Photo: Mariyan Tashev
Sofia - Bulgaria's Capital
The area of Sofia was populated for several millennia. Various peoples left their imprint on the local landscape and gave different names to the settlement - Serdnopolis (of the Thracian tribe Serdi); Serdica (of the Romans), Ulpia Serdica (from the 2nd century AD); Triaditsa (in Byzantine time); Sredets (Bulgarian name, from the 9th century); and Sofia (of the late Middle Ages and the Ottomans).
The city flourished in the late 3rd century AD, when Serdica became a major regional imperial capital and reached a zenith in the early 4th century under Emperor Constantine the Great (map). The city was destroyed by the Huns in 447, but after being rebuilt later by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, it was renamed Triaditsa. The Bulgarian ruler Khan Krum conquered the city in 809 and made it one of the principal cities of his state. Afterwards, the city was known by its Bulgarian name Sredets and grew into an important fortress and administrative center. The Byzantines re-occupied it in the 11th century, and it was during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1185–1396) that the name of the city was changed to Sofia, after the Church of St. Sophia, which still stands, albeit much rebuilt.
The city was conquered by the Ottomans in 1380s (date is debated) after a supposed siege. Sofia was burned in 1443 during “The Long Campaign” led by John Hunyadi and Vladislav III Jagelo, but it was rebuilt quickly afterwards and elevated to a seat of the governor-general of Ottoman European provinces (Rumili beylerbeyisi). Tax registers from the 16th century recorded Sofia as one the largest cities in the Balkans (8-9 000 residents). The city was predominantly Muslim, but Bulgarians, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Gypsies, and Ragusans lived there alike. By the end of the Ottoman period Sofia’s population reached 35 to 40 thousand inhabitants. Under the Ottomans the Late Antique city walls were demolished and urban fabric spread over the relatively flat terrain. Several axes cut throught the urban tissue joining together in the commercial quarter (the çarşı) where a number of Ottoman high ranking officials erected buildings that constituted the commercial core of Sofia. The mid-fifteenth century (ca. 1460) the great mosque of Mahmud Pasha occupied a central spot while a branched network of mosque-turned-churches or newly built quarter mosques spread over the residential area of the city. Several churches and synagogues in the non-Muslim quarters added to the cityscape.
See Ottoman Sofia map
After the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78 Sofia became the official capital of the Principality of Bulgaria and a large portion of its Muslim population abandoned the town, leaving it with merely 12 000 residents. The subsequent flow of Bulgarians into the city and its “modernization” deprived it from a significant part of its Ottoman architectural heritage. Sofia saw a fast development in the subsequent years changing its appearance and urban fabric entirely. During the WWII Sofia’s central parts were badly damaged by allied bombings. In the following years socialist architects quickly rebuilt the city center after a Soviet model with prevailing Stalinist architecture.
The city flourished in the late 3rd century AD, when Serdica became a major regional imperial capital and reached a zenith in the early 4th century under Emperor Constantine the Great (map). The city was destroyed by the Huns in 447, but after being rebuilt later by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, it was renamed Triaditsa. The Bulgarian ruler Khan Krum conquered the city in 809 and made it one of the principal cities of his state. Afterwards, the city was known by its Bulgarian name Sredets and grew into an important fortress and administrative center. The Byzantines re-occupied it in the 11th century, and it was during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1185–1396) that the name of the city was changed to Sofia, after the Church of St. Sophia, which still stands, albeit much rebuilt.
The city was conquered by the Ottomans in 1380s (date is debated) after a supposed siege. Sofia was burned in 1443 during “The Long Campaign” led by John Hunyadi and Vladislav III Jagelo, but it was rebuilt quickly afterwards and elevated to a seat of the governor-general of Ottoman European provinces (Rumili beylerbeyisi). Tax registers from the 16th century recorded Sofia as one the largest cities in the Balkans (8-9 000 residents). The city was predominantly Muslim, but Bulgarians, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Gypsies, and Ragusans lived there alike. By the end of the Ottoman period Sofia’s population reached 35 to 40 thousand inhabitants. Under the Ottomans the Late Antique city walls were demolished and urban fabric spread over the relatively flat terrain. Several axes cut throught the urban tissue joining together in the commercial quarter (the çarşı) where a number of Ottoman high ranking officials erected buildings that constituted the commercial core of Sofia. The mid-fifteenth century (ca. 1460) the great mosque of Mahmud Pasha occupied a central spot while a branched network of mosque-turned-churches or newly built quarter mosques spread over the residential area of the city. Several churches and synagogues in the non-Muslim quarters added to the cityscape.
See Ottoman Sofia map
After the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78 Sofia became the official capital of the Principality of Bulgaria and a large portion of its Muslim population abandoned the town, leaving it with merely 12 000 residents. The subsequent flow of Bulgarians into the city and its “modernization” deprived it from a significant part of its Ottoman architectural heritage. Sofia saw a fast development in the subsequent years changing its appearance and urban fabric entirely. During the WWII Sofia’s central parts were badly damaged by allied bombings. In the following years socialist architects quickly rebuilt the city center after a Soviet model with prevailing Stalinist architecture.