About City
Sofia is the capital city of Bulgaria and the heart of the country as well. The city is a cultural, administrative and industrial centre and its motto definitely deserves to be “It grows, but does not age”. Sofia is the biggest city in Bulgaria. It is surrounded by the Balkan Mountains Range to the north, the Lozen Mountain to the south-east, the Mountain Vitosha to the south and the Lyulin Mountain to the southwest.
It is at 550 meters above sea level. Pancherevo Lake and Iskar Dam are situated in close proximity to the capital city. Sofia is linked by international routes with the capitals of Europe, and through Istanbul and Ankara, with the Middle East.
Today Sofia is a modern European capital city with many business and trade centres, dynamic night life and cultural sightseeing attractions.
Sofia is a city with a 7000-year history, which makes it a unique phenomenon, dating back to most distant antiquity of Europe.During the 8th century before the new era an ancient Thracian settlement, called Serdica was established. The first name of Sofia actually comes from it. It was given to the city by the Thracian tribe- Serdi. The reason why this land became a settlement is the presence of warm mineral waters, running through Sofia Plain at that time. Even nowadays healing water is running down from drinking fountains in the centre of the capital city. At the time of the Roman Empire, the city of Sofia was the centre of the Roman Quarter, called Lower Dacia. Ancient towers, fortress walls, administrative and religious buildings were built then. After the liberation of Bulgaria from Byzantine rule the capital city name was Sophia.
Nowadays Sofia is a very placid place to live in. It is now going through major changes with its huge construction of modern buildings. A brand new underground connects the city centre with the outskirts. There are plenty of luxurious hotels, traditional, native restaurants, shopping malls and many places for entertainment. A variety of modern business centres and shopping malls are being built along the big boulevards, like Tsarigradsko Shousse and Nikola Vaptsarov Blvd. The region of Todor Aleksandrov Blvd., where the geographic centre of Sofia is, comes up as an administrative complex and business park of the city.
Origin: www.visitbulgaria.net
| Population | Cinemas | Theaters |
| 1 500 000 | 5 | 32 |
Interesting Places
- The Central Hali - A shopping place with interesting architecture where you can buy presents, Bulgarian food or just drink a coffee or eat ice cream.
- Popa (the Priest)- The small monument of Patriarh Evtimii (aka Popa) is a favorite place where young people like to meet before going to have fun.
- NDK – National Palace of Culture- The St. Sophia Church, has a unique architecture design. It features 16 big halls, the largest one having 5000 seating capacity. A lot of fairs, presentations, concerts and public events are held there. During summer the fountains in front of the palace dance and create a lively joyful atmosphere. The place in front is also a favourite place of skaters, boarders and bikers, because of the many low stairs around the fountains.
- Sofia University - Read about the history of the construction work, see the picture of the building and feel the spirit of Alma mater.
- Saint Petka Church. This area actually represents the cross point of the historical and the cultural appearance of the city, the business and the art face of the big and modern capital.
- Luvov Most (the Lions' Bridge) over the Vladaiska River lies north of the city centre in the direc¬tion of the Central Railway Station. It has four lions statues placed on high pedestals.
- Roman red brick rotunda, now being called St. George Church. It is situated in the inner yard of the Presidency, amid the remains of the ancient town of Serdica and that is why it is considered to be the oldest building in Sofia.
- Vitosha Natural Park is a preferred place for tourism and relaxation, because its close proximity to the capital. There are ten peaks, which are over 2000 metres high. The highest one is Cherni Vruh (the Black Peak), which is at 2290 metres above sea level. In Vitosha Nature Park there are beautiful relicts of paraglacial forms, such as stone rivers, stone seas and talus and old snow peaks niches.
Clubs recommended by Study4u
Caramba Club
In the last few years Latino Club Caramba has become the nightlife hit of Sofia. Situated right in the centre of town in the Bulgaria Hotel, it attracts a lively crowd of devoted partiers. The club offers an extensive and original Latin American experience that'll have you hooked until the early morning.
Go to club website
Swingin' Hall
Swingin' Hall was established in 1995 and is a great place to go for a drink and to listen to some live music - jazz, pop and rock. Musicians such as Ed Haris Oregon, Incognito, Saskia Laroo and many other have performed at the Swinging Hall. There's a jam session every Sunday which is definitely not to be missed!
Go to club website
Useful links
