Sofia
- This is a page about the capital of Bulgaria. For other uses, see Sophia.
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Sofia (Bulgarian: София) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1,208,930 (2003) - 1 300 000 (2006 est.). It is located in the western part of Bulgaria, at the foot of the mountain massif Vitosha, and is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country.
There are 16 universities in the city, among them Sofia University, founded in 1889. It is the see of an Eastern Orthodox and of a Roman Catholic diocese.
| Coat of Arms | Map |
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| File:Sofia gerb.png Sofia's coat of arms |
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| Data | |
| Municipality(Oblast): | Sofia-City (София-град) |
| Area: | 1,310 km² |
| Altitude: | 550 m |
| Population: | 1,292,603 census December 15,2004 |
| Population density: | 907 persons/km² |
| Average age of population: | 38.3 years |
| Postal code: | 1000 |
| Dialing code: | 02 |
| Municipal Code: | C |
| motto of the city: | "Grows, but does not age" |
| Day of Sofia: | 17 September |
| latitude: | 42° 42' N |
| longitude: | 23° 20' E |
| mayor (кмет): | Boiko Borisov |
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History
The history of Sofia dates to the 7th century BC, when a Thracian settlement was established on the site of the present-day city, thus making it the second oldest capital city in Europe. It has been given several names throughout the course of history, and the remnants of the old cities can still be seen today.
Sofia was originally a Thracian settlement called Serdica, named after the Thracian tribe of Serdi. It was captured by the Romans in 29 AD. When Diocletian divided the province of Dacia into two: Dacia Ripensis on the shores of the Danube, and Dacia Mediterranea, Serdica became the capital of Dacia Mediterranea.
The city was destroyed by the Huns in 447, but rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and renamed Triaditsa.
Sofia was captured by the Bulgarians for the first time in 809. Afterwards, it was known as Sredets, the name given to it by the Slavs.
It was renamed Sofia (meaning "wisdom" in Greek) in 1376. Still, it was called both Sofia and Sredets until the 16th century.
It was conquered by the Ottomans in 1382, becoming the capital of the Turkish province of Rumelia for more than 4 centuries.
In 1610 the Vatican established See of Sofia for Catholics of Rumelia, which existed until 1715, by which time nearly all Catholics emigrated because of Turkish persecution.
Sofia was liberated by Russian forces in 1878, during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78, and became the capital of the autonomous Principality of Bulgaria in 1879, which became Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1908.
During World War II, Sofia was occupied by the Soviet Union, the pro-Nazi government of Bulgaria was overthrown and Sofia became capital of communist-ruled People's Republic of Bulgaria (1944-1989).
Geography
Sofia is located in the foothills of the Vitosha mountain in Western Bulgaria. Sofia is about 390 km (243 miles) west of Bourgas and 470 km (294 miles) west of Varna, the two major cities on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast.
Culture
Sofia is the second oldest capital in Europe, blending past and present in a unique architectural style. From historic landmarks, including the 10th century Boyana Church part of the UNESCO World Heritage protected sites, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral one of the world's largest Orthodox churches and the Byzantine Church of St. Sofia, to the National Opera and Ballet, the illustrious Ivan Vazov National Theater, the Rakovski Blvd. theater district, Slaveykov Square's outdoor book market and Southeastern Europe's largest cultural and congressional center NDK. Sofia houses numerous museums, notably the National History Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Earth and Men, the Ethnographic Museum, the National Museum of Military History and the National Archaeological Museum. In addition, there are numerous private art galleries, Sofia Art Galleries, as well as the outstanding National Gallery of Art and the National Gallery for Foreign Art. Sofia offers many places of special interest such as the St. St. Cyril and Methodius National Library, the largest national book collection and the oldest Bulgarian cultural institute, the Sofia State Library, the British Council, the Russian Cultural Institute, the Polish Cultural Institute, the French Cultural Institute, the Goethe Institute, Instituto Cervantes, the Open Society Institute-Sofia along with Sofia Land, the nearly 9 acres amusement park adjacent to the Sofia Zoological Gardens founded in 1888. Sofia currently enjoys a booming film industry, being the filming ground of several international film productions. 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 beautiful weekend retreat Vitosha mountain, further adds to the city's unique atmosphere.
Landmarks
Some of Sofia's most popular tourist attractions are:
- The late Roman Church of St. George (4th century), hidden in the courtyard of the Sheraton Hotel.
- The outdoor bookmarket on Slaveykov Square.
- The early Byzantine Church of St. Sofia, erected in the 6th century.
- The gold-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built in the early 20th century in memory of the 200,000 Russian soldiers, who died in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878, which led to the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.
- The yellow brick streets in the heart of the city centre.
- The tiny Church of St. Petka Samardzhiyska, from the 14th century, at Sveta Nedelya Square, featuring some fine frescoes.
- The Banya Bashi Mosque, built in the 16th century.
- The Bulgarian National Historical Museum, noteworthy for its Thracian treasures.
- 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.
- The Ivan Vazov National Theatre.
- The many brand name stores on Vitosha Boulevard, Sofia's main thoroughfare.
- Vitosha mountain - one of the symbols of Sofia, just a short drive or lift trip away, open year round. Ski and snowboard in the winter or hike Vitosha's many trails in the summer. Has an extensive network of lifts to take you just about anywhere on the mountain. Now features a lit night ski run as well.
Night life
Sofia offers a diverse and rich night life. For a comprehensive list of night clubs, bars and Irish pubs visit Sofia Clubs and Bars. Restaurants and cafes are often open until 2am Sofia Restaurants. Sofia is a 24 hour party city where folklore, jazz and electronic music concerts are particularly prominent.
Sofia is known for a great number of dance clubs such as Escape, Maria Luisa, Back Stage, Alkohol, and Mojito, as well as live music clubs, cozy restaurants (Don Domat and Ugo), chic cafes and hype bars.
Notable Sofia music clubs are O'Shipka! (rock, metal, hard-core), Tri-Ushi (punk, ska, reggae), Babbles (house and electronic music), bars Barabar and Kufera. Voenen club is hosting often famous electronic music artists and has a regular electronic music program.
Many Erasmus students, EU volunteers can be found at "The A-Partment" sort-of-private club.
The place to eat between clubs is Mimas - a doner kebap located at the intersection of Levski, Graf Ignatiev and Patriarch Evtimii streets. Some of the nicest pubs are Divaka, Pod Bora, Stariat Voin, and Bohemi.
During the summer, the place to go is Lodkite - an open-air bar in the city park. There is also a weekly drum circle in an abandoned summer stage in the same park, similar to Barcelona's Parque de la Ciutadella and Madrid's Retiro.
Economy
Sofia is the major centre of Bulgaria's economic life. The manufacturing sector of the economy, represented by over 800 large manufacturing plants, includes metal products (75% of the total output in the country), textiles, rubber and leather goods, printing (50% of output) and electronics (15% of output). Sofia is also the country's financial hub, home to the Bulgarian National Bank, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, as well as some of the country's largest commercial banks (such as Bulbank, DSK Bank and the United Bulgarian Bank). Construction, trade and transport are other important sectors of the local economy. Increasingly Sofia is attracting attention as an outsourcing location for Western European and American multinationals. Sofia is also the headquarters for major Bulgarian and international companies operating in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe.
With the fall of communism in Bulgaria in 1989 major international companies previously not present on the Bulgarian market moved in, the majority of them to Sofia. The real estate market in Sofia has skyrocketed in recent years, for the past year or so with about 100% in just 1 year (2005-2006). The constuction industy has exploded with new constuction sites popping up everywhere. Unemployment is rather low at about 7% compared to the Bulgarian average of 12-17% but also to European levels where it is at about 10%.
Administration
Sofia is one of 28 oblasti in Bulgaria (not to be confused with Sofia Province). Besides the city of Sofia, the capital county encompasses three other cities and 34 villages. It is split into 24 municipalities.
Each municipality has a head person who is elected by the municipal assembly. The head of the county is its mayor (кмет). The assembly members are chosen every four years. The current mayor of Sofia is Boiko Borisov.
Transport
With its well-developed infrastructure and strategic location, Sofia is an important centre for international railway and automobile routes. All major types of transport (except water transport) are represented in the city, which is home to 8 railway stations, the Centre for Flight Control and the Sofia Airport (hub for flag-carrier Bulgaria Air). Three Trans-European Transport Corridors cross the city: 4, 8 and 10.
Public transit is well-developed, reliable and important to the city's economy; it is provided by means of underground trains (the Sofia Metro), buses, trams and trolley-buses. There are over 15,000 licensed taxi cabs operating in the city.
With the extensive growth of private automobile ownership in the 1990s the number of cars registered in Sofia has exceeded 500,000 in the past five years. Consequently the traffic (and pollution) problems of the city have become more severe. Subway expansion plans are set to alleviate the situation when the first line of the Metro is completed in 2008.
Key figures
Housing
- Number of units - 475,900
- Utilised area - 30 km²
- Living area per person - 15.1 m²
- Centrally-heated housing units - 437,000
- Length of the water supply network - 2,657 km
- Length of the drainage network - 822 km
- Length of the electricity network - 7,823 km
- Telephone land lines - 408,000
Street network
- Length - 2,670 km
- Area 28.126 km²
- vehicles - 750,000
Green zones
- Total number - 2,810
- Area – 54.41 km²
- Green zones per person - 48.7 m²
Institutions of higher education
- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- Sofia University St. Clement of Ohrid (Kliment Ohridski)
- University for National and World Economics
- University of Architecture, Construction and Geodesy
- Sofia Technical University
- University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy
- St. John of Rila (Ivan Rilski) University of Mining and Technology
- Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute
- University of Forestry
- Sofia Medical University
- Vassil Levski National Sports Academy
- Krastio Sarafov National Academy for the Theatre and Film Arts
- National Academy for the Fine Arts
- Prof. Pancho Vladigerov State Academy of Music
- New Bulgarian University
- Luben Karavelov Higher School for Civil Engineering
- Todor Kableshkov Higher School for Transportation
- Police Academy
- G.S. Rakovsky Military Academy
External links
- City of Sofia
- Sofia City Council
- Sofia 2014
- Sofia.com
- Article about Sofia
- Sofia Life Travel Guide
- Sofia Photo Gallery
- Pictures from Sofia
- Cultural Guide
- Brief Information on Sofia
- Sofia Photo Gallery
See also: List of cities in Bulgaria
