SOFIA

Travel destinations Comments: 0 Dec 18, 2018

Sofia is at the foot of Vitosha Mountain, it has 1,300,000 inhabitants and it is the capital of Bulgaria. Sofia located in the far western part of Bulgaria, just 50 km from the Serbian border.

It belongs to the most largest capitals of Europe, the altitude of the city is 550 m, and the surrounding mountains reach more than 2000 meters.

Sofia is the main center of Bulgarian economic life. The manufacturing sector represents more than 800 large factories that produce, among other things, metallic, textile, rubber and leather products. In addition, there are printing industry and electronic industry. Sofia is also the financial center of the country, the headquarters of the Bulgarian National Bank, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, and some of the largest Bulgarian commercial banks. Construction, trade and traffic are also important sectors of the local economy.

This Orthodox metropolis has a number of churches, among which are the important church of St. George, St. Sophia, the Church of the Holy Sunday (or the Holy King, known for being the relics of Serbian King Stefan Milutin) and the patriarchal cathedral, the Temple of Alexander Nevsky.

There are 16 universities in the city, including Technical University and St. Kliment Ohridski University, founded in 1888.

Among the most important sights of Sofia, is the National Archaeological Museum, which should be visited. The Archaeological Museum displays the finds from the ancient antique and medieval period, treasures, weapons and objects carved in stone, with their beauty clearly describe the purpose - rich history. Sofia today has more than 250 architectural, archaeological and historical sights.

Synagogue Sofia is the third largest synagogue in Europe. Built in 1909, it has 1,300 places for believers in Judaism. The synagogue of Sofia was modeled on the synagogue in Vienna, which was demolished during the Crystal Night. During the Second World War, the synagogue suffered minor damage, however, it was renovated and reconstructed.

Not far from the metro station Serdica there is a small and extremely valuable church dedicated to St. Petka. The church was built between the 11th and 14th centuries. One part has been preserved and restored from time to time. An urban legend dating back to the 19th century is associated with this church.

The National Art Gallery is located on Batenberg Square and contains more than 50 thousand works of art. This building has many pictures of the first Bulgarian painters after the liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, after which the building of the museum was soon built. The building had two phases of construction and the other was carried out by architect Friedrich Grunanger under the patronage of Prince Ferdinand (1887 - 1918). The museum also has medieval paintings and more than four thousand icons.

In the center of Sofia there is the Famous Bridge - Eagles' Bridge. It could be said that this bridge is always in the spotlight because it cuts two big boulevards. Then, there is the Sofia University, the Ariano Lake, the Borisov Gradina Park, the Soviet Army Monument, and the National Stadium Vasil Levski. It was built by Czech architect Vaclav Prošek in 1891.