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Sofia
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This article is about the capital of Bulgaria. For other uses, see Sofia (disambiguation).
Sofia
София
City

1st row: Sofia skyline from the National Palace of Culture
2nd row: National Assembly Square (Monument to the Tsar Liberator, National Assembly, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral)
3rd row: Largo; National Palace of Culture
4th row: Saint Sofia Church; Statue of Saint Sofia; Tsarigradsko shose and Capital Fort

Flag
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Serdica, Sredetz (older names)[1]
Motto(s): Grows, but does not age[2]
(Расте, но не старее, Raste, no ne staree)
Sofia
Sofia
Show map of Bulgaria Show map of Europe Show all
Sofia location within Bulgaria and Europe
Coordinates: 42°42′N 23°20′E / 42.70°N 23.33°E / 42.70; 23.33Coordinates: 42°42′N 23°20′E / 42.70°N 23.33°E / 42.70; 23.33
Country
Bulgaria
Province
Sofia City
Cont. inhabited
since 7000 BC[3]
Neolithic settlement
5500–6000 BC[4]
Thracian settlement
1400 BC[5][6]
Government
• Mayor
Yordanka Fandakova (GERB)
Area[7]
• City
1,344 km2 (519 sq mi)
• Urban
8,403 km2 (3,244 sq mi)
• Metro
10,532 km2 (4,066 sq mi)
Elevation
500–2,290 m (1,640–7,510 ft)
Population (31 December 2015)[10]
• City
1,260,120
• Urban
1,547,472[8]
• Metro
1,682,340[9]
Time zone
EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)
EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code
1000
Area code(s)
(+359) 02
Car plates
C, CA, CB
Website
www.sofia.bg
Sofia (/ˈsoʊfiə, ˈsɒf-, soʊˈfiːə/ SOH-fee-ə, SOF-, soh-FEE-ə;[11][12] Bulgarian: Со́фия, tr. Sofiya,[13][14] pronounced [ˈsɔfijə] ( listen)) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. 1.3 million people live in the city and 1.7 million people live in its metropolitan area.[9] The city is at the foot of Vitosha Mountain in the western part of the country. Being in the centre of the Balkan peninsula, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and closest to the Aegean Sea.[15][16]
Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC.[3] Being Bulgaria's primate city, Sofia is a hometown of many of the major local universities, cultural institutions and commercial companies.[17] Sofia is one of the top 10 best places for start-up business in the world, especially in information technologies.[18] Sofia was Europe's most affordable capital to visit in 2013.[19]
Contents
[hide]
1 Names
2 Geography
2.1 Climate
3 History
3.1 Prehistory and antiquity
3.2 Middle Ages
3.3 Early modern history
3.4 Modern and contemporary history
4 Cityscape
4.1 Green areas
5 Government and law
5.1 Crime
6 Culture
6.1 Arts and entertainment
6.2 Tourism
7 Sports
8 Demographics
9 Economy
10 Transport and infrastructure
11 Education
12 International relations
12.1 Twin and sister cities
12.2 Cooperation agreements
13 Honour
14 Gallery
15 See also
16 References
17 Further reading
18 External links
Names[edit]
The first seal of the city from 1878 which calls it Sredets
For the longest time the city possessed[20] a Thracian name, derived from the tribe Serdi, who were either of Thracian,[13][15] Celtic,[21] or mixed Thracian-Celtic origin.[22][23] The Serdi and the name of emperor Marcus Ulpius Traianus (53 – 117 AD) prompted the Romans to give the city the combinative name of Ulpia Serdica;[24][25] Ulpia is derived from an Umbrian cognate of the Latin word lupus, meaning "wolf."[26] It seems that the first written mention of Serdica was made during his reign and the last mention was in the 19th century in a Bulgarian text (Сардакіи, Sardaki). During the Romans civitas Serdenisium was mentioned the "brightest city of the Serdi" in official inscriptions. The city was major throughout the past ever since Antiquity,[citation needed] when Roman emperor Constantine the Great referred to it as "my Rome", and it nearly became his capital.[20]
Other names given to Sofia, such as Serdonpolis (Σερδών πόλις, "City of the Serdi" in Greek) and Triaditza (Τριάδιτζα, "Trinity" in Greek), were mentioned by Byzantine Greek sources or coins. The Slavic name Sredets (Срѣдецъ), which is related to "middle" (среда, "sreda") and to the city's earliest name, first appeared on paper in an 11th-century text. The city was called Atralissa by the Arab traveller Idrisi and Strelisa, Stralitsa or Stralitsion by the Crusaders.[27]
The name Sofia comes from the Saint Sofia Church,[28] as opposed to the prevailing Slavic etymology among Bulgarian cities and towns. It is ultimately derived from the Egyptian Kemetic word sbÅ (𓋴𓃀𓄿𓇼𓇳), meaning "star, door, teaching and wisdom" and attested first in the 20th century BC in the tomb of Intef I.[29] [30][31][32] This was a tradition of collection of wise literature, shared between Mediterranean cultures, which was called sophia (σοφία) in Greek.[33] The earliest works where this latest name is registered are the duplicate of the Gospel of Serdica, in a dialogue between two salesmen from Dubrovnik around 1359, in the 14th-century Vitosha Charter of Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman and in a Ragusan merchant's notes of 1376.[34] In these documents the city is called Sofia, but at the same time the region and the city's inhabitants are still called Sredecheski (срѣдечьскои, "of Sredets"), which continued until the 20th century. The city became somehow popular to the Ottomans by the name Sofya (صوفيه). In 1879 there was a dispute about what the name of the new Bulgarian capital should be, when the citizens created a committee of famous people, insisting for the Slavic name. Gradually, a compromise arose, officialisation of Sofia for the nationwide institutions, while legitimating the title Sredets for the administrative and church institutions, before the latter was abandoned through the years.[35]
The city's name is pronounced by Bulgarians with a stress on the 'o', in contrast with the tendency of foreigners to place the stress on 'i'. The female given name "Sofia" is pronounced by Bulgarians with a stress on the 'i'.
Geography[edit]
The skyline of Sofia, Bulgaria, with the Vitosha mountain in the background during winter
Sofia City Province has an area of 1344 km2.[36] Sofia's development as a significant settlement owes much to its central position in the Balkans. It is situated in western Bulgaria, at the northern foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the Sofia Valley that is surrounded by the Balkan mountains to the north. The valley has an average altitude of 550 metres (1,800 ft). Unlike most European capitals, Sofia does not have any large rivers or bridges, but is surrounded by comparatively high mountains on all sides. Three mountain passes lead to the city, which have been key roads since antiquity, Vitosha being the watershed between Black and Aegean Seas. A number of low rivers cross the city, including the Vladayska and the Perlovska. The Iskar River in its upper course flows near eastern Sofia. The city is known for its 49 mineral and thermal springs. Artificial and dam lakes were built in the twentieth century. While the 1818 and 1858 earthquakes were intense and destructive, the 2012 Pernik earthquake occurred west of Sofia with a moment magnitude of 5.6 and a much lower Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). The 2014 Aegean Sea earthquake was also noticed in the city.
Air pollution is a problem in Sofia due to its location in the Sofia valley, which is surrounded by mountains that reduce the ability of the air to self-clean. The air is polluted mostly by particulate matters and nitrogen oxides.[37] Sofia has the most polluted air of any capital in the EU.[38]
Climate[edit]
Sofia has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with an average annual temperature of 10.6 °C (51.1 °F).
Winters are relatively cold and snowy. In the coldest days temperatures can drop below −15 °C (5 °F), most notably in January. The lowest recorded temperature is −28.3 °C (−19 °F) (24 January 1942).[39] Fog is not unusual, especially in the beginning of the season. On average, Sofia receives a total snowfall of 98 cm (38.6 in) and 58 days with snow cover.[40][41] The snowiest recorded winter was 1995/1996 with a total snowfall of 171 cm (67.3 in).[42] The record snow depth is 57 cm (22.4 in) (25 December 2001).[43]
Summers are very warm and sunny. In summer, the city generally remains slightly cooler than other parts of Bulgaria, due to its higher altitude. However, the city is also subjected to heat waves with high temperatures reaching or exceeding 35 °C (95 °F) in the hottest days, particularly in July and August. The highest recorded temperature is 41 °C (106 °F) (5 July 2000 and 24 July 2007).[44][45] The hottest recorded summer was in 2012 with a daily average July temperature of 24.8 °C (76.6 °F).[46]
Springs and autumns in Sofia are usually short with variable and dynamic weather.
The city receives an average precipitation of 581.8 mm (22.91 in) a year, reaching its peak in late spring and early summer when thunderstorms are common. The wettest recorded year was 2014 with a total precipitation of 1,066.6 mm (41.99 in).[47]
[hide]Climate data for Sofia (NIMH−BAS) 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1941–present
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high °C (°F)
19
(66) 23
(73) 27.5
(81.5) 31
(88) 34
(93) 38
(100) 41
(106) 39.4
(102.9) 36.1
(97) 33.9
(93) 25.5
(77.9) 23
(73) 41
(106)
Average high °C (°F)
3.4
(38.1) 5.6
(42.1) 10.6
(51.1) 16.2
(61.2) 21.1
(70) 24.7
(76.5) 27.3
(81.1) 27.5
(81.5) 22.9
(73.2) 17.1
(62.8) 9.7
(49.5) 4.3
(39.7) 15.9
(60.6)
Daily mean °C (°F)
−0.5
(31.1) 1.1
(34) 5.4
(41.7) 10.6
(51.1) 15.4
(59.7) 18.9
(66) 21.2
(70.2) 21
(70) 16.5
(61.7) 11.3
(52.3) 5.1
(41.2) 0.7
(33.3) 10.6
(51.1)
Average low °C (°F)
−3.9
(25) −2.9
(26.8) 0.8
(33.4) 5.4
(41.7) 9.8
(49.6) 13.2
(55.8) 15.1
(59.2) 14.9
(58.8) 11
(52) 6.6
(43.9) 1.4
(34.5) −2.4
(27.7) 5.8
(42.4)
Record low °C (°F)
−28.3
(−18.9) −25
(−13) −16.1
(3) −6
(21) −2.2
(28) 1.4
(34.5) 2
(36) 3.5
(38.3) −2
(28) −6
(21) −15.3
(4.5) −21.1
(−6) −28.3
(−18.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)
33.2
(1.307) 31.5
(1.24) 38.1
(1.5) 50.7
(1.996) 67
(2.64) 75.4
(2.969) 52.6
(2.071) 57.6
(2.268) 45.7
(1.799) 45
(1.77) 43.3
(1.705) 41.7
(1.642) 581.8
(22.907)
Average snowfall cm (inches)
24.4
(9.61) 19
(7.5) 14.7
(5.79) 2.7
(1.06) 0
(0) 0
(0) 0
(0) 0
(0) 0
(0) 1.9
(0.75) 11.5
(4.53) 23.4
(9.21) 97.6
(38.45)
Average precipitation days
9 10 10 12 13 12 10 9 7 11 10 12 125
Average snowy days
7.2 6.2 5.7 1.4 0 0 0 0 0 0.8 3.1 6.9 31.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours
87.8 114.3 159.6 182.2 229.6 257.7 302.1 288.3 220.1 163.6 105.5 66.1 2,176.9
Source #1: [48]
Source #2: precipitation days[49] and extremes[39][50][51][52][53][54]
Climate table:
[hide]Climate data for Sofia 2005-2014
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Average high °C (°F)
4.1
(39.4) 6.1
(43) 11.9
(53.4) 17.2
(63) 21.8
(71.2) 25.4
(77.7) 28.2
(82.8) 28.6
(83.5) 23.2
(73.8) 17.4
(63.3) 11.2
(52.2) 5.1
(41.2) 16.7
(62.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)
0.3
(32.5) 1.7
(35.1) 6.5
(43.7) 11.5
(52.7) 15.9
(60.6) 19.4
(66.9) 21.7
(71.1) 22
(72) 17.2
(63) 11.7
(53.1) 6.6
(43.9) 1.5
(34.7) 11.3
(52.3)
Average low °C (°F)
−3.3
(26.1) −2.3
(27.9) 1.4
(34.5) 5.8
(42.4) 10.1
(50.2) 13.4
(56.1) 15.3
(59.5) 15.4
(59.7) 11.4
(52.5) 6.6
(43.9) 2.4
(36.3) −1.8
(28.8) 6.2
(43.2)
Mean monthly sunshine hours
81.3 101 167.8 194.5 238.1 270.1 320.6 316.6 216.6 163.8 105.6 66 2,242
Source: http://www.stringmeteo.com/synop/maxmin_month.php
History[edit]
Main article: History of Sofia
See also: Timeline of Sofia
Prehistory and antiquity[edit]
O: head of river-god Strymon R: trident
This coin imitates Macedonian issue from 187–168 BC. It was struck by Serdi tribe as their own currency.
A restored city plan of Roman Serdica under Marcus Aurelius (161–180)
Sofia has been an area of continuous human habitation since at least the 8th millennium BC,[3] but others have inhabited the area 30,000 years ago.[55] The city has a history of nearly 7000 years and it is the second oldest city in Europe according to the city's official website and other sources, though the meaning of the claim is unclear as in the world there were hardly any cities at the time. In the context, certainly the neolithic village in Slatina, dating to the 5th–6th millennium BC, is described.[56][56][57][58][59][60] However, the motto of the city is "grows, but does not age". Remains from another neolithic settlement around the National Art Gallery are traced to the 3rd–4th millennium BC, which has been the traditional centre of the city ever since and is not changed today.[61] The earliest tribes who settled were the Thracians. In 1400 – 1300 BC. Sofia's area was populated by the Thracian tribe of Tilataei. After the Celtic invasion in 3rd century BC Tilataei were conquered by the Celtic tribe of Serdi. The Celts were assimilated by the local Thracian population during the late Hellenistic period in 2nd – 1st century BC.[5] According to some sources, it got first an official mention in the 7th/8th century BC when the Serdi (Sardi) as a Thracian tribe established a settlement.[13][58][62] Other sources suppose that the Serdi's Celtic origin is convincingly evidenced through linguistic and archaeological clues but that their presence is not evidenced before the 1st century BC,[63] whereas others assume their mixed Thracian-Celtic origin or relation to the Sards. The earliest evidence of Celtic presence in the Sofia area (Pernik) can be from the 3rd century BC.[64] Some clues lead to the conclusion that the area of the settlement was between TZUM, Sheraton Hotel and the Presidency.[61][65] In the 500s BC, the area became part of a Thracian state union, called the Odrysian kingdom, when another Thracian tribe appeared in the town, the Odrysses. For a short period the Thracian rule was possibly interrupted by the Achaemenid Empire. In 339 BC Philip II of Macedon destroyed and ravaged the town which was its first time.[55]
Around BC 29, Serdica was conquered by the Romans, gradually becoming the most important Roman city of the region.[24][25] It became a municipium during the reign of Emperor Trajan (98–117). Serdica expanded, as turrets, protective walls, public baths, administrative and cult buildings, a civic basilica, an amphitheatre, a circus, the City Council (Boulé), a large forum, a big circus (theatre), etc. were built. Serdica was a significant midway city on the Roman road Via Militaris, connecting Singidunum and Byzantium. In the 3rd century, it became the capital of Dacia Aureliana,[66] and when Emperor Diocletian divided the province of Dacia Aureliana into Dacia Ripensis (at the banks of the Danube) and Dacia Mediterranea, Serdica became the capital of the latter. Serdica's citizens of Thracian descent were referred to as Illyrians[55] probably because it was at some time the capital of Eastern Illyria (Second Illyria).[67] For future emperors Serdica was their residence form where they ruled Rome.
The fortification of Serdica
Roman emperors Aurelian (215–275)[68] and Galerius (260–311)[69] were from Serdica. The city subsequently expanded for a century and a half, it became a significant political and economical centre, more so — it became one of the first Roman cities where Christianity was recognised as an official religion (under Galerius). The Edict of Toleration by Galerius was issued in 311 in Serdica by the Roman emperor Galerius, officially ending the Diocletianic persecution of Christianity. The Edict implicitly granted Christianity the status of "religio licita", a worship recognised and accepted by the Roman Empire. It was the first edict legalising Christianity, preceding the Edict of Milan by two years. For Constantine the Great it was 'Sardica mea Roma est' (Serdica is my Rome). He considered making Serdica the capital of the Byzantine Empire instead of Constantinople.[70] which was already not dissimilar to a tetrarchic capital of the Roman Empire.[71] In 343 AD, the Council of Sardica was held in the city, in a church located where the current 6th century Church of Saint Sophia was later built.
The city was destroyed in the 447 invasion of the Huns and the city laid in ruins for a century[55] It was rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. During the reign of Justinian it flourished, being surrounded with great fortress walls whose remnants can still be seen today.
Middle Ages[edit]
The city first became part of the First Bulgarian Empire during the reign of Khan Krum in 809, after a long siege.[72] Afterwаrds, it grew into an important fortress and administrative centre when Khan Omurtag made it a centre of Sredets province (Sredetski komitat, Средецки комитат). After the conquest of the Bulgarian capital Preslav by Sviatoslav I of Kiev and John I Tzimiskes' armies in 970–971, the Bulgarian Patriarch Damyan chose Sofia for his seat in the next year and the capital of Bulgaria was first moved to Sredets.[73] In the second half of 10th century the city was ruled by Komit Nikola and his sons, popular as "Komitopuli". One of them is Samuil, who became an Emperor of Bulgaria in 997. After a number of unsuccessful sieges, the city fell to the Byzantine Empire in 1018, but once again was incorporated into the restored Bulgarian Empire at the time of Tsar Ivan Asen I.
Early modern history[edit]
In 1385[74], Sofia was seized by the Ottoman Empire in the course of the Bulgarian-Ottoman Wars. Around 1393 it became the seat of newly established Sanjak of Sofia.[75]
The city was occupied by Hungarian forces for a short time in 1443. After the failed crusade of Władysław III of Poland in 1443 towards Sofia, the city's Christian faced persecution and the city became the capital of the Ottoman province (beylerbeylik) of Rumelia for more than four centuries. During that time Sofia was the largest import-export-base in modern day Bulgaria for the caravan trade with the Republic of Ragusa. Furthermore, in the 15th and 16th century, Sofia's urban layout was expanded by Ottoman building activity. Public investments in infrastructure, education and local economy brought greater diversity to the city. Amongst others, the population consisted of Muslims, Bulgarian and Greek speaking Orthodox Christians, Armenians, Georgians, Catholic Ragusans, Jews (Romaniote, Ashkenazi and Sephardi), and Romani people. When it comes to the cityscape, the sources mention eight Friday Mosques, three public libraries, numerous schools, 12 churches, three synagogues, and the largest bedesten of the Balkans.[74]
Sofia in mid-19th-century
Additionally, there were fountains and hammams (bathhouses), and prominent churches such as Saint Sofia had been converted into mosques. In total there were 11 big and over 100 small mosques by the 17th century,[76] of which only the Banya Bashi remains as a mosque today. During that time the town had a population of around 7,000.
The town was seized for several weeks by Bulgarian hajduks in 1599. In 1610 the Vatican established the See of Sofia for Catholics of Rumelia, which existed until 1715 when most Catholics had emigrated.[77] The town was the centre of Sofia Eyalet (1826–1864). Nedelya Petkova created the first Bulgarian school for women in the city. In 1873 the Ottomans hanged in Sofia the Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski.
Modern and contemporary history[edit]
The allied bombing of Sofia in World War II in 1944
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, Suleiman Pasha threatened to burn the city, until the foreign councils Leandre Legay, Vito Positano, Rabbi Gabriel Almosnino and Josef Valdhart interceded for the city to be saved. However this saving did not apply to the Bulgarian citizens who faced executions.[78] Sofia was relieved (see Battle of Sofia) from Ottoman rule by Russian forces under Gen. Iosif Gurko on 4 January 1878. It was proposed as a capital by Marin Drinov and was accepted as such on 3 April 1879. By the time of its liberation the population of the city was 11,649.[79]
Most mosques in Sofia were destroyed in that war, seven of them destroyed in one night in December 1878 when a thunderstorm masked the noise of the explosions arranged by Russian military engineers.[80][81] Following the war, the great majority of the Muslim population left Sofia.[74]
For a few decades after the liberation, Sofia experienced large population growth, mainly by migration from other regions of the Principality (Kingdom since 1908) of Bulgaria, and from the still Ottoman Macedonia and Thrace.
In 1900 the first electric lightbulb in the city was turned on.[82]
In the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria was fighting alone practically all of its neighbouring countries. When the Romanian Army entered Vrazhdebna in 1913, then a village seven miles (11 kilometres) from Sofia, now a suburb,[83] this prompted the Tsardom of Bulgaria to capitulate.
In 1925 a terrorist act of ultra-leftists failed their attempted assassination of the king but resulted in the destruction of the Saint Nedelya Church and many victims.
During the Second World War, Bulgaria declared war on the US and UK on 13 December 1941 and in late 1943 and early 1944 the US and UK Air forces conducted bombings over Sofia. As a consequence of the bombings around 2000 people were killed and thousands of buildings were destroyed or damaged including the Capital Library and thousands of books. In 1944 Sofia and the rest of Bulgaria was occupied by the Soviet Red Army and within days of the Soviet invasion Bulgaria declared war on Nazi Germany.
In 1945 the communist Fatherland Front took power and executed several thousand people. The transformations of Bulgaria into the People's Republic of Bulgaria in 1946 and into the Republic of Bulgaria in 1990 marked significant changes in the city's appearance. The population of Sofia expanded rapidly due to migration from rural regions. New residential areas were built in the outskirts of the city, like Druzhba, Mladost and Lyulin.
During the Communist Party rule a number of the city's most emblematic streets and squares were renamed for ideological reasons, with the original names restored after 1989.[84]
The Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum, where Dimitrov's body had been preserved in a similar way to the Lenin mausoleum, was demolished in 1999.
Cityscape[edit]
Diurnal view, including the Largo, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the National Assembly, Sofia University, the building of BNT, Lake Ariana and Borisova gradina.
Nocturnal view of the city.
In Sofia there are 607,473 dwellings and 101,696 buildings. According to modern records 39,551 dwellings were constructed until 1949, 119,943 between 1950 and 1969, 287,191 between 1970 and 1989, 57,916 in the 90s and 102,623 between 2000 and 2011. Until 1949, 13,114 buildings were constructed and between 10,000–20,000 in each following decade.[85] Sofia's architecture combines a wide range of architectural styles, some of which are aesthetically incompatible. These vary from Christian Roman architecture and medieval Bulgar fortresses to Neoclassicism and prefabricated Socialist-era apartment blocks. A number of ancient Roman, Byzantine and medieval Bulgarian buildings are preserved in the centre of the city. These include the 4th century Rotunda of St. George, the walls of the Serdica fortress and the partially preserved Amphitheatre of Serdica.
After the Liberation War, knyaz Alexander Battenberg invited architects from Austria–Hungary to shape the new capital's architectural appearance.[86]
Among the architects invited to work in Bulgaria were Friedrich Grünanger, Adolf Václav Kolář, and Viktor Rumpelmayer, who designed the most important public buildings needed by the newly re-established Bulgarian government, as well as numerous houses for the country's elite.[86] Later, many foreign-educated Bulgarian architects also contributed. The architecture of Sofia's centre is thus a combination of Neo-Baroque, Neo-Rococo, Neo-Renaissance and Neoclassicism, with the Vienna Secession also later playing an important part, but it is most typically Central European.
After World War II and the establishment of a Communist government in Bulgaria in 1944, the architectural style was substantially altered. Stalinist Gothic public buildings emerged in the centre, notably the spacious government complex around The Largo, Vasil Levski Stadium, the Cyril and Methodius National Library and others. As the city grew outwards, the then-new neighbourhoods were dominated by many concrete tower blocks, prefabricated panel apartment buildings and examples of Brutalist architecture. They still make Sofia's housing very high compared to post-Western block countries,
After the abolition of Communism in 1989, Sofia witnessed the construction of whole business districts and neighbourhoods, as well as modern skryscraper-like glass-fronted office buildings, but also top-class residential neighbourhoods. The 126-metre (413 ft) Capital Fort Business Center will be the first skyscraper in Bulgaria, with 36 floors. However, the end of the old administration and centrally planned system also paved the way for chaotic and unrestrained construction, which continues today.
Architectural styles in Sofia
The 4th century St. George Rotunda (the oldest building) behind some remains of Serdica
Socialist-era housing in Mladost
Interior of the ancient Saint Sofia Church
The Central Sofia Market Hall
Hotel Rodina, an example of Brutalist architecture
Business Park Sofia
Neo-Gothic architecture in Sofia
Baroque Revival architecture in Sofia
The National gallery - SQUARE 500
Russian Church, Sofia view of the front from the street
Green areas[edit]
Borisova gradina
The city has an extensive green belt. Some of the neighbourhoods constructed after 2000 are densely built up and lack green spaces. There are four principal parks – Borisova gradina in the city centre and the Southern, Western and Northern parks. Several smaller parks, among which the Zaimov Park, City Garden and the Doctors' Garden, are located in central Sofia. The Vitosha Nature Park (the oldest national park in the Balkans)[87] includes most of Vitosha mountain and covers an area of 266 square kilometres (103 sq mi),[88] with roughly half of it lying within the municipality of Sofia. Vitosha Mountain is a popular hiking destination due to its proximity and ease of access via car and public transport. Two functioning cable cars provide year long access from the outskirts of the city. The mountain offers favourable skiing conditions during the winter when multiple ski slopes of various difficulty are made available. Access to the ski slopes is regulated, they are maintained daily and health and safety personnel are available to assist in case of injury. Skiing passes typically allow unlimited access to the ski slopes, cable cars and other transport facilities. Skiing equipment can be rented and skiing lessons are available.
Government and law[edit]
Composition of the City Council
Party 61 Seats
GERB (160 816✘ ≈ 42.9%)
30
RB (61 500✘ ≈ 16.4%)
11
RB (SDS)
4
RB (BG)
3
RB (DSB)
3
RB (ind.)
1
Left Bulgaria (37 100✘ ≈ 9.9%)
7
Left Bulgaria (BSP)
7
IMRO (17 900✘ ≈ 4.8%)
3
Serdika (13 600✘ ≈ 3.6%)
3
Serdika (ABV)
1
Serdika (BSD)
1
Attack (11 400✘ ≈ 3.1%)
2
Vox populi (11 400✘ ≈ 3.1%)
2
Movement 21 (8 000✘ ≈ 2.1%)
2
The Greens (7 700✘ ≈ 2.1%)
1
Total votes: 375 010
2015 election[89][90][91][92]
Sofia as a capital is the location of all Bulgarian state authorities – executive, legislative, judiciary, the headquarters of all parties and the delegation of the European Commission. This includes the Parliament, the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and all the ministries, supreme courts and the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria.
Sofia Municipality is identical to Sofia City Province, which is distinct from Sofia Province, which surrounds but does not include the capital itself. Besides the city proper, the 24 districts of Sofia Municipality encompass three other towns and 34 villages.[93] Districts and settlements have their own governor who is elected in a popular election. The assembly members are chosen every four years. The common head of Sofia Municipality and all the 38 settlements is the mayor of Sofia.[93] The current mayor Yordanka Fandakova is serving a third consecutive term, having won the 2015 election at first round with 238,500 votes,[94] or 60.2% of the vote, when Reformist Bloc opponent Vili Lilkov was second with 9.6%; the turnout was 41.25%.[95] Some party leaders claimed that ballots were falsified and called for annulment of the election.[96] A precedent happened, due to the suspicion, as a preventative action between 300 and 5000 people and counters had been locked inside Arena Armeets against their will for two days,[97] following which the director of the Electoral Commission of Sofia resigned at the request of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.[98]
The number one problem that mayor Yordanka Fandakova acknowledges and is working on is the street dogs in Sofia.[99] Although according to officials Sofia hosts 6600 street dogs currently, unofficially there at between 35,000 and 70,000 stray dogs.[100] They have become part of urban life in Sofia, but the problem spotted into light after a pack mauled a prominent Columbia University professor to death in 2012, who was the president of the Wall Street Investment Bank and worked for the US Department of State, the United Nations and the World Bank.[101]
#
Area
km2
Pop.
Density (/km2)
Extent
Mayor
1 Sredets 3 32.423 10,807 City RB
2 Krasno selo 7 83.552 11,936 City RB
3 Vazrazhdane 3 37.303 12,434 City GERB
4 Oborishte 3 31.060 10,353 City RB
5 Serdika 18 46.949 2,608 City GERB
6 Poduyane 11 76.672 6,970 City GERB
7 Slatina 13 66.702 5,130 City GERB
8 Izgrev 5 30.896 6,179 City GERB
9 Lozenets 9 53.080 5,897 City GERB
10 Triaditsa 10 63.451 6,345 City GERB
11 Krasna polyana 9 58.234 6,470 City GERB
12 Ilinden 3 33.236 11,078 City GERB
13 Nadezhda 19 67.905 3,573 City GERB
14 Iskar 26 63.248 2,432 City/satellites GERB
15 Mladost 17 102.899 6,052 City GERB
16 Studentski 9 71.961 7,995 City GERB
17 Vitosha 123 61.467 499 City/satellites RB
18 Ovcha kupel 42 54.320 1,293 City/satellites GERB
19 Lyulin 22 114.910 5,223 City GERB
20 Vrabnitsa 44 47.969 1,090 City/satellites GERB
21 Novi Iskar 220 28.991 131 Satellites GERB
22 Kremikovtsi 256 23.641 92 City/satellites RB
23 Pancharevo 407 28.586 70 Satellites GERB
24 Bankya 53 12.136 228 Satellites GERB
TOTAL 1342 1.291.591 962 [6][102][103][104]
Crime[edit]
A police box in Sofia
With a murder rate of 1.8/per 100.000 people (as of 2009[update]) Sofia is a quite safe capital city.[105] Nevertheless, in the 21st century, crimes, including Bulgarian mafia killings, caused problems in the city,[106] where authorities had difficulties convicting the actors,[107] which had caused the European Commission to warn the Bulgarian government that the country would not be able to join the EU unless it curbed crime[108] (Bulgaria eventually joined in 2007).[109] Many of the most severe crimes are contract killings connected to the organised crime, but these had dropped in recent years after several arrests of gang members.[110] Corruption in Bulgaria also affects Sofia's authorities. According to the director of Sofia District Police Directorate the largest share of the crimes are thefts, making up 62.4% of all crimes in the capital city. Increasing are frauds, drug-related crimes, petty theft and vandalism.[111] According to a survey, almost a third of Sofia's residents say that they never feel safe in the Bulgarian capital, while 20% always feel safe.[112] As of 2015[update] the consumer-reported perceived crime risk on the Numbeo database was "high" for theft and vandalism and "low" for violent crimes; safety while walking during daylight was rated "very high", and "moderate" during the night.[113] With 1,600 prisoners the incarceration rate is above 0.1%;[114] however, roughly 70% of all prisoners are part of the Romani minority.[115]
Culture[edit]
See also: Tourist attractions in Sofia and List of churches in Sofia
Arts and entertainment[edit]
The Ivan Vazov National Theatre
Sofia concentrates the majority of Bulgaria's leading performing arts troupes. Theatre is by far the most popular form of performing art, and theatrical venues are among the most visited, second only to cinemas. The oldest such institution is the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, which performs mainly classical plays and is situated in the very centre of the city.
The National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria is a combined opera and ballet collective, established in 1891. However, it did not begin performances on a regular basis until 1909. Some of Bulgaria's most famous operatic singers, such as Nicolai Ghiaurov and Ghena Dimitrova, have made their first appearances on the stage of the National Opera and Ballet. The National Palace of Culture regularly hold classical concerts. Bulgaria's largest art museums are located in the central areas of the city. Two emblematic galleries in Sofia – the National Art Gallery and the National Gallery for Foreign Art united their collections in a new structure. Seven Ministers of Culture have worked on this project over the years. The project gathered under one roof a host of Bulgarian, European, American, Asian and African works of art. Nearly two thousand works created by artists from Bulgaria and abroad are on display in twenty eight exhibition halls. Following a special competition, the art collection was named National Gallery Square 500 (source). Its collections encompass diverse cultural items such as Ashanti Empire sculptures, Buddhist art, Dutch Golden Age painting, works by Albrecht Dürer, Jean-Baptiste Greuze and Auguste Rodin, among others. The crypt of the Alexander Nevsky cathedral holds a collection of Eastern Orthodox icons from the 9th to the 19th century. Other museums are the National Historical Museum with a collection of more than 600,000 items; the National Polytechnical Museum with more than 1,000 technological items on display; the National Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Natural History. The SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library houses the largest national collection of books and documents (1,714,211 books and some 6 million other documents)[116] and is Bulgaria's oldest cultural institute. The Boyana Church, a UNESCO World Heritage site, contains realistic frescoes, depicting more than 240 human images and a total 89 scenes, were painted. With their vital, humanistic realism they are a Renaissance phenomenon at its culmination phase in the context of the common-European art.[117] Muzeiko is a new museum opened in 2015. It is a space with over 130 interactive games created for children and curious adults. The entire content of the museum is designed to inspire children to learn, discover and explore the sciences, while helping children, their families and educators spend time together actively and effectively.[citation needed]
An important facette of cultural life in Sofia are its contemporary art practices and venues. Regular exhibitions in Bulgarian and European contemporary visual and installation art are being held in the Sofia City Art Gallery and the Sofia Arsenal - Museum for Contemporary Art. As contemporary performative arts are beginning to thrive in the last decades, an independent performative art scene has evolved. An important civic structure for its development is the Act Association for Independent Theatre, and two of the institutions where such events take place are The Red House Centre for Culture and Debate "Andrey Nikolov" and DNK - Space for Contemporary Dance and Performance.
Vitosha Boulevard, the main shopping street in the city.
Cinema is the most popular form of entertainment. In recent years, cinematic venues have been concentrated in trade centres and malls, and independent halls have been closed. Mall of Sofia holds one of the largest IMAX cinemas in Europe. Most films are American productions, although European and domestic films are increasingly shown. Odeon (not part of the Odeon Cinemas chain) shows exclusively European and independent American films, as well as 20th century classics. Bulgaria's once thriving film industry, concentrated in the Boyana Film studios, has suffered a period of decline since 1990. A relative revival of the industry began after 2001. After the acquisition of Boyana Film by Nu Image, several moderately successful productions have been shot in and around Sofia, such as The Contract, The Black Dahlia, Hitman and Conan the Barbarian and Spartacus. The Nu Boyana Film studios have also hosted some of the scenes for The Expendables 2.
The city houses many cultural institutes such as the Russian Cultural Institute, the Polish Cultural Institute, the Hungarian Institute, the Czech and the Slovak Cultural Institutes, the Italian Cultural Institute, the French Cultural Institute, Goethe Institut, British Council, Instituto Cervantes, and the Open Society Institute, which regularly organise temporary expositions of visual, sound and literary works by artists from their respective countries.
Some of the biggest telecommunications companies, TV and radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and web portals are based in Sofia, including the Bulgarian National Television, bTV and Nova TV. Top-circulation newspapers include 24 Chasa and Trud.
Tourism[edit]
St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world.
Sofia is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Bulgaria alongside coastal and mountain resorts. Among its highlights is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, one of the symbols of Bulgaria, constructed in the late 19th century. It occupies an area of 3,170 square metres (34,122 square feet) and can hold 10,000 people.
Sofia holds Bulgaria's largest museum collections, which attract tourists and students for practical studies. The National Historical Museum in Boyana district has a vast collection of more than 650,000 historical items dating from Prehistory to the modern era, although only 10,000 of them are permanently displayed due to the lack of space.[118] Smaller collections of items related mostly to the history of Sofia are in the National Archaeological Museum, a former mosque located between the edifices of the National Bank and the Presidency. Two natural sciences museums — the Natural History Museum and the Earth and Man — display minerals, animal species (alive and taxidermic) and rare materials. The Ethnographic Museum and the National Museum of Military History are other places of interest, holding large collections of Bulgarian folk costumes and armaments, respectively.
Vitosha Boulevard, also called Vitoshka, is a pedestrian zone with numerous cafés, restaurants, fashion boutiques, and luxury goods stores. Sofia's geographic location, in the foothills of the weekend retreat Vitosha mountain, further adds to the city's specific atmosphere.
Sports[edit]
The interior of Arena Armeets, a multi-purpose indoor arena.
A large number of sports clubs are based in the city. During the Communist era most sports clubs concentrated on all-round sporting development, therefore CSKA, Levski, Lokomotiv and Slavia are dominant not only in football, but in many other team sports as well. Basketball and volleyball also have strong traditions in Sofia. A notable local basketball team is twice European Champions Cup finalist Lukoil Akademik. The Bulgarian Volleyball Federation is the world's second-oldest, and it was an exhibition tournament organised by the BVF in Sofia that convinced the International Olympic Committee to include volleyball as an olympic sport in 1957.[119] Tennis is increasingly popular in the city. Currently there are some ten[120] tennis court complexes within the city including the one founded by former WTA top-ten athlete Magdalena Maleeva.[121]
Sofia applied to host the Winter Olympic Games in 1992 and in 1994, coming 2nd and 3rd respectively. The city was also an applicant for the 2014 Winter Olympics, but was not selected as candidate. In addition, Sofia hosted Eurobasket 1957 and the 1961 and 1977 Summer Universiades, as well as the 1983 and 1989 winter editions. In 2012, it hosted the FIVB World League finals.
The city is home to a number of large sports venues, including the 43,000-seat Vasil Levski National Stadium which hosts international football matches, as well as the Georgi Asparuhov Stadium and Lokomotiv Stadium, the main venues for outdoor musical concerts. Armeets Arena holds many indoor events and has a capacity of up to 19,000 people depending on its use. The venue was inaugurated on 30 July 2011, and the first event it hosted was a friendly volleyball match between Bulgaria and Serbia. There are two ice skating complexes — the Winter Sports Palace with a capacity of 4,600 and the Slavia Winter Stadium with a capacity of 2,000, both containing two rinks each.[122] A velodrome with 5,000 seats in the city's central park is currently undergoing renovation.[123] There are also various other sports complexes in the city which belong to institutions other than football clubs, such as those of the National Sports Academy, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, or those of different universities. There are more than fifteen swimming complexes in the city, most of them outdoor.[124] Nearly all of these were constructed as competition venues and therefore have seating facilities for several hundred people.
There are two golf courses just to the east of Sofia — in Elin Pelin (St Sofia club) and in Ihtiman (Air Sofia club), and a horseriding club (St George club).
Demographics[edit]
Population growth over the years (in thousands):
Students of the National Academy of Arts (circa 1952–53). People aged 20–25 years have been the most numerous group in the city since the process of Bulgarian urbanisation.
According to 2016 data, the city has a population of 1,304,772 and the whole Sofia Capital Municipality of 1,441,918.[10] The first census carried out in February 1878 by the Russian Army recorded a population of 11,694 inhabitants including 6,560 Bulgarians, 3,538 Jews, 839 Turks and 737 Romani.
The ratio of women per 1,000 men was 1,102. The birth rate per 1000 people was 12.3 per mille and steadily increasing in the last 5 years, the death rate reaching 12.1 per mille and decreasing. The natural growth rate during 2009 was 0.2 per mille, the first positive growth rate in nearly 20 years. The considerable immigration to the capital from poorer regions of the country, as well as urbanisation, are among the other reasons for the increase in Sofia's population. The infant mortality rate was 5.6 per 1,000, down from 18.9 in 1980. According to the 2011 census, people aged 20–24 years are the most numerous group, numbering 133,170 individuals and accounting for 11% of the total 1,202,761 people. The median age is 38 though. According to the census, 1,056,738 citizens (87.9%) are recorded as ethnic Bulgarians, 17,550 (1.5%) as Romani, 6,149 (0.5%) as Turks, 9,569 (0.8%) belonged to other ethnic groups, 6,993 (0.6%) do not self-identify and 105,762 (8.8%) remained with undeclared affiliation.[125] This statistic should not necessarily be taken at face value due to conflicting data – such as for the predominantly Roma neighbourhood of Fakulteta, which alone may have a population of 45,000.[126]
According to the 2011 census, throughout the whole municipality some 892,511 people (69.1%) are recorded as Eastern Orthodox Christians, 10,256 (0.8%) as Protestant, 6,767 (0.5%) as Muslim, 5,572 (0.4%) as Roman Catholic, 4,010 (0.3%) belonged to other faith and 372,475 (28.8%) declared themselves irreligious or did not mention any faith. The data says that roughly a third of the total population have already earned a university degree. Of the population aged 15–64 – 265,248 people within the municipality (28.5%) are not economically active, the unemployed being another group of 55,553 people (6%), a large share of whom have completed higher education. The largest group are occupied in trading, followed by those in manufacturing industry. Within the municipality, three quarters, or 965,328 people are recorded as having access to television at home and 836,435 (64.8%) as having internet. Out of 464,865 homes – 432,847 have connection to the communal sanitary sewer, while 2,732 do not have any. Of these 864 do not have any water supply and 688 have other than communal. Over 99.6% of males and females aged over 9 are recorded as literate. The largest group of the population aged over 20 are recorded to live within marriage (46.3%), another 43.8% are recorded as single and another 9.9% as having other type of coexistence/partnership, whereas not married in total are a majority and among people aged up to 40 and over 70. The people with juridical status divorced or widowed are either part of the factual singles or those having another type of partnership, each of the two constitutes by around 10% of the population aged over 20. Only over 1% of the juridically married do not de facto live within marriage. The families that consist of two people are 46.8%, another 34.2% of the families are made up by three people, whereas most of the households (36.5%) consist of only one person.[85]
Sofia was declared the national capital in 1879. One year later, in 1880, it was the fifth-largest city in the country after Plovdiv, Varna, Ruse and Shumen. Plovdiv remained the most populous Bulgarian town until 1892 when Sofia took the lead. The city is the hot spot of internal migration, the capital population is increasing and is around 17% of the national,[127] thus a small number of people with local roots remain today, they dominate the surrounding rural suburbs and are called Shopi. Shopi speak one of the transitional South Slavic dialects, along with Torlakian, sharing features with both eastern (Bulgarian and Macedonian) and western (Serbo-Croatian) branches,[128] although they are given non-Slavic origin through the ancient Thracian Serdi, the founders of the city.[129]
Economy[edit]
Capital Fort, the 126-meter skyscraper near Tsarigradsko shose.
Sofia is the economic heart of Bulgaria and home to most major Bulgarian and international companies operating in the country, as well as the Bulgarian National Bank and the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. The city's GDP PPS per capita at current market prices stood at €26,700[130] ($35,500) in 2013, which was 100% of the then EU average, according to Eurostat data – well above the same year's national average of 47%. The city and its surrounding Yugozapaden NUTS II planning region had a per capita PPS GDP of €20,600[131] in 2014, higher than any other region in the country. In 2008, the average per capita annual income was 4,572 leva ($3,479).[132] For the same year, the strongest sectors of the city's economy in terms of annual production were manufacturing ($5.5 bln.), metallurgy ($1.84 bln.), electricity, gas and water supply ($1.6 bln.) and food and beverages ($778 mln.).[133] Economic output in 2011 amounted to 15.9 billion leva, or $11.04 billion.[134] The average monthly gross wages paid in December 2015 amount to €645, the highest in Bulgaria and the lowest among EU capitals.[135]
In 2015, Forbes listed Sofia as one of the top 10 places in the world to launch a startup business, because of the low corporate tax (10%), the extremely fast internet connection speed available – one of the fastest in the world, and the presence of several investment funds, including Eleven Startup Accelerator, LAUNCHub and Neveq.[136] In 2015 Globalization and World Cities Research Institute ranked Sofia as Beta- world city.[137]
Historically, after World War II and the era of industrialisation under socialism, the city and its surrounding areas expanded rapidly and became the most heavily industrialised region of the country.[138] The influx of workers from other parts of the country became so intense that a restriction policy was imposed, and residing in the capital was only possible after obtaining Sofianite citizenship.[138] However, after the political changes in 1989, this kind of citizenship was removed.
Increasingly, Sofia is becoming an outsourcing destination for multinational companies, among them IBM, Hewlett-Packard, SAP, Siemens, Software AG.[139] Bulgaria Air, PPD, the national airline of Bulgaria, has its head office on the grounds of Sofia Airport.[140] From 2007 to 2011, the city attracted a cumulative total of $11.6 billion in foreign direct investment.[134]
Up until 2007 Sofia experienced rapid economic growth. In 2008, apartment prices increased dramatically, with a growth rate of 30%.[141] In 2009, prices fell by 26%.[142]
In January 2015 Sofia was ranked 30th out of 300 global cities in terms of combined growth in employment and real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 2013–2014. This was the highest rank amongst cities in Southeast Europe.[143] The real GDP (PPP) per capita growth was 2.5% to $33,105 (28,456 euro) and the employment went up by 3.4% to 962,400 in 2013–2014.[144]
Transport and infrastructure[edit]
Sofia Metro trains at Sofia Airport Metro Station
With its developing infrastructure and strategic location, Sofia is a major hub for international railway and automobile transport. Three of the ten Pan-European Transport Corridors cross the city: IV, VIII and X.[145] All major types of transport (except water) are represented in the city. The Central Railway Station is the primary hub for domestic and international rail transport. Sofia has 186 km (116 miles) of railway lines.[134] Sofia Airport handled 4,980,387 passengers in 2016.[146]
Public transport is well-developed with bus (2,380 km (1,479 mi)),[147] tram (308 km (191 mi))[148] and trolleybus (193 km (120 mi))[149] lines running in all areas of the city.[150][151] The Sofia Metro became operational in 1998, and now has two lines and 34 stations.[152] As of 2012[update], the system has 39 km (24 mi) of track. Six new stations were opened in 2009, two more in April 2012, and eleven more in August 2012. In 2015 new 7 stations were opened and the subway extends to Sofia Airport on its Northern branch and to Business Park Sofia on its Southern branch. On July 2016 the Vitosha Metro Station was opened on the M2 main line. A third line is currently under construction and is expected to be finished in the second half of 2019.[153] This line will complete the proposed subway system of three lines with about 65 km (40 mi) of lines.[154] The master plan for the Sofia Metro includes three lines with a total of 63 stations.[155] In recent years the marshrutka, a private passenger van serving fixed routes, proved an efficient and popular means of transport by being faster than public transport, but cheaper than taxis. As of 2005[update] these vans numbered 368 and serviced 48 lines around the city and suburbs.[145] There are around 13,000 taxi cabs operating in the city.[156] Low fares in comparison with other European countries, make taxis affordable and popular among a big part of the city population.
Tsarigradsko shose, one of the busiest boulevards in Sofia
Private automobile ownership has grown rapidly in the 1990s; more than 1,000,000 cars were registered in Sofia after 2002. The city has the 4th-highest number of automobiles per capita in the European Union at 546.4 vehicles per 1,000 people.[157] The municipality was known for minor and cosmetic repairs and many streets are in a poor condition. This is noticeably changing in the past years. There are different boulevards and streets in the city with a higher amount of traffic than others. These include Tsarigradsko shose, Cherni Vrah, Bulgaria, Slivnitsa and Todor Aleksandrov boulevards, as well as the city's ring road, where long chains of cars are formed at peak hours and traffic jams occur regularly.[158] Consequently, traffic and air pollution problems have become more severe and receive regular criticism in local media. The extension of the underground system is hoped to alleviate the city's immense traffic problems.
Sofia has an extensive district heating system based around four combined heat and power (CHP) plants and boiler stations. Virtually the entire city (900,000 households and 5,900 companies) is centrally heated, using residual heat from electricity generation (3,000 MW) and gas- and oil-fired heating furnaces; total heat capacity is 4,640 MW. The heat distribution piping network is 900 km (559 mi) long and comprises 14,000 substations and 10,000 heated buildings.
Education[edit]
The Aula of The Sofia University in the Rectorate Building
Sofia concentrates a significant portion of the national higher education capacity, including 109,000 university and college students[159] and 22 of Bulgaria's 51 higher education establishments.[160] These include four of the five highest-ranking national universities – Sofia University (SU), University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, the Technical University of Sofia, University of National and World Economy and the University of Mining and Geology.[161] Sofia University was founded in 1888.[162] More than 20,000 students[163] study in its 16 faculties.[164] A number of research and cultural departments operate within SU, including its own publishing house, botanical gardens,[165] a space research centre, a quantum electronics department,[166] and a Confucius Institute[167] Rakovski Defence and Staff College, the National Academy of Arts, and Sofia Medical University are other major higher education establishments in the city.[161]
Maxima Aula at UNWE
There are 5 primary, 77 middle and 187 secondary schools, of all 77 are private. Education institutions include 13 specialised for children with disabilities, 8 art schools, 22 professional colleges. 35 professional high schools, 25 profiled high schools and 4 sport schools.[168] The "elite" secondary language schools provide education in a selected foreign language. These include the First English Language School, Sofia High School of Mathematics, 91st German Language School, 164th Spanish Language School, and 9th French Language School. Some of them provide a language certificate upon graduation, while the 9th French Language School has exchange programs with a number of lycées in France and Switzerland, such as the Parisian Collège-lycée Jacques-Decour. The American College of Sofia, a private secondary school which developed from a school founded by American missionaries in 1860, is among the oldest American educational institutions outside of the US.[169]
Other institutions of national significance, such as the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library are located in Sofia. BAS is the centrepiece of scientific research in Bulgaria, employing more than 4,500 scientists in various institutes, including the Bulgarian Space Agency.
International relations[edit]
Twin and sister cities[edit]
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See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Bulgaria
Sofia is twinned with:[citation needed]
Algiers, Algeria[citation needed]
Amman, Jordan[citation needed]
Ankara, Turkey[170]
Bratislava, Slovakia[171]
Bucharest, Romania[citation needed]
Karlovac, Croatia[citation needed]
Kiev, Ukraine[citation needed]
Maraş, Turkey[citation needed]
Madrid, Spain[citation needed]
Moscow, Russia[citation needed]
Pittsburgh, United States[citation needed]
Prague, Czech Republic[172]
Saint Petersburg, Russia[citation needed]
Salalah, Oman (since 2011)[citation needed]
Shanghai, China (since 2014)[173]
Sidon, Lebanon[citation needed]
Skopje, Macedonia (since 2015)[174]
Tel Aviv, Israel[175]
Warsaw, Poland[citation needed]
Yerevan, Armenia[176]
Tbilisi, Georgia
Cooperation agreements[edit]
In addition Sofia has co-operation agreements with:
Budapest, Hungary[citation needed]
Paris, France[177]
Lisbon, Portugal[178]
Honour[edit]
Serdica Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Serdica.
Gallery[edit]
Satellite image of Sofia
Aerial view
Sunset behind Vitosha
Twilight
Red moon
Lightning storms
Rainbow
Tram in snowy Sofia, 1995
The Sofia Public Mineral Baths
A faculty of Sofia University
St Nedelya Church assault
The rebuilt Saint Nedelya Church
The detonated Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum 1969
Artifacts from Serdica
Remains from the settlement in Slatina dating to 6000- 5500 BC
See also[edit]
Europe portal
European Union portal
Bulgaria portal
List of churches in Sofia
List of shopping malls in Sofia
List of tallest buildings in Sofia
Sofia Province
References[edit]
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Jump up ^ Prehistory, Ivan Dikov · in. "Archaeologist Discovers 8,000-Year-Old Nephrite 'Frog-like' Swastika in Slatina Neolithic Settlement in Bulgaria's Capital Sofia – Archaeology in Bulgaria". archaeologyinbulgaria.com.
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Jump up ^ Roach, Peter (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521152532
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Jump up ^ "Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia". Britannica Educational Publishing.
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Jump up ^ Internet Hostel Sofia, Tourism in Sofia. Retrieved Jan 2012
Jump up ^ Sofia is one of the top 10 places for start-up businesses in the world, Bulgarian National TV
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^ Jump up to: a b Grant, Michael (211). The Emperor Constantine. Hachette. ISBN 9781780222806.
Jump up ^ "The Cambridge Ancient History", Volume 3, Part 2: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries BC by John Boardman, I. E. S. Edwards, E. Sollberger, and N. G. L. Hammond, ISBN 0-521-22717-8, 1992, p. 600: "In the place of the vanished Treres and Tilataei we find the Serdi for whom there is no evidence before the first century BC. It has for long being supposed on convincing linguistic and archeological grounds that this tribe was of Celtic origin"
Jump up ^ Mihailov, G., Thracians, Sofia, 1972, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, quote in Bulgarian: Името серди е засвидетелствано след келтската инвазия на Балканите. Сердите са от смесен трако-келтски произход.
Jump up ^ Popov, D. Thracians, Sofia, p.h. Iztok – Zapad, 2005
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^ Jump up to: a b Irina Florov, Nicholas Florov (2001). Three-thousand-year-old Hat. Michigan University: Golden Vine Publishers. p. 303. ISBN 0968848702.
Jump up ^ Julian Bennett, Trajan: Optimus Princeps (Routledge, 1997), p. 1.
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^ Jump up to: a b c d Trudy, Ring; Noelle, Watson; Paul, Schellinger (5 November 2013). "Southern Europe: International Dictionary of Historic Places". Routledge. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-19. Sofia official website
Jump up ^ One+ (1 ed.). Cornell University: Meeting Professionals International. 2008.
^ Jump up to: a b Business Central Europe (7 ed.). Northwestern University: Economist Group. 2000. Some claim it dates back 7,000 years, though it first got an official mention in the 7th century BC, when it was settled by the Thracian Serdi tribe
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^ Jump up to: a b "София – 130 години столица на България". sofiaculture.bg.
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^ Jump up to: a b c Ivanova, Svetlana, “Ṣofya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 23 January 2018.
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Jump up ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sardica". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.
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^ Jump up to: a b 2011 census, Sofia-capital (PDF) (23 ed.). Sofia: National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria. 2012. p. 37 40 43 68 71 74 99 117 132 190 193 196. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b Collective (1980). Encyclopedia of Figurative Arts in Bulgaria, volume 1. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. pp. 209–210.
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^ Jump up to: a b "District Mayors". Sofia Municipality. Archived from the original on 20 December 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
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Jump up ^ Mayor: Stray Dogs Are Sofia's Top Problem. Novinite
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Jump up ^ David Coulby; Robert Cowen; Crispin Jones (17 January 2013). World Yearbook of Education 2000: Education in Times of Transition. Routledge. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-136-16603-7. crime rates have exploded in Sofia as well as in Moscow and St Petersburg.
Jump up ^ Gergana Noutcheva (26 July 2012). European Foreign Policy and the Challenges of Balkan Accession: Conditionality, legitimacy and compliance. Routledge. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-136-30619-8. The strongest EU demand – structural changes of the judicial system – had to do with the crime rate in Bulgaria and the apparent impotence of the authorities in Sofia to convict any of the murderes in the high-profile mafia killings that shook the country in 2003–2005.
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Jump up ^ Only 10000 in the jail 7000 of them Gypsies. 24 hours
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Jump up ^ Ecker, Gerhard (1984). Bulgarien. Kunstdenkmäler aus vier Jahrtausenden von den Thrakern bis zur Gegenwart (in German). Köln: DuMont Buchverlag.
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Jump up ^ "BVA-News". www.balkanvolleyball.org. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
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Jump up ^ Sofia in Figures, p.106
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Jump up ^ "Global Metro Monitor An Uncertain recovery" (PDF). brookings.edu. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Sofia infrastructure from the official website of the Municipality (in Bulgarian)
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Jump up ^ "History of the tramway network in Sofia". Sofiatraffic.bg. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
Jump up ^ "History of the trolleybus network in Sofia". Sofiatraffic.bg. 14 February 1941. Retrieved 30 August 2012. )
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^ Jump up to: a b "Bulgarian universities". Webometrics Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
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Jump up ^ "Shanghai, Sofia sign intent agreement to become sister cities". Retrieved 27 January 2015.
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Jump up ^ "Yerevan – Partner Cities". Yerevan Municipality Official Website. © 2005—2013 www.yerevan.am. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
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Further reading[edit]
Gigova, Irina (March 2011). "The City and the Nation: Sofia's Trajectory from Glory to Rubble in WWII". Journal of Urban History. 37 (2): 155–175. The 110 footnotes provide a guide to the literature on the city
"Sofia in Figures 2009" (PDF). Regional Statistical Office of Sofia. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2011.
"Sofia — 130 Years Capital" (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 28 January 2011.
External links[edit]
Find more aboutSofiaat Wikipedia's sister projects
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Travel guide from Wikivoyage
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Official website
Online guide to Sofia
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Archival images of Sofia
Sofia by Night Light: A Photographic Exhibition
Virtual Guide to Ancient Serdica
More than 25 live webcams from Sofia
Pictures from Vitosha mountain
[show]
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Cities and towns of Bulgaria (2011 census)
1,000,000+
Sofia (capital)
300,000+
Plovdiv
Varna
200,000+
Burgas
100,000+
Pleven
Ruse
Stara Zagora
50,000+
Asenovgrad
Blagoevgrad
Dobrich
Gabrovo
Haskovo
Pazardzhik
Pernik
Shumen
Sliven
Veliko Tarnovo
Vratsa
Yambol
20,000+
Aytos
Botevgrad
Dimitrovgrad
Dupnitsa
Gorna Oryahovitsa
Kardzhali
Karlovo
Kazanlak
Kyustendil
Lom
Lovech
Montana
Nova Zagora
Petrich
Razgrad
Samokov
Sandanski
Sevlievo
Silistra
Smolyan
Svishtov
Targovishte
Troyan
Velingrad
Vidin
10,000+
Balchik
Bankya
Berkovitsa
Byala Slatina
Cherven Bryag
Chirpan
Elhovo
Etropole
Gotse Delchev
Harmanli
Ihtiman
Karnobat
Kavarna
Knezha
Kostinbrod
Kozloduy
Mezdra
Nesebar
Novi Iskar
Novi Pazar
Panagyurishte
Parvomay
Pavlikeni
Peshtera
Pomorie
Popovo
Provadia
Radnevo
Radomir
Rakovski
Razlog
Stamboliyski
Svilengrad
5,000+
Aksakovo
Bansko
Belene
Belogradchik
Beloslav
Bobov Dol
Bozhurishte
Byala, Ruse Province
Chepelare
Devin
Devnya
Dolni Chiflik
Dryanovo
Dulovo
Elena
Elin Pelin
Galabovo
General Toshevo
Hisarya
Isperih
Kostenets
Kotel
Krichim
Krumovgrad
Kubrat
Kuklen
Levski
Lukovit
Lyaskovets
Lyubimets
Madan
Momchilgrad
Omurtag
Oryahovo
Perushtitsa
Pirdop
Rakitovo
Saedinenie
Septemvri
Simeonovgrad
Simitli
Slivnitsa
Sopot, Plovdiv Province
Sredets
Straldzha
Svoge
Tervel
Teteven
Topolovgrad
Tryavna
Tsarevo
Tutrakan
Tvarditsa
Varshets
Veliki Preslav
Yakoruda
Zlatitsa
Zlatograd
2,000+
Aheloy
Apriltsi
Ardino
Batak
Batanovtsi
Belitsa
Belovo
Borovo
Bratsigovo
Bregovo
Breznik
Byala
Chernomorets
Dalgopol
Debelets
Dobrinishte
Dolna Banya
Dolna Mitropoliya
Dolna Oryahovitsa
Dolni Dabnik
Dospat
Dragoman
Dunavtsi
Dve Mogili
Dzhebel
Glodzhevo
Godech
Gulyantsi
Gurkovo
Hadzhidimovo
Ignatievo*
Iskar
Ivaylovgrad
Kableshkovo
Kalofer
Kameno
Kaspichan
Kilifarevo
Klisura
Kocherinovo
Koprivshtitsa
Kostandovo
Koynare
Kresna
Kran
Krivodol
Kula
Laki
Letnitsa
Loznitsa
Maglizh
Malko Tarnovo
Marten
Мizia
Nedelino
Nikolaevo
Nikopol
Obzor
Opaka
Pavel Banya
Polski Trambesh
Pordim
Pravets
Primorsko
Rila
Roman
Rudozem
Sadovo
Sapareva Banya
Sarnitsa
Shabla
Shivachevo
Slavyanovo
Slivo Pole
Smyadovo
Sozopol
Strazhitsa
Strelcha
Sungurlare
Suvorovo
Sveti Vlas
Tran
Trastenik
Tsar Kaloyan
Ugarchin
Valchedram
Valchi Dol
Varbitsa
Vetovo
Vetren
Yablanitsa
Zavet
Zlataritsa
1,000+
Ahtopol
Alfatar
Antonovo
Balgarovo
Boboshevo
Bolyarovo
Boychinovtsi
Brusartsi
Byala Cherkva
Chiprovtsi
Dimovo
Glavinitsa
Gramada
Kaolinovo
Kermen
Merichleri
Momin Prohod
Plachkovtsi
Senovo
Shipka
Suhindol
Zemen
500+
Kiten
Madzharovo
Pliska
499-
Melnik
Notes
city status after the census of 01.02.2011: Ignatievo, Kran
[show]
v
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Historical Capitals of Bulgaria
Pliska (681–893)
Preslav (893–972)
Skopje (972–992)
Ohrid (992–1018)
Veliko Tarnovo (1185–1393, 1878–1879)
Nikopol (1393–1395)
Sofia (since 1879)
[show]
v
t
e
Provinces of Bulgaria
Blagoevgrad
Burgas
Dobrich
Gabrovo
Haskovo
Kardzhali
Kyustendil
Lovech
Montana
Pazardzhik
Pernik
Pleven
Plovdiv
Razgrad
Ruse
Shumen
Silistra
Sliven
Smolyan
Sofia City Province
Sofia Province
Stara Zagora
Targovishte
Varna
Veliko Tarnovo
Vidin
Vratsa
Yambol
Etymological list of provinces of Bulgaria
[show]
v
t
e
Capital cities of the member states of the European Union
Netherlands:
Amsterdam
Greece:
Athens
Germany:
Berlin
Slovakia:
Bratislava
Romania:
Bucharest
Hungary:
Budapest
Belgium:
Brussels
Denmark:
Copenhagen
Ireland:
Dublin
Finland:
Helsinki
Portugal:
Lisbon
Slovenia:
Ljubljana
United Kingdom:
London
Luxembourg:
Luxembourg
Spain:
Madrid
Cyprus:
Nicosia
France:
Paris
Czech Republic:
Prague
Latvia:
Riga
Italy:
Rome
Bulgaria:
Sofia
Sweden:
Stockholm
Estonia:
Tallinn
Malta:
Valletta
Austria:
Vienna
Lithuania:
Vilnius
Poland:
Warsaw
Croatia:
Zagreb
[show]
v
t
e
Capitals of European states and territories
Capitals of dependent territories and states whose sovereignty is disputed shown in italics.
Western
Amsterdam, Netherlands1
Andorra la Vella, Andorra
Bern, Switzerland
Brussels, Belgium2
Douglas, Isle of Man (UK)
Dublin, Ireland
London, United Kingdom
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Paris, France
Saint Helier, Jersey (UK)
Saint Peter Port, Guernsey (UK)
Northern
Copenhagen, Denmark
Helsinki, Finland
Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Norway)
Mariehamn, Åland Islands (Finland)
Nuuk, Greenland (Denmark)
Olonkinbyen, Jan Mayen (Norway)
Oslo, Norway
Reykjavík, Iceland
Stockholm, Sweden
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands (Denmark)
Central
Berlin, Germany
Bratislava, Slovakia
Budapest, Hungary
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Prague, Czech Republic
Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Vienna, Austria
Warsaw, Poland
Southern
Ankara, Turkey3
Athens, Greece
Belgrade, Serbia
Bucharest, Romania
Gibraltar, Gibraltar (UK)
Lisbon, Portugal
Madrid, Spain
Monaco, Monaco
Nicosia, Cyprus4
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VIAF: 130177211
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GND: 4077502-1
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bs
bs
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Breton
br
br
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Catalan
ca
ca
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofie
Sofie – Czech
cs
cs
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://sn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Shona
sn
sn
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://co.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Corsican
co
co
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Welsh
cy
cy
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Danish
da
da
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://se.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Northern Sami
se
se
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – German
de
de
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://dsb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofija
Sofija – Lower Sorbian
dsb
dsb
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Estonian
et
et
interlanguage-link-target

values: Σόφια – Greek

values: София ош – Erzya

values:
https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofio
Sofio – Esperanto
eo
eo
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://ext.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Extremaduran
ext
ext
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Basque
eu
eu
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://hif.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Fiji Hindi
hif
hif
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://fo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Faroese
fo
fo
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – French
fr
fr
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://fy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Western Frisian
fy
fy
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://ff.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Fulah
ff
ff
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://gv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Manx
gv
gv
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://gag.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiya
Sofiya – Gagauz
gag
gag
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://gd.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Scottish Gaelic
gd
gd
interlanguage-link-target

values: 𐍃𐍉𐍆𐌹𐌰 – Gothic

values:
https://hak.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Hakka Chinese
hak
hak
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://haw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Hawaiian
haw
haw
interlanguage-link-target

values: सोफिया – Hindi

values:
https://hsb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofija
Sofija – Upper Sorbian
hsb
hsb
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofija
Sofija – Croatian
hr
hr
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://io.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiya
Sofiya – Ido
io
io
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://ilo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Iloko
ilo
ilo
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Indonesian
id
id
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://ia.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Interlingua
ia
ia
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://ie.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Interlingue
ie
ie
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Italian
it
it
interlanguage-link-target

values: סופיה – Hebrew

values:
https://jv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Javanese
jv
jv
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://kl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Kalaallisut
kl
kl
interlanguage-link-target

values: София – Kazakh

values:
https://kw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Cornish
kw
kw
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://rw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiya
Sofiya – Kinyarwanda
rw
rw
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Swahili
sw
sw
interlanguage-link-target

values: София – Komi

values:
https://ht.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Haitian Creole
ht
ht
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://ku.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Kurdish
ku
ku
interlanguage-link-target

values: София – Kyrgyz

values:
https://lad.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Ladino
lad
lad
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serdica
Serdica – Latin
la
la
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofija
Sofija – Latvian
lv
lv
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://lb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Luxembourgish
lb
lb
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofija
Sofija – Lithuanian
lt
lt
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://li.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Limburgish
li
li
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://ln.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Lingala
ln
ln
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://lmo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Lombard
lmo
lmo
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://mi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Maori
mi
mi
interlanguage-link-target

values: सोफिया – Marathi

values:
https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Malay
ms
ms
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://cdo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Min Dong Chinese
cdo
cdo
interlanguage-link-target

values: София – молдовеняскэ

values:
https://nah.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Nāhuatl
nah
nah
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://na.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Nauru
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://nds-nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Low Saxon
nds-NL
nds-NL
interlanguage-link-target

values: ソフィア (ブルガリア) – Japanese

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-ja badge-Q17437798 badge-goodarticle

values:
https://frr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Northern Frisian
frr
frr
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://pih.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Norfuk / Pitkern
pih
pih
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Norwegian
no
no
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Norwegian Nynorsk
nn
nn
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://nrm.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie
Sophie – Norman
nrm
nrm
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://nov.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Novial
nov
nov
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://uz.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiya
Sofiya – Uzbek
uz
uz
interlanguage-link-target

values: ਸੋਫ਼ੀਆ – Punjabi

values:
https://pap.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Papiamento
pap
pap
interlanguage-link-target

values: Sofiya, Bulgieria – Jamaican Creole English

values:
https://tpi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Tok Pisin
tpi
tpi
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Polish
pl
pl
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://kaa.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiya
Sofiya – Kara-Kalpak
kaa
kaa
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://crh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiya
Sofiya – Crimean Turkish
crh
crh
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Romanian
ro
ro
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://rmy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiya
Sofiya – Romani
rmy
rmy
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://rm.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Romansh
rm
rm
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://qu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiya
Sofiya – Quechua
qu
qu
interlanguage-link-target

values: Софія – Rusyn

values: София – Sakha

values:
https://sm.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Samoan
sm
sm
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://sc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Sardinian
sc
sc
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Scots
sco
sco
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://stq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Saterland Frisian
stq
stq
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofja
Sofja – Albanian
sq
sq
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://scn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Sicilian
scn
scn
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Simple English
simple
simple
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Slovak
sk
sk
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofija
Sofija – Slovenian
sl
sl
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://szl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofijo
Sofijo – Silesian
szl
szl
interlanguage-link-target

values: Софија – Serbian

values:
https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofija
Sofija – Serbo-Croatian
sh
sh
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Finnish
fi
fi
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Swedish
sv
sv
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Tagalog
tl
tl
interlanguage-link-target

values: சோஃவியா – Tamil

values:
https://kab.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Kabyle
kab
kab
interlanguage-link-target

values: โซเฟีย – Thai

values: София – Tajik

values:
https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofya
Sofya – Turkish
tr
tr
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://tw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Twi
tw
tw
interlanguage-link-target

values: София – Udmurt

values: صوفیہ – Urdu

values: سوفىيە – Uyghur

values:
https://vep.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofii
Sofii – Veps
vep
vep
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Vietnamese
vi
vi
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://vo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiya
Sofiya – Volapük
vo
vo
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://vls.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – West Flemish
vls
vls
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://war.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Waray
war
war
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://wo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiya
Sofiya – Wolof
wo
wo
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://yo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Yoruba
yo
yo
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://diq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofya
Sofya – Zazaki
diq
diq
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://zea.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia
Sofia – Zeelandic
zea
zea
interlanguage-link-target

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values: /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Sofia rootpage-Sofia skin-vector action-view