Time Travel through Sofia’s Architecture

I only spent about 48 hours in Sofia, but I quickly found out it was a multi-layered city. I already talked about how Sofia subverted my initial impressions and impressed me with a whimsical side and deliciously cheesy pizza.

But another thing that got me about Sofia was how it’s peppered with buildings from so many different architectural eras. It almost feels like time-traveling!

Roman Era

Sofia’s architecture goes back. Way way back. They have Roman ruins in their metro.

Another Roman structure is the St. George Rotunda, one of my favorite buildings in Sofia. It’s a church from the 4^th century and it’s found in an unusual place – in a courtyard behind the Sheraton Hotel. One of the reasons I loved this building is that it’s so tiny! It’s still used for religious ceremonies, one of which was going on when we stepped inside.

The second oldest church is the Saint Sofia Church, built in the 6^th century. This church is the namesake of the city and a popular venue for weddings.

Medieval Times

Boyana Church, located a little bit outside the city, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. At first spending a couple hours trekking out of the city to see a small church didn’t seem like the best use of time, but that tiny church packs a huge cultural punch.

The frescos inside, from SIX different centuries, are so delicate that small groups are allowed inside for only ten minutes at a time.

Early 20^th Century

Things jump ahead a bit to the 20^th century. Sofia’s architecture borrows from the Viennese style, including these public mineral baths.

The Ivan Vazov National Theatre is a Neoclassical building with a gorgeous red exterior.

Across the theatre is the City Garden. My aunt says that you can gauge a city by how well they take care of their parks and Sofia’s City Garden is meticulously maintained.

The area around the theatre is paved with these pretty yellow Viennese stones. Click your heels and pretend you’re Dorothy!

One of the gems of Sofia’s architecture is the delicate and still impressive St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Turquoise and gilded in gold, the church looks like a building constructed from visions of a fairytale. I was equally dumbfounded when we walked inside and I saw the walls covered in Orthodox icons. Totally different than anything else I’d seen in Europe so far.

Communist Era

And of course there’s the communist buildings. While the National Palace of Culture failed to impress me (I don’t know, maybe we should have tried to get inside), the buildings of the Largo are elegant and dignified buildings that still house parts of the government – and a shopping mall.

If you have time to strike out from the city, you can visit the National History Museum. This, to me, is like the epitome of communist grandeur, an impressive building with a long walk-up, set against the hills. If you like archeology, this place has some fantastic relics!

Perhaps the most striking vestige of Communism that I saw was the communist monument in the park around the National Palace of Culture. Many communist memorials have been left to decay and vandalism, and this one awaits an uncertain fate due to difficulties in renovating and/or tearing it down.

I hope you get a chance to explore all the different eras Sofia has to offer!

Have you been to Sofia or another city that boasts such an array of architecture?