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Info about Sofia
 Sofia
is the capital city of Bulgaria. The city is located in the southern
part of the Sofia valley and at the foot of the mountains Vitosha
and Lyulin. The town occurred in the 8th - 7th century B.C. arround
the mineral spring which is now in the center of the city. The Romans
conquered the town in the I century and called it Serfica. In the
9th century is was given the name Sredets. It has been bearing the
name of Sofia since 14th century - the name comes from the name of
the church St.Sofia. Since 1878 Sofia has been the capital city of
Bulgaria.
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A great number of monuments of architecture have been preserved, such
as the Alexander Nevsky Catedral, the Public Theater Ivan Vazov, the
Palace of Justice, the churches St.George and St.Sofia, etc. Sofia
is the major economic, scientific and cultural center of Bulgaria.
In Sofia are the Bulgarian Academy of Scintences, the Public Library,
theatres and museums.
The city has several beautiful parks, and stopes of the Vitosha
mountain rise above it - Vitosha is a wonderful place of for recreation
of the residents of Sofia and the guests of the city.
Sofia has a history that goes back thousands of years. Through the centuries,
many peoples have inhabited it and added to its rich and diverse history.
Numerous Neolithic villages have been discovered in the area, while
a chalocolithic settlement has been recently discovered in the very
center of modern Sofia.
Views from Sofia
Alexander Nevski Cathedral
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Boyana Church |
National Assembly |
National University |
National Theatre |
National Palace of Culture |
Sofia - brief history
The Thracian Serdi tribe settled
here in the 7th century BC and gave the first recorded name of Sofia
-- Serdica. The Byzantines called it Triaditsa and the Slavs - Sredets.
The modern city of Sofia was named in the 14th century after the basilica
St. Sofia. In Greek, word sofia means wisdom. In the 3rd century AD,
the Romans built strong walls around Serdica, their capital of Inner
Dacia and an important stopping point on the Roman road from Naisus
(present Nish, Yugoslavia) to Constantinople.
Today there are many archaeological sites in Sofia, that display the
city's diverse history - the castle gates and towers of Serdica, public
buildings and streets thousands of years old. A large part of the
ancient city of Serdica is underneath important modern buildings.
The ancient city council (bulefteris) is hidden under the "Sheraton"
hotel, while a number of basilicas are below the National Historical
Museum. The Roman thermal baths are under the Sofia Mineral Baths
and a Roman residence with elaborate mosaics is below the "Rila"
hotel.
After the Hun invasion of 441, the town was rebuilt by the Byzantines.
The Slavs gave Sredets a key role in the First Bulgarian Empire, then
in 1018 the Byzantines retook Triaditsa. At the end of the 12th century,
the Bulgarians returned and Sredets became a major trading center
of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The Turks captured Sofia in 1382 and
made it the center of the Rumelian beylerbeyship. The city declined
during the feudal unrest of the 19th century, but with the establishment
of the Third Bulgarian Empire in 1879, Sofia once again became the
capital of Bulgaria.
Rapidly the city's image changed from an Oriental, to a European.
Today many streets, buildings, parks, and even whole neighborhoods
preserve the architectural style from the turn of the century. Between
1879 and 1939, the population of Sofia grew from 20 000 to 300 000,
while today 1 750 000 people live in Sofia.
Brief info about Sofia - capital of Bulgaria
| About Sofia, Bulgaria |
Time Zone Eastern Europe
Time
Change from UTC* UTC+0200 |
| Country Info |
A Resident is a Bulgarian
Currency Lev (BGL)
Language(s) Spoken Bulgarian |
| Nearest Large Cities |
Plovdiv, Bulgaria 105.6 miles
Craiova, Romania 117.6 miles
Skopje, Macedonia 138.3 miles
Salonika, Greece 143.4 miles |
| Geographic Info |
City Population 1750000
Country Bulgaria
Province Sofiya-Grad
Latitude 42.68333
Longitude 23.31667
Lat (DMS) 42d 41m 0s
Long (DMS) 23d 19m 0s |
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