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 centre of modern Sofia.



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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, the 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 centre of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The Turks captured Sofia in 1382 and made it the centre 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 neighbourhoods 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 1 250 000 people live in Sofia.

Since ancient times the city was famous for the abundance of cold and thermal mineral water springs in and around it. The water is still available today and is praised for its numerous qualities. Springs may be found in the city centre, as well as in the neighbourhoods: Kniazhevo, Gorna Banya, Bankya, Ovcha Kupel and Ivaniane.

In 1900 the City Council approved the emblem of Sofia and the motto "It Grows but Does not Age".

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SOFIA POINTS OF INTEREST

The Synagogue

The Synagogue in Sofia is situated in the very heart of the Bulgarian capital. It is the third largest in Europe, next to the synagogues in Budapest and Amsterdam. Designed by Austrian architect Grunander in a Spanish-Moresque style, the temple resembles the Vienna synagogue destroyed by the Nazis. It was opened on 9 September 1909, and the ceremony was attended by Tzar Ferdinand and Tzaritza Eleonora.

One of the most beautiful architectural monuments in Sofia, the Synagogue accommodates 1300 worshippers. Its central lustre weighs two tons and is the largest in Bulgaria. For already several years the Synagogue has been under restoration - because of the complexity of the work and the shortage of funds. Its restoration is soon to be finished, and now the Synagogue is shining in all its splendour. The project has been financed by the Bulgarian state and Israel, by private entrepreneurs and individual donations.

In spite of the enormous size of the building, public worships in it are attended by not more 50-60 persons. This is due, on the one hand, to the thinner Jewish community, and, on the other, to the relatively lower religiousness of the local Jewish population. Nevertheless, as a result of a renewed interest in the past and faith of their ancestors, an increasing number of young people now attend the divine services. Certainly, on great festive days, hundreds of people gather here, including high officials of non-Jewish origin.

There are about a dozen of synagogues in Bulgaria, but only these in Sofia and Plovdiv are active. Given that before World War II there were 10-15 rabbis and double that number of hazans, today the rabbi is only one, and - "commissioned" by Israel at that. This creates great difficulties for believers out of the capital city, but, regretfully, even the one or two hazans that have graduated abroad, prefer to practice lay professions. Two surgeons, specially trained in Israel, do the ritual circumcision of boys.

Rotonda Sveti Georgi (Rotonda of St George)

Rotonda Sveti Georgi (Rotonda of St George) Standing in the courtyard of the Sheraton Balkan Hotel, the redbrick Rotonda of St George was built during the fourth century as a Roman temple. It was then destroyed by the Huns, rebuilt by Justinian and turned into a mosque by the Ottomans before being reinstated as a church. Restoration work has revealed three layers of medieval frescoes, which had been hidden by plaster since the sixteenth century. The impressive cupola bears a fourteenth-century portrait of Christ the Pantocrator, surrounded by four angels and symbols of the Evangelists. Beneath, twelfth-century fresco work depicts 22 prophets holding scrolls, with texts alternately in Bulgarian and Greek. To the east lie excavated foundations of the Roman settlement of Serdica.

Hram-pametnik Aleksander Nevski (St Alexander Nevski Memorial Church)

Said to be Sofia's most photographed monument, Alexander Nevski is a magnificent neo-Byzantine structure, topped by copper and golden domes. It was built between 1882 and 1912, in honour of the Russian soldiers who gave up their lives when the Russian army helped liberate Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878. The church takes its name from Alexander Nevski, the patron saint of the family of the Russian Tsar at that time, Alexander II (also known as Tsar Osvoboditel, the 'Tsar Liberator').

Inside, there are three altars: the central altar is dedicated to St Alexander Nevski, the southern altar to St Boris (who brought Christianity to Bulgaria), and the northern altar to Saints Cyril and Methodius (who created the Cyrillic alphabet). The Icon Museum is located in the crypt, to the left of the main entrance. Here, over 300 exhibits trace the development of Bulgarian icon painting from the late ninth century up to the end of the nineteenth century. A guidebook is available in Bulgarian and English. The square in front of the church, Aleksander Nevski Square, hosts stalls selling souvenirs and bric-a-brac the year through.

Tsurkva Sveta Sofia (Church of St Sofia)

Standing next to St Aleksander Nevski, this brown brick church dates back to Roman times. The earliest basilica was probably built here in the fourth century, during the reign of Emperor Justinian. The present church still follows the classic Byzantine plan of a regular cross with a central dome. In the fourteenth century, the church gave its name to the city. During Ottoman rule, the church was converted into a mosque: the original twelfth-century frescoes were destroyed and minarets were added. During the nineteenth century, it was abandoned following damage caused by an earthquake. After the Liberation in 1878, it was restored and reinstated as a church - there are no Muslim features left. Outside, to the left of the main entrance, stands the Monument to the Unknown Soldier, lit by a perpetual flame in honour of those who died for Bulgaria.

Tsurkva Sveta Nedelya (Church of St Nedelya)

Sveta Nedelya, with its huge dome, is a typical example of Byzantine architecture. There has been a church here since medieval times, although the present building dates from the mid-nineteenth century. In 1925, the church was largely destroyed when a bomb exploded during a funeral service, attended by Tsar Boris and his cabinet ministers, killing 123 people. The square, Ploshtad Sveta Nedelya, used to be named after Lenin and a statue of the man himself once stood here. Recently, it has been replaced by a 24m (79ft) bronze statue of the goddess protector of the city, Sofia, holding the symbols of wisdom and fame.

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Ruskata Tsurkva (Russian Church)



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