Sofia — Capital of Bulgaria
Sofia is one of Europe's oldest capitals, built on layers of Thracian, Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian, and Ottoman civilisation. From the birthplace of the Cyrillic alphabet to fields producing most of the world's rose oil, Bulgaria surprises at every turn.
About Sofia — Capital of Bulgaria
Sofia is among the oldest capital cities in Europe, with human habitation stretching back thousands of years. The Thracians established a settlement here, which the Romans expanded into the city of Serdica — a name still visible on the city's metro system. Under Roman rule, Serdica was significant enough that Emperor Constantine the Great reportedly called it "my Rome." The city passed through Byzantine and Bulgarian hands before nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule from 1382 to 1878.
The city's current name comes not from a person but from a church — the 4th-century Basilica of Saint Sofia, one of the oldest Christian basilicas in the world still standing. When Bulgaria was liberated from Ottoman rule by Russia in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, Sofia was chosen as the new national capital. To honour the Russian soldiers who died in that liberation, Bulgarians built the magnificent Alexander Nevsky Cathedral between 1882 and 1912. With its gold-plated domes visible from across the city, it remains one of the largest Orthodox cathedrals in the world.
Bulgaria's most remarkable cultural export to the world is the Cyrillic alphabet. Saints Cyril and Methodius created the Glagolitic script in the 9th century, but it was their disciples — working in Bulgaria's Preslav Literary School — who refined and spread the Cyrillic alphabet that is today used by hundreds of millions of people across Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. Bulgaria is legitimately credited as the birthplace of Cyrillic.
Sofia's surroundings offer dramatic contrasts. Vitosha mountain looms visibly from anywhere in the city and offers ski slopes just 20 minutes from the city centre. The Boyana Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the slopes of Vitosha, contains extraordinary 13th-century frescoes considered masterpieces of medieval European art — painted a century before the Italian Renaissance began its own revolution in painting. Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007 but continues to use its own currency, the lev, rather than the euro.