"Sofia" Sofia by johnsakura

Sofia Travel Guide: 1,432 reviews and 3,515 photos

Gipsy Capital

very nice city, altough its a capital it still has something about countryside, and then its has the mix of the orient versus the occident.

a bit of history:

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 center of modern Sofia.

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, 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.

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 center of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The Turks 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, Sofia once again became the capital of Bulgaria.

The National Art Gallery Rapidly the city's image changed from an Oriental, to a European. Today many streets, buildings, parks, and even whole 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, while today 1 250 000 people live in Sofia.

Last visit to Sofia: Sep 2003
Intro Written Dec 8, 2003
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Reviews (19)

Hostel Hotels (1)

you can stay from 5 euros the cheapest dorm room! free stuff like luggage space, city map, free picl up service, all... more travel advice

Antiques Flea Market 2 Shopping (3)

another view of the market where you can better see all the stuff you can buy. more travel advice

Chupa Chups building Things to Do (6)

more travel advice

Building with statue Favorites (8)

sorry bu i don't know which bbuilding is this. ill investigate and update info here. thank you more travel advice

Restaurants (1)
Tsentralni Hali (Central Food Halls)

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Comments (2)

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desert_princess Nov 1, 2004 at 3:39 PM

This Is Tha National Archeological museum . It used to be The Palace of Justice and it's actually more famous under this name.
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Andraf Jun 3, 2004 at 10:47 AM

Nice page.