Sofia

Sofia has a long history that goes back thousands of years. Many nations have inhabited it through the centuries, adding to its rich history. Numerous Neolithic villages have been discovered in the area, while recently a chalcolithic settlement came to light in the center of modern Sofia. The Thracian Serdi tribe settled there in the 7th century BC and gave the first recorded name of Sofia, Serdica. The Byzantines called it Triaditsa and the Slavs Sredets. The city was named Sofia in the 14th century, after the St. Sofia Basilica. In the 3rd century AD, the Romans built strong walls around Serdica, the capital of Inner Dacia and an important stopping point on the Roman road from Naissus (present Nish, Serbia) to Constantinople.Today there are many archaeological sites in Sofia, which demonstrate the city’s diverse history: the castle and towers of Serdica, as well as public buildings and streets dating back thousands of years.

A large part of the ancient city of Serdica lies beneath significant modern buildings. The ancient city council (bulefteris) is hidden under the Sheraton Hotel, while a number of basilicas are below the Hall of Justice. The Roman thermal baths are under the Sofia Public Mineral Baths and a Roman residence with elaborate mosaics is below the Rila Hotel.After the Hun invasion in 441 AD, the town was rebuilt by the Byzantines. The Slavs gave Sredets a key role in the First Bulgarian Empire, while in 1018, the Byzantines retook Triaditsa. At the end of the 12th century, the Bulgarians returned and Sredets became a major trading centre of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The Turks captured Sofia in 1382 and made it the centre of the Rumelian beylerbeyship. The city met its decline during the feudal unrest of the 19th century, but following the establishment of the Third Bulgarian Empire in 1879, Sofia once again became the capital of Bulgaria.

The city’s image changed rapidly from its Oriental roots, to reflect its new European identity. Today many streets, buildings, parks, and even entire 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. Today, Sofia is home to over 1,250,000 people.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

The place, for which all tourists make a beeline is the St. Alexander Nevsky Memorial Cathedral. The cathedral was built in honour of the Russian Tsar Alexander 2nd, the "Tsar Liberator", whose army liberated Bulgaria from the Turkish rule, and was named after St. Alexander Nevsky, the patron saint of the Tsar and his family. The foundation stone was laid in 1882 but the building was not completed until 1912. The Russian architect Pomerantsev built the cathedral in the typically neo-Byzantine style which was so fashionable in 19th century Russia. Notable features are Siena and Carrara marbles at the entrance, Brazilian onyx and albaster on the King's and bishop's thrones and stained glass windows as well as icons, rich frescoes and grandiose chandeliers. The square surrounding the cathedral hosts souvenir stalls (winter and summer alike) and is a popular place for political demonstrations.

National Museum Of History

Located in a park-shrouded former government palace on the northern side of the Okolovrusten put (Sofia’s main ring road), Bulgaria’s National History Museum offers a highly enjoyable chronological journey through oh, at least eight millennia of human civilization on the Balkan peninsula. The building itself is a fascinating oddity, having served Bulgaria’s communist leaders as an official residence until 1989. If anybody ever launched a lifestyle magazine for would-be dictators, the marble halls and ornate ceilings in evidence here would make ideal front-page material. A sweeping staircase leads to the display areas, where the circular-shaped Neolithic Hall harbours vividly-decorated jugs and clay figures. Representations of the Earth Mother Goddess dating from the sixth millennium BC include a fabulous pair of buttocks from the Sofia region. Next up is the Thracian room: unfortunately, many of Bulgaria’s most famous Thracian treasures are touring western museums at present, and it is not known quite when they will come home. However there is still plenty of Thracian gold- and silverware, fantastically decorated with mythical animals, to make a visit here worthwhile. Biggest disappointment is the medieval section, which is largely based on replicas of items kept elsewhere, or on photographs of ruined castles and churches throughout Bulgaria. It’s more of an educational theme-park than a serious museum display, but it certainly whets the appetite for further travel within the country. Upstairs on the second floor lies a knock-out display of brightly-coloured folk costumes and kilims, and a fascinating collection of posters, photographs and domestic nick-nacks documenting the social history of twentieth-century Bulgaria.

Archaeological Museum

Housed in a beautifully restored fifteenth-century mosque, this attractive display of Thracian, Greek, Roman and medieval Bulgarian artefacts is by far the most eye-pleasing museum that Sofia has to offer. Imposing chunks of Greek and Roman masonry are strewn around the main hall, while upstairs lie many of the headline-grabbing Thracian treasures, unearthed by Bulgarian archaeologists in recent years. Most mesmerizing of all is the solid gold burial mask of a fourth-century-BC Thracian ruler, excavated near the central Bulgarian town of Shipka in summer 2004. A series of Orthodox church paintings depicting the life and martyrdom of St George run around the first-floor gallery, while a room full of exquisite medieval Bulgarian jewelry looks contemporary enough to provide today’s designers with a rich seam of inspiration. The bilingual Bulgarian-English labeling is unusually thorough, and the collection is just the right size to be easily digestible in one trip.