Sofia Key Attractions
Sofia has historically been a stopping-off point for traders and travellers, as its pleasant weather and central Balkan location made it an optimum outpost for traders and conquerors. As such, the city has a chartered history, and impressive monuments and landmarks from various eras are clustered around the city centre. Here are some of our top recommendations for attractions in Sofia.
St Alexander Nevski Cathedral
No trip to Sofia is complete without a photo of the St Alexander Nevski Cathedral, a monumental neo-Byzantine church with gold and copper domes. The cathedral commemorates the 200,000 Russian soldiers who lost their lives liberating Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, and is named in honour of the man who fended off Swedish troops attacking Russia in 1240. At the time of the church’s creation, in 1882, Nevski was the patron saint of the reigning tsar, who had been the commander of the army that expelled the Turks. The interior of the cathedral includes precious murals by 13 Bulgarian and 32 Russian artists as well as a museum, housed in a crypt, featuring mural frescoes and icons from throughout Bulgaria, spanning a millennium, beginning in the 9th century.
Church of St Sofia
The 5th century Church of St Sofia, after which the city is named, sits adjacent to the St Alexander Nevski Cathedral and is indicative of the early Byzantine style and floor plan, with a central dome at the centre of a cross. The building has had a rough history, having been converted into a mosque by the Turks, who destroyed its frescoes and added minarets. It then sustained heavy damage from an earthquake in the 19th century, after which the church was abandoned. Following independence, the cathedral was restored, and today it stands as the second-oldest building in Sofia. It is now popular with city residents as a venue for various religious and family events. Near the entrance, a perpetual flame marks the Monument to the Unknown Soldier, honouring the troops who died while fighting for Bulgaria.
National Archaeological Museum
This recently renovated museum is nestled inside the impressive ivy-covered Buyuk Mosque, or Big Mosque, which dates back to the 15th century, and the exterior is just as magnificent as the works contained inside. Thracian, Greek and Roman artefacts comprise much of the museum’s collection, revealing the city’s long history in exhibits that are well-labelled in Bulgarian and English. By far the most impressive and well-known feature of the museum is the Vulchitrun Treasure, whose prominence is marked by its own guarded exhibition room upstairs. The treasure is thought to be part of a Thracian religious ritual and consists of 13 ornate and uniquely shaped vessels made of solid gold and totalling 12.5 kilograms.
Rotunda of St George
The city’s oldest standing building, the Rotunda of St George dates back to the 4th century as a Roman temple. In the 6th century, during Byzantine rule, Huns destroyed part of the edifice, and it was restored as a church. Under the Ottoman Empire, the rotunda was converted into a mosque, only to be later turned back into a church. The building and its interior have undergone massive restoration work, uncovering layers of medieval frescoes, some dating back to the 10th century, which had been ‘lost’ for 500 years underneath plaster laid by the Turks.
Banya Bashi Mosque
The Banya Bashi Mosque was designed in 1576 by the famed Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, who also planned Istanbul’s exquisite Blue Mosque. The name of the mosque means ‘a lot of baths’, on account of the neighbouring Central Baths, the first thermal baths built by the Romans. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the mosque’s beautiful domed ceiling was restored to Mimar Sinan’s original design. Today, the Banya Bashi is the only mosque in Sofia. The interior is intricately decorated and available for tourists to view outside of prayer times. Note that the mosque is not an official tourist destination, but mosque officials welcome visitors who wear the appropriate attire.
Sofia Land
Opened in 2002, Sofia Land is Bulgaria’s first amusement park and one of the largest in southeastern Europe. The park covers 35,000 square metres and offers four ‘extreme’ rides for thrill-seekers as well as eight children’s rides and 11 rides and attractions suitable for all ages. The park also features several bars, cafés, restaurants and clubs as well as retail stores and movie halls housed in its castle-like main building. Sofia Land is located near the city’s zoo.
Museums
Aside from the archeological museum in the Buyuk Mosque and the crypt at St Alexander Nevski Cathedral, visitors to Sofia will find a few other museums that document the people and history of the city. The National History Museum contains artefacts covering the entire history of Sofia from prehistoric times. The Earth and Man Museum’s permanent collection is a wonderful educational trip through minerals and gems native to the area, and the museum also holds special art exhibits and classical music performances. The National Natural History Museum is divided into sections covering botany, zoology and geology, and features meteorites and lunar fragments as well as a special live reptile exhibit. Those interested in the crafts and folk culture of Sofia should visit the Ethnographical Museum, which displays costumes, jewellery and iron and wood works from the region. The museum shop sells crafts, traditional clothing and musical instruments from all over Bulgaria.