Sofia

This article is about the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. For the given names, see Sofia (given name), Sofija (given name), and Sofiya (given name). For other uses, see Sofia (disambiguation).

Sofia
София
Capital city
Panoramic view over central Sofia and the Vitosha Mountain
Flag of Sofia
Flag
Coat of arms of Sofia
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
"Ever growing, never aging"[1]
("Расте, но не старее")
Sofia is located in Bulgaria
Sofia
Sofia
Location of Sofia
Sofia is located in Balkans
Sofia
Sofia
Sofia (Balkans)
Sofia is located in Europe
Sofia
Sofia
Sofia (Europe)
Coordinates: 42°42′N 23°20′E / 42.70°N 23.33°E / 42.70; 23.33
CountryBulgaria
ProvinceSofia City
MunicipalityCapital
Cont. inhabitedsince 7000 BC[2]
Neolithic settlement5500–6000 BC[3]
Thracian settlement1400 BC[4][5]
Roman administration46 AD (as Serdica)[6]
Conquered by Krum809 AD (as Sredets)[6]
Government
 • MayorVasil Terziev (PP-DB-Spasi Sofia)
Area
 • Capital city500 km2 (200 sq mi)
 • Urban
[7]
5,723 km2 (2,210 sq mi)
 • Metro
[8]
10,738 km2 (4,146 sq mi)
Elevation
[9]
500–699 m (1,640–2,293 ft)
Population
 (2024)[10]
 • Capital city1,286,965
 • Density2,600/km2 (6,700/sq mi)
 • Urban
[11]
1,547,779
 • Urban density270/km2 (700/sq mi)
 • Metro
[12]
1,667,314
 • Metro density160/km2 (400/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Sofian (en)
Софиянец/Sofiyanets (bg)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code(+359) 02
GDP per capita (2021)45241.00 BGN [13]
HDI (2018)0.945[14]
very high
Vehicle registration plateC, CA, CB
Websitesofia.bg

Sofia (/ˈsoʊfiə, ˈsɒf-, soʊˈfiːə/ SOH-fee-ə, SOF-;[15][16] Bulgarian: София, romanized: Sofiya,[17][18] IPA: [ˈsɔfijɐ] ⓘ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river and has many mineral springs, such as the Sofia Central Mineral Baths. It has a humid continental climate. Being in the centre of the Balkans, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea and closest to the Aegean Sea.[19][20]

Known as Serdica in antiquity and Sredets in the Middle Ages, Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. The recorded history of the city begins with the attestation of the conquest of Serdica by the Roman Republic in 29 BC from the Celtic tribe Serdi. During the decline of the Roman Empire, the city was raided by Huns, Visigoths, Avars, and Slavs. In 809, Serdica was incorporated into the Bulgarian Empire by Khan Krum and became known as Sredets. In 1018, the Byzantines ended Bulgarian rule until 1194, when it was reincorporated by the reborn Bulgarian Empire. Sredets became a major administrative, economic, cultural and literary hub until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1382. From 1530 to 1836, Sofia was the regional capital of Rumelia Eyalet, the Ottoman Empire's key province in Europe. Bulgarian rule was restored in 1878. Sofia was selected as the capital of the Third Bulgarian State in the next year, ushering a period of intense demographic and economic growth.

Sofia is the 14th-largest city in the European Union. It is surrounded by mountainsides, such as Vitosha by the southern side, Lyulin by the western side, and the Balkan Mountains by the north, which makes it the third highest European capital after Andorra la Vella and Madrid. Being Bulgaria's primary city, Sofia is home of many of the major local universities, cultural institutions and commercial companies.[21] The city has been described as the "triangle of religious tolerance". This is because three temples of three major world religions—Christianity, Islam and Judaism—are situated close together: Sveta Nedelya Church, Banya Bashi Mosque and Sofia Synagogue.[22] This triangle was recently expanded to a "square" and includes the Catholic Cathedral of St Joseph.[23]

Sofia has been named one of the top ten best places for startup businesses in the world, especially in information technologies.[24] It was Europe's most affordable capital to visit in 2013.[25] The Boyana Church in Sofia, constructed during the Second Bulgarian Empire and holding much patrimonial symbolism to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, was included onto the World Heritage List in 1979. With its cultural significance in Southeast Europe, Sofia is home to the National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria, the National Palace of Culture, the Vasil Levski National Stadium, the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, the National Archaeological Museum, and the Serdica Amphitheatre. The Museum of Socialist Art includes many sculptures and posters that educate visitors about the lifestyle in communist Bulgaria.[26]

The population of Sofia declined from 70,000 in the late 18th century, through 19,000 in 1870, to 11,649 in 1878, after which it began increasing.[27] Sofia hosts some 1.28 million[10] residents within a territory of 500 km2,[28] a concentration of 17.9% of the country population within the 200th percentile of the country territory. The urban area of Sofia hosts some 1.54 million[29] residents within 5723 km2, which comprises Sofia City Province and parts of Sofia Province (Dragoman, Slivnitsa, Kostinbrod, Bozhurishte, Svoge, Elin Pelin, Gorna Malina, Ihtiman, Kostenets) and Pernik Province (Pernik, Radomir), representing 5.16% of the country territory.[7] The metropolitan area of Sofia is based upon one hour of car travel time, stretches internationally and includes Dimitrovgrad in Serbia.[30] The metropolitan region of Sofia is inhabited by a population of 1.66 million.[12]

  1. ^ "Sofia through centuries". Sofia Municipality. Archived from the original on 19 August 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  2. ^ Ghodsee, Kristen (2005). The Red Riviera: Gender, Tourism, and Postsocialism on the Black Sea. Duke University Press. p. 21. ISBN 0822387174.
  3. ^ Prehistory, Ivan Dikov · in (7 December 2015). "Archaeologist Discovers 8,000-Year-Old Nephrite 'Frog-like' Swastika in Slatina Neolithic Settlement in Bulgaria's Capital Sofia – Archaeology in Bulgaria". archaeologyinbulgaria.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  4. ^ Marazov, Ivan (ed.). Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Thracians. NY: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1998. Texts by Marazov, Ivan; Venedikov, Ivan; Fol, Alexander; Tacheva, Margarita. ISBN 9780810919921.
  5. ^ Popov, Dimitar (ed.). The Thracians, Iztok – Zapad, Sofia, 2011. ISBN 9789543218691.
  6. ^ a b Sofia 2016, p. 13.
  7. ^ a b "CITIES AND THEIR URBANISED AREAS IN THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA" (PDF). National Statistical Institute: 91. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Nsi • National Register of Populated Places •". Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Население по градове и пол | Национален статистически институт". www.nsi.bg (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Population on 1 January by age groups and sex - functional urban areas".
  12. ^ a b "Eurostat – Data Explorer". appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Sofia (capital)".
  14. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  15. ^ Wells, John C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman, ISBN 9781405881180
  16. ^ Roach, Peter (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521152532
  17. ^ "Sofia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  18. ^ Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Britannica Educational Publishing. 1 June 2013. ISBN 9781615309870. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  19. ^ Lauwerys, Joseph (1970). Education in Cities. Evan's Brothers. ISBN 0-415-39291-8. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  20. ^ Rogers, Clifford (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 301. ISBN 9780195334036. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  21. ^ Internet Hostel Sofia, Tourism in Sofia Archived 28 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Internethostelsofia.hostel.com, Retrieved Jan 2012
  22. ^ "Triangle of Religious Tolerance (1903) – iCulturalDiplomacy". www.i-c-d.de. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  23. ^ "10 Things We Can all Learn from Bulgaria's Square of Religious Tolerance". 15 February 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  24. ^ "Sofia is one of the top 10 places for start-up businesses in the world, Bulgarian National TV". Bnt.bg. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  25. ^ Clark, Jayne. "Is Europe's most affordable capital worth the trip?". USA Today. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  26. ^ "Museum of Socialist Art – National Gallery". Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  27. ^ "История". www.kmeta.bg. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  28. ^ "NATIONAL STATISTICAL INSTITUTE – Information for the area of city of Sofia". Nsi.bg. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  29. ^ "Eurostat-Sofia urban area population". Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  30. ^ "Metropolitan areas in Europe" (PDF). Der Markt für Wohn- und Wirtschaftsimmobilien in Deutschland Ergebnisse des BBSR-Expertenpanel Immobilienmarkt Nr: 95. ISSN 1868-0097. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.