26 Sights in Sofia, Bulgaria (with Map and Images)

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Explore interesting sights in Sofia, Bulgaria. Click on a marker on the map to view details about it. Underneath is an overview of the sights with images. A total of 26 sights are available in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Sightseeing Tours in Sofia

1. National Museum of Military History

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The National Military History Museum is a museum dedicated to military history in Sofia, Bulgaria. A structure of the Ministry of Defence, it has existed under various names and subordinate to various institutions since 1 August 1914. It consists of 5,000 m2 of indoor and 40,000 m2 outdoor exhibition area, changing exhibits, a library and a computer centre.

Wikipedia: National Museum of Military History, Bulgaria (EN), Website

2. Royal Palace

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Royal Palace Nenko Lazarov / CC BY 2.5

The former Princely/Royal Palace and current complex of national museums in Sofia is located at 1 Knyaz Alexander I Square in the center of the capital of Bulgaria. It has been a monument of culture since 1978.

Wikipedia: Царски дворец (София) (BG)

3. Saint George Rotunda

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Saint George Rotunda

"St. George" is an Orthodox church, built in late antiquity in the architectural form of the rotund, in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. It is located in the inner courtyard between the buildings of Hotel Balkan and the Presidency on a level a few meters lower than the modern streets of Sofia. Considered the oldest preserved building in the city, it was built at the beginning of the 4th century, no later than the time when Sofia was the residence of the emperors Galerius and Constantine the Great. The temple performs daily Orthodox worship in the ancient liturgical language of the Orthodox Slavs – Old Bulgarian, and the chants are performed in the typical for the ancient Orthodox Church – Eastern church singing, known as Bulgarian and Byzantine.

Wikipedia: Свети Георги (ротонда) (BG)

4. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

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St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria and it is one of the 50 largest Christian church buildings by volume in the world. It is one of Sofia's symbols and primary tourist attractions. St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia occupies an area of 3,170 square metres (34,100 sq ft) and can hold 5,000 people inside. It is among the 10 largest Eastern Orthodox church buildings. It is the largest cathedral in the Balkans. It is believed that up until the year 2000 it was the largest finished Orthodox cathedral.

Wikipedia: Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia (EN)

5. Museum of Socialist Art

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The Museum of Socialist Art in Sofia is a museum of art which covers the history of the communist era in Bulgaria. It was established on 19 September 2011 amidst a controversy over the name, which was initially proposed as "Museum of Totalitarian Art". The museum's collection of large and small statues, busts, and paintings represents the period from 1944 to 1989, from the establishment of the People's Republic of Bulgaria to the fall of communism. The museum spread over an area of 7,500 square metres (81,000 sq ft) in the Sofia suburb known as "Red Star" is in three parts - a park with sculpture installations drawn from the communist period, an exhibition hall with paintings and easel representations, and a media or video hall in which films and newsreels related to the communist period are screened.

Wikipedia: Museum of Socialist Art (EN)

6. Monument to the Soviet Army

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The Monument to the Soviet Army is a monument located in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. There is a large park around the statue and the surrounding areas. It is a popular place where many young people gather. The monument is located on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard, near Orlov Most and the Sofia University. It portrays a soldier from the Soviet Army as a freedom fighter, surrounded by a Bulgarian woman, holding her baby, and a Bulgarian man. There are other, secondary sculptural composition parts of the memorial complex around the main monument, like the group of soldiers which have been used many times as a canvas by political artists. The monument was built in 1954 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the liberation by the Soviet Army, which is the general Russian interpretation of the complex Military history of Bulgaria during World War II.

Wikipedia: Monument to the Soviet Army, Sofia (EN)

7. National Archaeological Institute with Museum

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The National Archaeological Museum is an archaeological museum in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It occupies the building of the largest and oldest former Ottoman mosque in the city, originally known as Koca Mahmut Paşa Camii. The construction started in 1451 under grand vizier Veli Mahmud Pasha but due to his death in 1474 the mosque has been completed in 1494. The museum was established as a separate entity in 1893 as the National Museum directed by Czech Václav Dobruský with its headquarters in the former mosque that previously housed the National Library between 1880 and 1893.

Wikipedia: National Archaeological Museum, Bulgaria (EN), Website

8. Holy Nedelya Church

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Sveta Nedelya Cathedral Church, is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, a cathedral of the Sofia bishopric of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. The temple of Sveta Nedelya dates back to the 10th century, being a cathedral of the city from the 18th century. The sacred building has suffered destruction through the ages and has been reconstructed many times. The present building of the temple is among the landmarks of Sofia. It was designed by the famous Bulgarian architectural team Vasilyov-Tsolov. The relics of the Serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin are kept in the church.

Wikipedia: St Nedelya Church (EN), Website

9. Amphitheatre of Serdica

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The Amphitheatre of Serdica was an amphitheatre in the Ancient Roman city of Ulpia Serdica, now Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Discovered in 2004 and the subject of excavations in 2005 and 2006, the ruins of the amphitheatre lie on two adjacent sites in the centre of modern Sofia. The amphitheatre was built in the 3rd–4th century AD on top of a 2nd–3rd century theatre, which had been ravaged by the Goths. However, the amphitheatre remained in use for less than a century and was abandoned by the 5th century.

Wikipedia: Amphitheatre of Serdica (EN)

10. National Anthropological Museum

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The National Anthropological Museum was established on March 21, 2007 as part of the system of museums at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences under the patronage of the Institute of Experimental Morphology, Pathology and Anthropology with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. It is located in Fr. Sofia, bul. 73 Tsarigradsko Shose Str., in close proximity to the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Wikipedia: Национален антропологичен музей (BG), Website

11. Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church

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The Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church and formerly The Black Mosque is a Bulgarian Orthodox church in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It was created between 1901 and 1902 as an Ottoman mosque later converted into orthodox Church, and was inaugurated on 27 July 1903. The church is named after Cyril and Methodius and their five disciples, known in the Orthodox Church collectively as the Sedmochislenitsi.

Wikipedia: Seven Saints Church, Sofia (EN)

12. The Unknown Soldier

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The Unknown Soldier David Holt / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Monument to the Unknown Soldier is a monument in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, located just next to the 6th-century Church of St Sophia, on 2 Paris Street. The monument commemorates the hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian soldiers who died in wars defending their homeland. Ceremonies involving the President of Bulgaria and foreign state leaders are often performed here.

Wikipedia: Monument to the Unknown Soldier, Sofia (EN)

13. St. Sophia

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St. SophiaKlearchos Kapoutsis from Paleo Faliro, Greece / CC BY 2.0

The Saint Sofia Church is the oldest church in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, dating to the fourth century. In the predecessor building took place the Council of Serdica held most probably in 343 and attended by 316 bishops. In the 14th century, the church gave its name to the city, previously known as Serdika (Сердика).

Wikipedia: Saint Sophia Church, Sofia (EN)

14. Sfumato Theatre Workshop

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Sfumato Theatre Workshop

Theatre Laboratory "Sfumato" was founded in 1989 by directors Margarita Mladenova and Ivan Dobchev as an alternative to the traditional theaters in Sofia. Emphasizes programs at the expense of the repertoire. An example of the Sfumatov "programs" are the series of performances on Dostoevsky, followed by those on Strindberg.

Wikipedia: Театрална работилница „Сфумато“ (BG)

15. City Garden

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The City Garden is Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria's oldest and most central public garden, in existence since 1872. It is located between Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard to the north, Knyaz Alexander Battenberg Street to the west and Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko Street to the south, in the historical centre of the city.

Wikipedia: City Garden (Sofia) (EN)

16. Vasil Levski Monument

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The Monument to Vasil Levski in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is one of the first monuments to be built in the then newly liberated Principality of Bulgaria. It commemorates the hanging of Bulgarian national hero and major revolutionary figure Vasil Levski on the same spot on 18 February 1873.

Wikipedia: Monument to Vasil Levski, Sofia (EN)

17. Russian Monument

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Russian MonumentBoby Dimitrov from Sofia, Bulgaria / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Russian Monument is a monument in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The first monument to be built in the capital of the newly liberated Principality of Bulgaria, it was unveiled on 29 June 1882 and is located on the road which Osman Nuri Paşa used to flee from Sofia to Pernik on 22 December 1877.

Wikipedia: Russian Monument, Sofia (EN)

18. Ivan Vazov National Theatre

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The Ivan Vazov National Theatre is Bulgaria's national theatre, as well as the oldest and most authoritative theatre in the country and one of the important landmarks of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is located in the centre of the city, with the facade facing the City Garden.

Wikipedia: Ivan Vazov National Theatre (EN), Website

19. Central Mineral Baths

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The Central Mineral Baths is a landmark in the city center of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, a city known for the mineral springs in the area. It was built in the early 20th century near the former Turkish bath and was used as the city's public baths until 1986.

Wikipedia: Sofia Central Mineral Baths (EN)

20. Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Joseph

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St. Joseph is a Christian church, one of the largest Roman Catholic churches in Bulgaria. It is located in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, is the seat of the auxiliary bishop of the Sofia-Plovdiv diocese and is a co-cathedral of the Plovdiv church "St. Ludwig".

Wikipedia: Свети Йосиф (катедрала) (BG)

21. Alexander of Battenberg

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Alexander of Battenberg Plamen Agov (user:MrPanyGoff) / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Memorial Tomb of Alexander I of Battenberg, better known as the Battenberg Mausoleum in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is the mausoleum and final resting place of Prince Alexander I of Bulgaria (1857–1893), the first Head of State of modern Bulgaria.

Wikipedia: Battenberg Mausoleum (EN)

22. Sofia Zoo

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Sofia Zoo

Sofia Zoo in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, was founded by royal decree on 1 May 1888, and is the oldest and largest zoological garden in Southeast Europe. It covers 36 hectares and, in March 2006, housed 4,850 animals representing 840 species.

Wikipedia: Sofia Zoo (EN), Website

23. Света Параскева

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Света ПараскеваKlearchos Kapoutsis from Paleo Faliro, Greece / CC BY 2.0

The Church of St Paraskeva is a Bulgarian Orthodox church in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The church, dedicated to Saint Paraskeva, is located on 58 Georgi Rakovski Street in the centre of the city. It is the third-largest church in Sofia.

Wikipedia: Church of St Paraskeva, Sofia (EN)

24. Катедарлен храм “Успение Богородично”

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The Sofia Diocese of St. John XXIII is a Christian diocese in Bulgaria, the only diocese of the Eastern Catholic Church of the Bulgarians united with Rome. The Bishop of Sofia has its seat in Sofia, near the Cathedral of the Assumption.

Wikipedia: Софийска апостолическа екзархия (BG), Website

25. St Nicholas the Miracle-Maker

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St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, known as the Russian Church, is an Orthodox church in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It is among the emblematic buildings of the city.

Wikipedia: Руска църква (София) (BG)

26. Roman Wall

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Roman Wall Vassia Atanassova - Spiritia / CC BY-SA 3.0

"Old Wall" is a very short street, occupied by a small market, in Lozenets district in Sofia, Bulgaria. The street has a length of about 90 m and connects Yavorets Street with Hristo Smirnenski Boulevard.

Wikipedia: Стара стена (BG)

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