Church of St George is an Early Christian red brick rotunda that is considered the oldest building in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.It is situated behind the Sheraton Hotel, amid remains of the ancient town of Serdica.
Built by the Romans in the 4th century, it is a cylindrical domed structure built on a square base. It is believed that it was built on the site of a pagan temple, though the original purpose of the building was for public use.The building is famous for the 12th-, 13th- and 14th-century frescoes inside the central dome. Three layers of frescoes have been discovered, the earliest dating back to the 10th century. Magnificent frescoes of 22 prophets over 2 metres tall crown the dome. Painted over during the Ottoman period, when the building was used as a mosque, these frescoes were only uncovered and restored in the 20th century
The Statue of Sveta Sofia is a monumental sculpture in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The statue, erected in 2000, stands in a spot once occupied by a statue of Lenin.
Sophia was considered too erotic and pagan to be referred to as a saint. 24 feetin height, the copper and bronze statue by the sculptor Georgi Chapkanov, stands on a 48 feet high pedestal. Adorned with the symbols of power (crown), fame (wreath) and wisdom (owl), the crown is also a reference to the Goddess of Fate – Tyche, inspired by the old emblem of Sofia dating back to 1900.
The Largo is an architectural ensemble of three Socialist Classicism edifices in central Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, designed and built in the 1950s with the intention of becoming the city’s new representative centre. Today it is regarded as one of the prime examples of Socialist Classicism architecture in Southeastern Europe, as well as one of the main landmarks of Sofia.
The ensemble consists of the former Party House (former headquarters of the now defunct Bulgarian Communist Party), now used as administrative offices by the National Assembly of Bulgaria, in the centre, and two side edifices: one today accommodating the TZUM department store and the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria and another that is today occupied by the President’s Office, the Sofia Hotel Balkan and the Ministry of Education.
The State Visits - In the city 