София

Capital of Bulgaria

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria, with over 7,000 years of continuous history — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe. The earliest traces of settlement date from the 6th millennium BC. — a Neolithic settlement was discovered in the Slatina district. The city arose around a hot mineral spring, at the crossroads of strategically important roads connecting Western Europe with Asia Minor and the Baltic Sea with the Aegean Sea. The Thracian tribe Serdi gave the first known name of the city - Serdika. Around 29 BC the city was conquered by the Romans and gradually became the most important Roman administrative center of the region, receiving the status of a municipium under the emperor Trajan (98–117 AD). Two Roman emperors—Aurelian (215–275) and Galerius (260–311)—were born in Serdica. Emperor Constantine the Great (ruled the empire from Serdica for years) famously said, "Serdica is my Rome." The Council of Serdica (343), an important ecclesiastical council, was held here, and the Edict of Religious Toleration of 311 was issued in Serdica by Emperor Galerius, the first piece of legislation legalizing Christianity, predating the Edict of Milan by two years. In 447, the city was destroyed by the Huns, but was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century and renamed Triadica. In 809, Khan Krum included Serdika in the First Bulgarian Kingdom and the city received the Slavic name Sredets. For almost two centuries, Sredets was an important political, economic, cultural and military center of medieval Bulgaria. In the 12th–14th centuries, the city was a lively trade and craft center. From 1376, the city began to be called Sofia, after the name of the church "Sveta Sofia" (meaning "wisdom"). In 1382, it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and spent almost 500 years under Ottoman rule. After the Liberation of 1878, Sredets was chosen as the capital of free Bulgaria on April 3, 1879, on the proposal of the historian Marin Drinov before the Constituent Assembly. At that time, the city had only 20,500 inhabitants. In a few decades, a remarkable transformation took place — from a small oriental town to a modern European capital with boulevards, parks and representative buildings. By 1946, the population had grown to 435,000, and today it exceeds 1.3 million. Today, Sofia is the political, economic, scientific and cultural center of the country. The city is home to leading universities (Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" - founded 1888, Technical University, UNSS, New Bulgarian University and dozens more), the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the National Opera and Ballet, numerous theaters and galleries. Here is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (1912) - among the largest Orthodox churches in the world, the Boyan Church (13th century) - a UNESCO site with frescoes considered to be harbingers of the Renaissance, and Vitosha - the capital's mountain, offering skiing and hiking 15 minutes from the center. The Sofia Metro, opened in 1998, is modern and rapidly expanding.