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All Bulgaria Virtual Guide - Travel to Sofia - Bulgaria's capital city
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Sofia is Bulgaria's capital and largest city with a population of more than 1.2 million people. Sofia dominates Bulgaria's economic, social and political scenes.

In the 7th century BC, the Thracian Serdi tribe settled here. In the 14th century, Sofia was named after the basilica St. Sofia, the oldest East-Orthodox Church in the city, built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the period 527 – 565 AD. During five centuries of Ottoman rule the church had been turned into a mosque. Beside the wall of the church is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After a devastating earthquake in the 19th Century, the church was abandoned and only in 1900 was it restored in full. Numerous villages relating to the latest period of the Stone Age have been discovered in the area. Vitosha Mountain is on the south part of the town.

Serdica, Triaditsa, Sredets, all are part of Sofia's historical past

The Thracians gave the first recorded name of this city -- Serdica. The Byzantines called it Triaditsa and to the Slavs it was Sredets. 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 the present Nish, Yugoslavia to Constantinople. In Greek, the word sofia means wisdom.

An important point in Sofia’s history was recorded on April 3, 1879 as it was proclaimed Capital of Bulgaria by the first Bulgarian prince, Alexander Battenberg, following the country's liberation after 5-centuries of harsh Ottoman domination.  

Sofia - the modern Bulgarian city

The Turks had 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, a thriving Sofia once again became the capital of Bulgaria.

Rapidly the city's image changed from Oriental to European. Today many streets, buildings, parks, and entire neighborhoods have preserved the architectural style from the turn of the century. As Bulgaria's capital city, the population blossomed during the first 50 years following 1879, booming from just 20,000 to 300,000 persons. Today more than 1,200,000 people live in Sofia and the city's activities dominate all of Bulgaria's daily events. 
Today in the Bulgarian capital, attention is firmly focused on Western-style economic reforms and the progress toward prosperity that Bulgaria has made in recent years. In the heart of Sofia, streets that were empty a decade ago, today are packed with cars - sleek Mercedes and BMWs, and Opels for families. The Bulgarian young people gather in cafés and bars with minimalist design and dim lighting. Restaurants are booming. Teens are into fashion. Everything has changed.

Bulgaria’s evolving tourism industry is fueling the current property boom as Bulgaria moves up in the international property market. Interest in the capital of Sofia is growing, as well. While buyers with bigger budgets turn to coastal areas and ski resorts, one and two-bedroom apartments located in proximity to Vitosha mountain attract other foreign property buyers.

Touring Sofia

Modern Sofia is a tourist's mecca, filled with a wide assortment of shops, galleries and cafés, scenic tree-lined boulevards, parks and gardens and a large number of recommendable hotels. The National Palace of Culture (known to the locals as "NDK"), in the center of Sofia is the largest multifunctional complex in the southern part of Eastern Europe.. Many of Sofia's largest hotels, historical and other cultural places are closeby. Buses, trolley-buses and trams connect NDK with every part of the city. It takes about 20 minutes to reach the airport.

But soon you'll want to move on, since Bulgaria is most noted as an agrarian nation. The true heartbeat of Bulgarian daily life is found in the smaller cities and the myriad towns, villages and farms spread throughout this remarkable land.   

Sofia Related Pages include:

Tony Rent a Car
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