Doctors Monument
Doctors Monument (Doctors Garden, Oborishte and San Stefano Streets, Sofia) – this monument was built and dedicated to medics who died in the Russian-Turkish War of 1878. Located behind the National Library and opposite the Sofia University in a beautiful garden park where there are archaeological remains of the necropolis, located here or around parliament. This monument bears the names of 531 doctors and nurses.
Church of St. Sofia
Church of St. Sofia (Ploshtaf Aleksander Nevsky, Sofia) — The early Byzantine Church of St Sophia was built in the 6th century on the place of an ancient Roman theatre and several earlier churches. During the Second Bulgarian Empire the structure served as the cathedral of the city but was later converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Empire. Hours: 7:00 am – 6:00 pm (winter), 7:00 am – 7:00 pm (summer).
Boyana Church
Boyana Church (1-3 Boyansko Ezero Street, Sofia) — The Boyana Church, in the eponymous Sofia suburb at the foot of Mt. Vitosha, is one of the few complete and perfectly preserved mediaeval monuments testifying to the significant contribution of Bulgarian monumental painting to European culture in the Middle Ages. Admission: 10 BGN. Hours: 9:30 am – 5:30 pm (April – October), 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (November – March).
Bells Monument
Bells Monument (Vitosha Mountain, Sofia) — The Bells monument is situated 14 km eastwards from the center of Sofia at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. This was initially built in 1979 to celebrate the World Children initiative by UNESCO. It was originally thought to hold a children’s festival only in 1979, but due to the big success the festival was repeated every 4 years until 1990 when communism in Bulgaria collapsed and funding was not available.
There is a circle of bells donated from over 90 countries that surround the main monument. You can see bells from countries that no longer exist, such as the USSR, The German Democratic Republic, etc. Some bells were made very original and depict the culture of their country. During the Communist era, the monument was often used for initiations of pioneers (similar to boy scouts) that were part of the Communist culture.
Banya Bashi Mosque
Banya Bashi Mosque (2 Knyaginya Maria Louise Blvd., Sofia) — Once there were 70 mosques in Sofia, but today the Banya Bashi Mosque is the only one still functioning. It was designed in 1576, by the greatest of all Ottoman architects, Mimar Sinan, who also built the Sultan Selim Mosque in Edirne and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Free admission. Hours: 5:00 am – 8:00 pm daily.
Alexander Nevsky Crypt Icon Museum
Alexander Nevsky Crypt Icon Museum (Aleksander Nevsky Square, Sofia) — during the construction of Nevski Cathedral, plans were originally made to bury the country’s kings at one of its levels. But such plans were never carried out. For that reason, in 1965, the space under the church was converted into a branch of the National Art Gallery for Orthodox art. Hours: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm daily (except Tuesdays).
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Aleksander Nevski Square, Sofia) — The gold-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in the early 20th century in memory of the 200,000 Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian and Bulgarian soldiers, who died in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878. It is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world. The cathedral’s gold-plated dome is 45 m high, with the bell tower reaching 50.52 m. Admission: free. Hours: 7:00 am – 6:00 pm daily.
Bulgaria — THINGS TO SEE AND DO
Bulgaria, one of the larger Balkan countries, shares borders with Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey (as well as the Black Sea acting as its lengthy eastern coastline). It is perhaps the least-known among the countries in that region, whose history dates back to the Roman Empire, when a town then called “Serdica” (now Sofia – the country’s capital) – became the administrative center of the Roman province of Dacia Mediterranea (the Roman era territory simply known as “Dacia” is present-day Romania, just north of Bulgaria). Sofia’s size was expanded during the Byzantine era under the rule of both Constantine the Great (306-337 AD) and Justinian the Great (527-565 AD).
Afterwards, Bulgaria was dominated by the Ottomans in 1396 (bringing Islam into a mostly Christian Orthodox country). Such rule continued for nearly 500 years, until the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78), when Russian forces and local (Bulgarian) volunteers forced the Turks out of the country. A principality of Bulgaria was created after that conflict. The country, which was an autonomous Ottoman province by the early 20th century, formally declared its independence in 1908. After Bulgaria lost territory in an earlier conflict with Greece, Serbia and Romania (1913), it entered World War I in 1915 as part of the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman Empire). As a loser of that conflict, Bulgaria lost territory to Serbia, Greece, Romania and the newly-formed state of Yugoslavia.
Bulgaria (under authoritarian rule by the 1940s) sided with the Axis Powers (including Nazi Germany) during World War II, resulting in the Russians invading the country in 1944. After the end of that conflict, Bulgaria became a part of the Soviet Bloc, and remained so until free elections were held in 1990 (creating a parliamentary democracy). Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004, and became part of the European Union in 2007. Over the years, tourism has become a growing part of Bulgaria’s economy (generating 13.6% of the country’s GDP, with over 21 million visitors in 2014 – many of whom were from nearby countries – Greece, Turkey and Romania). The country not only has a variety of historic sites, but resorts by the Black Sea, and winter destinations as well.
Note: although Bulgaria is a member of the European Union, it does NOT use the Euro as its official currency. Instead, it uses the Lev (BGN), which is equal to 100 stotinki (st.). This explains the pricing in this travel profile. Exchange rate: 1 Euro = 1.95 BGN; US$1 = 1.75 BGN
