"My home town" a Sofia Travel Page by hekate

Situated in the western part of the country, the capital Sofia has 1,2 million inhabitants. It is the biggest city as well as the industrial and cultural centre of the country. The city is built at the foothills of Vitosha Mountain.

Founded seven thousand years ago, Sofia is the second oldest city in Europe. It has been given several names in the course of history and the remnants of the old cities can still be seen today.

Serdika was the name of the central dwelling of the ancient Thracian tribe known as “Serdi”. It bore that name when it became part of the Bulgarian state at the beginning of the ninth century and was soon recognised as one of the most important feudal towns, acquiring the Slavic name Sredets.

The city has been known by this name since the 14th century and is one of the oldest towns in Europe. Throughout the centuries Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Slavs and Turks have left hundreds of archeological, historical and cultural monuments.

- Territory - 1310 sq km
- Height above the sea level - 550 m
- Population - 1,220,000
- Population density - 907 people per sq km
- Average age of population 38.3 years