Sofia Bulgaria

Sofia Theatres.

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Sofia museums.

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Sofia sightseengs.

Sofia is a city that grows but never ages. Founded over 7,000 years ago, Bulgaria's modern capital testifies to the country's eternal bond between past and present. Monuments to its rich Thracian, Roman, Bulgar and Ottoman history rub shoulders with modem-day edifices of cosmopolitan city life. Over 250 historic landmarks and architectural monuments blend in with the city's modern skyline.
Despite various Byzantine ruins and mosques attesting to a long, colourful history, many of Sofia's historic grandeur has been lost. Some of its most impressive architecture post-dates Bulgaria's Liberation of 1878. Wide tree-lined boulevards house numerous turn-of-the-century stuccoed buildings. Sofia's protective fortress walls for 12 centuries, straddle the city centers where remnants of the original Serdica settlement (2nd Century) still lie. Major landmarks include the St George Rotunda, part of a large archeological complex with rare Roman architectural features; the Sveta Sofia Basilica which inspired the city's coat of arms; the Alexandar Nevski Cathedral, whose magnificent icons and frescoes are world famous; and the Boyana Church on Sofia's outskirts - a listed UNESCO building - a fine example of Medieval architecture with unique wall paintings.
Other tourist attractions include: the Church of Sveta Nedelya, the Banya Bashi Mosque (16th century) and nearby Turkish baths, the Hall covered market and clock tower Synagogue, the National History Museum, the Sveta Petka Saamardzhiiska Church, the Russian Church, the Alexandar Batenberg Square, the flea market, antique shops and cafes around the Kristal Square, the tree-lined Alexsandar Nevski Square, named after its famous Cathedral, and the international art collection housed in the St. St. Cyril and Methodius Foundation.
The area surrounding Sofia is rich in natural beauty. The tranquillity and charm of Mount Vitosha offers ideal spots for picnics or walking in the summer and superb skiing in the winter. The picturesque villages at its foothills are just a short tram or bus ride away from the bustling capital.

posted by Tanya @ 12:10 PM 0 comments

Old Sofia.

Sofia is one of the oldest settlements in Europe. "Ever Growing, Never Ageing" is the motto on Sofia's coat of arms. For over 7000 years Sofia has been a meeting place of the four directions of the world.
Tribes and peoples came and went, civilizations flourished and declined but the city stayed forever. Historically it has been recorded as Serdica, Sredets and Sofia. Over 250 archaeological, historical and cultural monuments that the Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Slavs, Proto-Bulgarians and Turks created are part of the cityscape of a capital with a population of million.
Today Sofia is a modern and busy capital and a centre of Bulgaria's political, economic and cultural life. The harmony between the past and the present day lends the city its unique charm.

posted by Tanya @ 12:10 PM 0 comments

Sofia out of town.

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Music clubs in Sofia.

posted by Tanya @ 2:06 AM 0 comments

Vitosha Mountain.

posted by Tanya @ 9:20 AM 0 comments

The Russian Church.

Open any guide to Sofia, and you will read that the Russian St. Nicholas Church was designed by architect Preobrazhensky and completed in 1914. See the church, and you are bound to be impressed by its fine style and typical Novgorod frescoes.
What you won't read anywhere and will definitely miss unless you know about it is the chapel to St. Seraphim in the backyard. Sofians come here because they believe that the saint can work miracles. He can cure all ills and make all wishes come true if you light a candle, stand still by the sarcophagus and drop behind it a piece of paper on which you have written your wish. So if you have time to spare, give it a try. After all, one never knows.

posted by Tanya @ 9:19 AM 0 comments

The Boyana Church

The Boyana Church, early 11th century, is renowned for its frescoes from 1259.
An unknown artist painted 240 figures in 89 scenes: The Last Supper, Descent from the Cross, the portraits of Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Dessislava, of Bulgaria's King Konstantin Asen and Queen Irina: pale, distinguished and reserved or expressive and worldly, all are exquisite and mark a truly magnificent peak of mediaeval Bulgarian and Balkan painting.
The Boyana Church is also known as "a jewel in Sofia's crown" thanks to the frescoes. However, experts must have rather regarded it as "a masterpiece of world art" when the church was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

posted by Tanya @ 9:19 AM 0 comments

St. George Rotunda.

By the early 4th century, chroniclers already described the settlement of the Thracian tribe Serdi as "a splendid and noble city". This was in the day of Emperor Constantine the Great.
Strongly attached to Serdica, the Emperor often called the city his Rome and even intended to proclaim it capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Ultimately, he did not - but he nevertheless built magnificent edifices for the grand ceremonies during his visits. The only building to survive completely is the St. George Rotunda, famous for its original architecture and unique frescoes.
Painted several times in different ages (the 4th, 10th to 12th and 14th centuries), the majestic figures illustrate the development of monumental painting over several centuries, making the Rotunda one of the gems of Bulgarian and East European culture.
SHORT TAKE: During an official visit in August 1994, the Governor of Tennessee was taken on a tour of some Sofia landmarks. Short of time, however, he had to choose between the National Museum of History and the St. George Rotunda. His response: "There are museums of history everywhere, but a Rotunda only here!"

posted by Tanya @ 9:18 AM 0 comments

St. Petka Samardjiiska Church.

The St. Petka Samardjiiska (St. Petka of the Saddlers) is one of the few mediaeval churches to have survived in Sofia. Built in the late 14th century, its frescoes date from three different ages (the 15th, 17th and 19th centuries).
Art historians say they are an invaluable illustration of the best traditions in mediaeval painting and a testament to the development of Bulgarian art during the period of Ottoman domination. For their part, architects cite the church as a model of mediaeval construction with its fine proportions and rhythmic forms. To the lay public, the St. Petka is just a discreet gem amidst the flea market in the subway before the Central Department Store.

posted by Tanya @ 9:18 AM 0 comments

St Sophia Basilica

The St Sophia Basilica is associated with Serdica's last days of glory in the 6th century. Actually, this was the third time the church rose from the ashes, having been previously destroyed twice by Goths and Huns.
In the Second Bulgarian Empire (12th to 14th century), it acquired the status of a metropolitan church, giving the city its latest name: Sofia. By a twist of fortune, however, it was turned into a mosque in the 16th century and almost destroyed in two successive earthquakes thirty years later.
Restored after 1878, this church is now one of the most valuable pieces of early Christian architecture in the Balkans, according to scholars. According to popular lore, St Sophia's miraculous powers protected the lovely building over the centuries, warding off human invasions and natural disasters to keep the church as an instance of the elegant, austere and symmetrical architecture of the age.

posted by Tanya @ 9:17 AM 0 comments

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

The magnificent St. Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church, built to the designs of architect Pomerantsev from 1904 to 1912, is one of the finest pieces of 20th century architecture in Sofia. The interior is just as splendid in materials and craftsmanship: Italian marble, Brazilian onyx, African alabaster, frescoes and woodcarvings by the best Bulgarian and Russian artists.
The underground crypt has an impressive collection of icons. The exposition opened in 1964 and features icons from across Bulgaria that are among the 9th to 18th century masterpieces in the Balkans. Several icons from the 12th to 14th century match the best works of Constantinople studios of the age.
Actually, Bulgarian icons have countless fans across the world and have always fascinated people, evoking profound respect and admiration. At least, this has been the reaction to all expositions abroad: in Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Munich, Berlin, Warsaw, Moscow, Venice, Havana, Caracas, Delhi, Tokyo. All have had stunning success.

posted by Tanya @ 9:17 AM 0 comments

Sofia Theatres.

posted by Tanya @ 9:16 AM 0 comments

Rent-a-car in Sofia.

Kremikovtsi Monastery.

It was founded during the 14th century, again probably due to Tzar Ivan Alexander, when 14 monasteries known as the "Sofia Mount Athos", were erected around Sofia. Destroyed in 1332, it was among the first monasteries to be restored later - in 1493 the buildings were restored, and St. George's Church erected, the sole survivor today.
On the outside, the church is small and insignificant, like all the "semi-legal" buildings of those dark times. As a compensation, the murals (partially preserved today) turned the interior into a glittering gallery. The spirit is here alive of the aristocratic Turnovo School. The colouring is respectfully solemn, the drawing elegant, to the point of exquisiteness, the figures are lofty and exalted.
The artists of the Kremikovtsi Church were no blind imitators of traditional methods. In the overall composition of the murals, they introduced a new element which renewed the art of the time, and became traditional. This is the richly ornamented frieze of the waist-length figures of saints and martyrs, introduced for the first time, which separated the "classic upright saints" from subject scenes diversifying and enriching the general picture.
Kremikovtsi Monastery also contains some valuable examples of calligraphic art which was particularly perfected here during the 15th century, when the Sofia School of Literature was created and developed at Dragalevtsi, Kremikovtsi, Kokalyane, German and other monasteries. The so-called Kremikovtsi Gospel is an example of it.

posted by Tanya @ 9:13 AM 0 comments

Folk-Style Restaurants in Sofia.

BAY GENTCHO
15, Kniaz Dondukov Blvd.,Tel.: 81 74 74

VODENITSATA (WATERMILL)
Dragalevtsi, next to the cabel-lift station,Tel.: 671 058

BOYANSKO HANCHE
Boyana residential districtTel.: 563 016

GOROUBLYANSKO HANCHE (GOROUBLYANE INN)
Goroublyane residential district,Tel.: 781 260

SHOUMAKO
on the ring road between theBistritsa and Simeonovo residential district's

ZLATNATA RIBKA (THE LITTLE GOLDEN FISH)
Pancharevo residential district,Tel.: 992 31 77

KOSHARITE
1, Vaptzarov St.,Tel.: 622 894

posted by Tanya @ 9:13 AM 0 comments

International Cuisine in Sofia.

ROUSSALKA RESTAURANT AND SUMMER GARDEN RESTAURANT
Bulgarian, French, Italian and Asian cuisine47, Cherkovna St.Tel.: 435 257, 437 679
GLORIA PALACE
(restaurant, tennis court, fitness centre,swimming pool)51, N. Petkov Blvd.Tel.: 957 10 55
33 STOLA
14, Prof. Assen Zlatarov St.,Tel.: 44 29 81
THE ARTIST'S UNION
6, Shipka St.,Tel.: 465 129

BULGARIA
4, Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd.,Tel.: 870 202

DEVA-SPARTAK
4, Arsenarski Blvd.,Tel.: 65 10 36

ALEXANDRIA
Sofia, Airport,Tel.: 971 36 60

EUROPA
35, Alabin St.,Tel.: 882 361

BULGARKA
11-ti Avgust St,Tel.: 88 10 90

HELIOS
1A, Oborishte St.,Tel.: 880 385

LEBED
Pancharevo, Samokovsko Chaussee,Tel.: 992 34 65

CONTINENTAL PLAZA
1 Bulgaria Blvd.,Tel.: 80 16 06

MAGIC THEATRE "ASTOR"
29 Cherni Vrach Blvd.,Tel.: 661 661

PARTY CLUB
3 Vasil Levski Blvd.,Tel.: 980 56 60

RUSSIAN CLUB (Krim-Restaurant)
17, Slavyanska St.,Tel.: 987 01 31

GREEK
FANTASIA TAVERN
6, Sveta Nedelya Sq.,Tel.: 987 91 33

TAVERN ATINA
1A, Vitosha Blvd.,Tel.: 888 240

CHINESE
TAI PAN
46, Alabin St.,Tel.:980 80 24

THE GOLDEN DRAGON
166A, Rakovski St.,Tel.: 888 030

ITALIAN
RESTAURANT CLUB ITALIA
6, Patriarch Evtimi Blvd.,Tel.: 981 57 35

JAPANESE
SEKURA
100, James Bouchier Blvd.(in the KAMPINSKI-ZOGRAFSKI Hotel)Tel.: 62 518/36 56

GERMAN
BERLIN
2, Yanko Sakuzov Blvd.Tel.: 441 258, 443 411(57)

CZECH
CZECH CLUB
15, Krakra St.,Tel.: 441 383

INDONESIAN
KING'S CLUB
108, Vitosha Blvd.,Tel.: 528 464

KOREAN
PHENYAN (PYONGYANG)
24, A. Zratarov St.,Tel.: 946 12 14

FRENCH
MONTMARTRE
36 Hristo Smirnenski·St.,Tel.: 665 521

SAINT-TROPEZ
"V. Levski"- National StadiumTel.: 800 513, 813 640

MEXICAN
EDDY'S DINER
4, Vitosha Blvd.,Tel.: 876 783

INDIAN
RAMAYANA
32, Hristo Belchev St.,Tel.: 804 989

posted by Tanya @ 9:13 AM 0 comments

Borovets.

The oldest mountain resort where skiers can experience the thrills of the "white sport" in winter, and hikers enjoy the green freshness of the mountains in summer.

posted by Tanya @ 9:12 AM 0 comments

Disco clubs in Sofia.

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Bingo Halls in Sofia.

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Bars in Sofia.

ASTORIA
3, Saborna St.,Tel. 880 126

BAR PLAYBOY (Striptease)
106, Kniaginia Maria Luisa Blvd.,Tel. 315 046Fax 955 98 66

VALENSIANA
Cherni vrach Bvld.,Tel. 963 04 18

CLUB 'DIPLOMAT'
2, Sveti Georgi Sofiiski St.,Tel. 951 52 31

LAS VEGAS
80, Georgi Rakovski St.,Tel. 892 626

LUCKY
26, Doiran St.,Tel. 550 591

METEOR-M
61, Letostrui St.,Tel. 471 070

MILANO (coctail-bar)
2, Vrabcha St.,Tel. 809 556

posted by Tanya @ 9:11 AM 0 comments