We chose Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, as our destination for a weekend, and we didn’t regret it at all. We spent the time exploring the city’s main attractions, walking through its cozy streets and squares.
Of all the architectural masterpieces of the city, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Храм-паметник „Александър Невски“) impressed us the most. The sight of the golden-domed monumental building in person is simply breathtaking.
We also tasted traditional Bulgarian food, of which grilled meats were the best, as usual. People were very friendly and helpful everywhere in Sofia. Fresh coffee was waiting for us in the small family hotel where we stayed, and when we set off to explore the city, the host gave us donuts to take with us on the way.
It was a pleasant surprise that the prices in Sofia are extremely cheap compared to other European capitals, and I wasn’t thinking about Oslo.
Overall, it was an extremely interesting and meaningful trip. Bulgaria is an undeservedly neglected country among tourists.
Sofia has a history spanning over seven thousand years, making it one of the oldest capitals in Europe. The city’s fate was determined by its strategic location: in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, at the crossroads of important trade and military routes, at the foot of Mount Vitosa.
The first known inhabitants of the area were the Thracians, who founded a settlement here in the 7th century BC under the name Serdica. The name comes from the “Serdi” tribe. In 29 BC, the city was conquered by the Romans, which made it one of the most important centers of the Roman Empire in the Balkans. During the reign of Emperor Trajan, Serdica flourished, was surrounded by walls, and minted its own money. One of the most important historical facts is that Emperor Constantine loved the city so much that he called it “my Rome” and seriously considered making Serdica the new capital of the empire instead of Byzantium. The Rotunda of St. George, the oldest surviving building in Sofia, dates back to this period.
In the Middle Ages, the city became part of the Bulgarian Empire, and was then called Sredets, meaning “center.” It received its current name, Sofia, only at the end of the 14th century, from the Church of St. Sophia, which stood on one of the highest points in the city and served as a guide for travelers from afar. In 1382, the city was captured by the Ottoman Turks, and for nearly five hundred years it remained one of the most important administrative centers of the Ottoman Empire. During this period, mosques were built, including the Banja Bashi Mosque, which can still be seen today, and the city’s appearance took on an oriental character.
The history of modern Sofia began in 1878, when Bulgaria was liberated after the Russo-Turkish War, and in 1879 Sofia was chosen as the capital of the new Bulgarian state. At that time, the city was still a dusty, small-town settlement, but it developed into a European metropolis with record speed. Architects from Vienna and Central Europe were invited to design neo-Byzantine and Art Nouveau palaces, wide boulevards and parks. This was also the time when the city’s symbol, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, was built, commemorating the liberating Russian soldiers.
In the 20th century, after World War II, Bulgaria became part of the Soviet bloc, which changed the cityscape again. Monumental Stalinist buildings were built in the city center (the “Largo”), and huge housing estates mushroomed from the ground. After the 1989 revolution, Sofia opened up to the world again: modern glass palaces, shopping malls and an extensive metro network were built. Today, Sofia is a city of unique cultural layers, where modern office buildings rise above Roman ruins, and a synagogue and Orthodox church stand next to the mosque, reminding us of the city’s millennia of religious and ethnic tolerance.
