|
|
Sofia
History in Brief
| Sofia's
history goes back several millennia to long before
the Romans came and conquered this land. It is said
to be among one of the oldest cities in Europe.
The city's motto is "She grows but does not age".
The first written name of the city is Serdica -
after the Thracian Serdi tribe who settled here
in the 7th c. BC. The Byzantinians called it Triaditsa
and the Slavs - Sredets. |
 |
|
|
The
town was a regional centre in the Eastern province
of the Roman Empire, and was turned into a strong
fortress. After the invasion of the Huns in 441,
Attila ruined it and later the Byzantine emperor
Justinian rebuild it. Sofia became within the borderlines
of Bulgaria in 809 under Khan Krum the Frighful.
There were several Imperial roads passing thru -
one to Constantinople, the other north'-bound to
the present-day village of Gigen |
| The
modern city of Sofia was named in the 14th century
after the Greek basilica St. Sofia. In Greek, "sofia"
means wisdom, according to the legend, after the
dother of a Byzantine emperor who came to its mineral
springs to seek cure for her ailments. |
 |
|
|
The
city, however, became a capital only after the liberation
from the Ottoman Empire. This did cause quite a
furrore at the time: Sofia was a rather small provincial
place with population of about 10 000 people and
way behind the old-capital Veliko Turnovo, and the
much bigger and modern cities of Plovdiv and Rousse.
Rapidly the city's image changed from an Oriental,
to a European as Ottoman-imposed mosques were torn
down and the Orthodox Church was reinstated.Sofia
was anonced a capital in 1879. |
Alot
of archilogical and architectural monuments have
been preserved in the modern capital, a solid fortress
walls remain in the centre area which protected
the town more than 17 centuries. A large part of
the ancient city of Serdica is hidden underneath
important modern buildings.
Not so old but equally significant is the St. Sofia
Basilica which is now an active temple. St. Alexander
Nevski Cathedral is one of the most spectacular
buildings in Sofia. The church was built to commemorate
the liberation of the country from the Ottoman domination
and well decorated with icons and wood-carvings
by the most famous painters of that time. |
 |
|
|
To participate in BulGuide.com,
please feel free to contact us.
|
Current Sofia
Weather
|
|
