Sights in Sofia
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Borisova Gradina
Sofia's most attractive expanse of greenery is home to the Vasil Levski Stadium, CSKA Stadium and Maria Luisa Pool, as well as bike tracks and tennis courts. It's laid out with countless statues and flowerbeds, and is a relaxing place to take a leisurely stroll on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The eastern end of the park is dominated by a gigantic communist monument built in 1956 and known as the Mound of Brotherhood, featuring a 42m-high obelisk and socialist-realist icons including a pair of partisan fighters, dramatically gesturing comrades clutching Kalashnikovs, and smiling, stoic workers. It has long been neglected by the authorities, and several of the socialist heroes…
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National Museum of Military History
Don’t be put off by the rusting army trucks in the overgrown front yard – this museum is among the most interesting and best presented in Sofia. Displays over three floors tell the story of warfare in Bulgaria from the time of the Thracians onwards, with extensive labelling and information boards in English. Most space goes to the period from the 1876 April Uprising through to WWI, with cases filled with weaponry, rebel flags and a seemingly endless parade of uniforms and personal belongings of soldiers. Among the more striking are the shaggy-fur flying costume, resembling a traditional Kuker outfit, worn by a Lt Simeon Petrov during the First Balkan War, and the pint…
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Archaeological Museum
The Buyuk Djami (Great Mosque) since 1899 has housed Sofia’s fascinating Archaeological Museum. Thracian and Roman tombstones fill up much of the ground floor, along with weaponry and jewellery. Among the more eye-catching artefacts are a 3rd-century AD bronze head of the Emperor Gordianus; a stone plaque showing gladiatorial fights in the circus, now under the Arena di Serdica hotel; and the original 4th-century AD mosaic floor from the apse of the Church of Sveta Sofia. On show upstairs are the remarkable finds unearthed near Shipka in 2004, including the 4th-century BC gold burial mask of a Thracian king, and a magnificent bronze head with coloured glass eyes and fin…
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National Art Gallery
Occupying the east wing of the royal palace, the National Art Gallery holds one of the country’s most comprehensive collections of Bulgarian art, with several galleries full of mainly 19th and 20th century paintings and sculptures. All the big names are represented, including the ubiquitous Vladimir Dimitrov, whose orange, Madonna-like Harvester hangs in the former royal music room. Other standouts include Goshka Datsov’s The Dream of Mary Magdalene and Georgi Mashev’s creepy Outcast. Anton Mitov’s paintings of early-20th-century Sofia, such as Vegetable Market at Sofia, offer a fascinating insight into local history. On the floor above, a warren of corridors and …
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National Gallery for Foreign Art
An eclectic assemblage of international artworks is on display in this huge gallery, and although you won’t find any world-class treasures here, there are a few big names and plenty of little-known artists to discover. On the ground floor you can browse Indian woodcarvings, Burmese Buddhas, African tribal art and colourful Japanese prints. Upstairs are several galleries of European paintings, mostly by long-forgotten artists, while highpoints include a Van Dyck portrait, minor sketches by Renoir, Matisse and Degas, and a Last Supper attributed to Palma Vecchio. There are also some small bronzes by the 16th-century German Master Conrad Meit and bronze studies for The Bur…
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Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church
Set in a leafy garden just off the main road, the Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church, or Church of the Seven Saints, as it's known in its more tongue-friendly translation, is dedicated to Sts Cyril and Methodius and their five disciples. Originally built as a mosque in 1528, it had already fallen into disuse by the time the Russians came along in 1878 and turned it into an arms depot.
After a brief spell as a prison, the structure was restored and remodelled in a style termed Bulgarian National Romanticism, and consecrated as a church in 1903. Inside, the walls are covered in traditional murals of saints, while an image of the Trinity decorates the huge central dome. The gilde…
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Mineral Baths
The Mineral Baths – also known as the Turkish Baths – was built between 1911 and 1913. With its elegant striped façade and ceramic decorations recalling the designs of Nesebâr’s medieval churches, it’s one of Sofia’s architectural gems, but it fell into dereliction in the 1990s and has been undergoing sporadic restoration for over a decade. When restoration is finally complete, it will house a new civic museum, although no date has been set for this. The centrepiece of the little square between the baths and the Banya Bashi Mosque, known as pl Banski, is a modern fountain, while a smart drinking-fountain complex has been constructed just behind the baths, wher…
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Sveti Nikolai Russian Church
This gorgeous church with its glittering mosaic exterior was built between 1912 and 1914 for Sofia’s Russian community, and named in honour of St Nikolai, the ‘miracle worker’. Like the Aleksander Nevski Church, the design is strongly influenced by Russian architecture, most notably in its five golden onion domes. The surprisingly cramped interior features colourful murals and icons painted between the 11th and 14th centuries. Bishop Serafim (1881–1950), one of Bulgaria’s most revered spiritual leaders, lies entombed in the crypt (accessed by a separate door to the left of the main entrance). Sitting in a flower-filled garden, the church is one of the most photographed si…
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Sveti Georgi Rotunda
Regarded as the oldest preserved building in Sofia, the Sveti Georgi Rotunda, in the courtyard between the Sheraton Hotel and the Presidency, dates from the 4th century AD. This circular Roman structure, also known as the Church of St George, was largely rebuilt in the 6th century after being knocked about by invading Huns and in the 16th century was converted into a mosque. It was badly damaged by bombing during WWII and only fully opened to visitors again in 1998 after much restoration.
The murals inside were painted on three layers between the 10th and 14th centuries. Inside the entrance there's a small explanation in English about the church. You're also allowed to wa…
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Church of the Seven Saints
Set in a leafy garden just off the main road, the Church of the Seven Saints, as it’s known in its more tongue-friendly translation, is dedicated to Sts Cyril and Methodius and their five disciples. Originally built as a mosque in 1528, it had already fallen into disuse by the time the Russians came along in 1878 and turned it into an arms depot. After a brief spell as a prison, the structure was restored and remodelled in a style termed Bulgarian National Romanticism, and consecrated as a church in 1903. Inside, the walls are covered in traditional murals of saints, while an image of the Trinity decorates the huge central dome. The gilded iconostasis includes icons paint…
reviewed
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Sveta Nedelya Cathedral
The magnificent domed Sveta Nedelya Cathedral is one of the city's major landmarks. Built between 1856 and 1863 on the foundations of several older churches, the cathedral's interior is covered with rich, Byzantine-style murals of saints. A glass case to the right of the iconostasis holds the body of Sveti Kral Stefan Milotin, a medieval king of Serbia, wrapped in a velvet robe. The bones are said to have miraculous healing powers.
A small plaque near the southern entrance explains, in English, how the cathedral was blown up by communists on 16 April 1925 in an attempt to assassinate Tsar Boris III. Over 120 people were killed in the attack, including most of the cabinet,…
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Pl Bulgaria
The National Palace of Culture (NDK) watches over an elongated park known as Pl Bulgaria. There are a few kiosks and sociable bars here for those in search of a cheap alfresco beer, as well as carts selling popcorn and ice cream. It's also a favourite venue for Sofia's skateboarding teens.
Steps just in front of the NDK building lead down into a gloomy underpass crammed with cheap clothes shops and cafés.
At the northern end of pl Bulgaria is the 1300 Years Monument. Nearby is the memorial and chapel dedicated to the victims of the communist regime, with a plaque bearing some 10,000 names. Behind it is a section of the Berlin Wall.
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Ivan Vazov House-Museum
Bulgaria’s best-loved author, Ivan Vazov (1850–1921), lived at this house, now a museum, from 1895 until his death. Vazov wrote Under the Yoke, a classic of Bulgarian literature based around the 1876 April Uprising against the Turks. Several rooms have been restored to their early-20th-century appearance, and in the study, you can even meet Vazov’s beloved pet dog, Bobby, whom Vazov had stuffed after he was run down by a tram. Downstairs, there’s a small exhibition of photographs and documents, though labelling is only in Bulgarian. You’ll need to ring the doorbell to gain admittance.
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Royal Palace
Originally built as the headquarters of the Ottoman police force, it was at the Royal Palace that Bulgaria's national hero, Vasil Levski, was tried and tortured before his public execution in 1873. After the Liberation, the building was remodelled in Viennese style and in 1887, apparently undeterred by its grisly recent past, Prince Alexander Battenberg moved in and it became the official residence of Bulgaria's royal family until the communist takeover.
These days it houses the National Art Gallery and the Ethnographical Museum, while the shaded park at the rear contains an odd assemblage of statues.
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National Museum of Natural History
You can almost sense the ghosts of generations of school parties dutifully trooping through the musty halls of this old-fashioned museum. The didactic collection of animal, plant and mineral specimens is vast, although there’s little labelling in anything but Bulgarian. Rocks, crystals and minerals grace the ground floor, while on the next two floors you can browse cases full of stuffed birds and animals, including a brown bear dangling a Nazi hunting medal from its claw and some threadbare apes, lions and tigers. Pickled fish and cases of dried insects complete the collection.
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National Polytechnic Museum
One of Sofia’s less visited attractions, this small museum is nevertheless a treasure trove for anyone interested in the history of science and technology. On show is a varied (though not always well labelled) collection covering such subjects as photography, radio and time measurement. A gleaming, perfectly restored 1928 Ford Model A is parked just inside, while other displays include atomic clocks, typewriters, early movie cameras and mechanical pianos. Look for the Bulgarian-made freeze-dried ‘space food’, which includes a packet of powdered tarator.
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Ethnographical Museum
Spread over two floors, the Ethnographical Museum has a permanent collection of regional costumes and crafts, although most of the space is usually occupied by long-term temporary exhibitions on topics of varying interest, such as traditional festivals or carpet-making. (Everything is captioned in English.) Some rooms are in poor condition, but others, with their marble fireplaces, mirrors and ornate plasterwork, are worth pausing over; note the lobster, fish and dead duck on the ceiling of what was once presumably a royal dining room.
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Yuzhen Park
South of bul Bâlgaria, Yuzhen Park is a vast green sprawl, filled with trees and shady pathways, and is the closest you'll come to open countryside within the city. It's wilder, less managed, more peaceful and less populated than other Sofia parks and has some superb, uninterrupted views towards Mount Vitosha.
A sparkling stream with bubbles through it, and there are a handful of discreet bars and cafés which are not always easy to find, but it's a satisfying place to get lost in and explore for yourself.
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Church of Sveta Sofia
The Church of Sveta Sofia as it stands today is a much-restored 6th-century foundation, making it the oldest Orthodox church in the Bulgarian capital, to which it eventually gave its name. The church fell victim to invading hordes, fires and earthquakes several times over the centuries, and after a devastating 1858 earthquake, the building, then used as a mosque, was abandoned. The present, rather sober, red-brick structure is mostly 19th century, and was restored as a church in the early 20th century.
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Peyo Yavorov House-Museum
The Romantic poet and revolutionary Peyo Yavorov (1878–1914;) briefly lived in the small apartment in this house, now a low-key museum. The three rooms here have been restored to their original appearance, although there are worrying cracks everywhere. Ghoulish mementos include the dress Yavorov’s wife, Lora, was wearing when she killed herself in the study, Yavorov’s death-mask and several photographs of the unhappy couple. Ring the doorbell for admittance.
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Sveta Petka Samardjiiska Church
The tiny Sveta Petka Samardjiiska Church is incongruously located in the underpass below the Tsum Retail Centre. Named in honour of St Peter of the Saddlers, the church was built during the early years of Ottoman rule (late 14th century), which explains its sunken profile and inconspicuous exterior. Inside there are some 16th-century murals, but nothing is explained in any language. It's rumoured that the Bulgarian freedom fighter and national icon Vasil Levski is buried here.
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Banya Bashi Mosque
Sofia's only working mosque was built in 1576 by the celebrated Ottoman architect Kodja Mimar Sinan, who also designed the Selim II Mosque in Edirne, Turkey. It's certainly an eye-catching edifice and the red brick minaret makes a convenient landmark. At the rear of the building is a small, recently excavated section of the bathhouse that once joined onto the mosque and a hot-water drinking fountain. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times if modestly dressed.
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Aleksander Nevski Memorial Church
One of the symbols not just of Sofia but of Bulgaria itself, this massive, awe-inspiring church was built between 1882 and 1912 in memory of the 200,000 Russian soldiers who died fighting for Bulgaria’s independence during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). In the Aleksander Nevski Crypt is Bulgaria’s biggest and best collection of religious icons from the last millennium, brought from churches all over the country.
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Sofia City Garden
Take a break from pounding the city streets and rest up in the leafy Sofia City Garden, with its cafés, swings, flowerbeds and lovely fountain, where old men gather to play chess. Until its sudden and unceremonious demolition in 1999, the mausoleum of Bulgaria's first communist ruler, Georgi Dimitrov, squatted at the northern end of the park facing the Royal Palace. It has since been replaced by some shrubbery.
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Monument to the Soviet Army
The giant Monument to the Soviet Army was built to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Russian 'liberation' of Bulgaria in 1944 and is a prime example of the forceful socialist-realism of the period. The place of honour goes to a Red Army soldier atop a column, surrounded by animated cast-iron sculptural groups depicting determined, gun-waving soldiers and grateful, child-caressing members of the proletariat.
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