{"id":196,"date":"2007-11-21T22:30:32","date_gmt":"2007-11-21T12:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/wordpress\/?p=196"},"modified":"2007-11-21T22:30:32","modified_gmt":"2007-11-21T12:30:32","slug":"sightseeing-in-sofia-bulgaria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/wordpress\/bulgaria\/things-to-see-in-sofia\/sightseeing-in-sofia-bulgaria","title":{"rendered":"Sightseeing in Sofia, Bulgaria"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"float: right\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\r\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-1009507070974015\";\r\ngoogle_alternate_ad_url = \"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/google_adsense_script.html\";\r\ngoogle_ad_width = 300;\r\ngoogle_ad_height = 250;\r\ngoogle_ad_format = \"300x250_as\";\r\ngoogle_ad_type = \"text_image\";\r\n\/\/2007-06-30: TSBlog 300x250\r\ngoogle_ad_channel = \"2928184950\";\r\ngoogle_color_border = \"FFFFFF\";\r\ngoogle_color_bg = \"FFFFFF\";\r\ngoogle_color_link = \"FF6600\";\r\ngoogle_color_text = \"000000\";\r\ngoogle_color_url = \"339933\";\r\n\/\/-->\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\r\n  src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\r\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Sofia became capital of newly liberated Bulgaria\u00a0on April 4,\u00a01878 and is the second oldest capital city in Europe, next to Athens.\u00a0\u00a0There is a lot to see and do in this compact city and we started our orientation, following the yellow brick road.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" vspace=\"3\" align=\"right\" width=\"85\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/d\/37307-2\/AJP_2938.jpg?resize=85%2C110\" hspace=\"3\" alt=\"Statue of Sofia\" height=\"110\" style=\"width: 85px; height: 110px\" title=\"Statue of Sofia\" \/>In the city centre is the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/v\/Bulgaria\/Sofia\/AJP_2938.jpg.html\" title=\"Statue of Sofia, Bulgaria\">Statue of Sofia <\/a>holding the symbol of wisdom and fame in her hands.\u00a0 A laurel wreath is interwoven into her hair and she also\u00a0wears the crown of Tjuhe &#8211; the Goddess of Fate.\u00a0 The statue stands on a sixteen-meter high pylon riveted with stone and on which scenes of the city&#8217;s thousand-year old history are represented.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" vspace=\"3\" align=\"left\" width=\"110\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/d\/28008-2\/DSC_2704.jpg?resize=110%2C85\" hspace=\"3\" alt=\"The Party House, Sofia\" height=\"85\" style=\"width: 110px; height: 85px\" title=\"The Party House, Sofia\" \/>The National Assembly, National Theatre and other significant buildings are all linked by the yellow brick road.\u00a0 Also nearby is The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/v\/Bulgaria\/Sofia\/Sofia2005\/DSC_2704.jpg.html\" title=\"The Party House - Sofia\">Party House <\/a>which sits on the\u00a0intersection of two of the city&#8217;s main boulevards with the central square.\u00a0\u00a0You can&#8217;t miss this building as the row of colorful flags is really eye-catching and\u00a0can be seen from a long distance.\u00a0\u00a0Up till\u00a0August 1990 this was the seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" vspace=\"3\" align=\"right\" width=\"110\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/d\/28012-2\/IMG_7890.jpg?resize=110%2C85\" hspace=\"3\" alt=\"Shopping Centre, Sofia\" height=\"85\" style=\"width: 110px; height: 85px\" title=\"Shopping Centre, Sofia\" \/>Today, the building is home to St. Sofia Hall and is used to host concerts and other events.<\/p>\n<p>If you fancy a bit of shopping in Sofia, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/v\/Bulgaria\/Sofia\/Sofia2005\/IMG_7890.jpg.html\" title=\"TSUM Department Store - Sofia\">TSUM <\/a>is the biggest department store in the Balkans, it carries everything from religious icons and locally produced spirits to clothing and electronics.\u00a0The TSUM\u00a0can be found <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" vspace=\"3\" align=\"left\" width=\"85\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/d\/28138-2\/DSC_2743.jpg?resize=85%2C110\" hspace=\"3\" alt=\"St. Nikolai Russian Church\" height=\"110\" style=\"width: 85px; height: 110px\" title=\"St. Nikolai Russian Church\" \/>just\u00a0behind the flags.\u00a0 We walked in and had a brief look and then it was out again.\u00a0 From the central city district, we walked south along Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard and at the intersection with\u00a0Benkovski Street we came across the very exquisite and ornate <a href=\"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/v\/Bulgaria\/Sofia\/AJP_2869.jpg.html\" title=\"St. Nikolai Russian Church, Sofia\">St. Nikolai Russian Church<\/a>.\u00a0 The roof of the church and area above the doorway\u00a0are covered with green majolica tiles.\u00a0 These match\u00a0perfectly with the gold-plated domes which glow in the light. The frescoes were painted in the style of the Novgorod icon school.\u00a0 This church is so beautiful to look at.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" vspace=\"3\" align=\"right\" width=\"110\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/d\/28154-2\/IMG_7949.jpg?resize=110%2C85\" hspace=\"3\" alt=\"St. Sofia Church\" height=\"85\" style=\"width: 110px; height: 85px\" title=\"St. Sofia Church\" \/>A left and right turn then takes us to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/v\/Bulgaria\/Sofia\/Sofia2005\/IMG_7949.jpg.html\" title=\"St. Sofia Church, Sofia, Bulgaria\">St. Sofia Church<\/a>, the oldest Eastern Orthodox Christian church in Sofia.\u00a0 St. Sofia was built during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian between 527-565 A.D., however there are many legends surrounding its history.\u00a0\u00a0In the 14th century the church gave its name to the city.\u00a0 Minarets were added to the church during the Turkish rule so that it could\u00a0function as a mosque.\u00a0 Two earthquakes in the 19th century destroyed one of the minarets and the mosque was then abandoned. Restoration work started after 1900.\u00a0 Two large marble lions guard the walkway to the church.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" vspace=\"3\" align=\"left\" width=\"110\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/d\/37139-2\/AJP_2879.jpg?resize=110%2C85\" hspace=\"3\" alt=\"Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia\" height=\"85\" style=\"width: 110px; height: 85px\" title=\"Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia\" \/>From St. Sofia Church it was an easy stroll to\u00a0the massive and awe-inspiring St. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/v\/Bulgaria\/Sofia\/AJP_2879.jpg.html\" title=\"St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral\">Alexander Nevsky Cathedral<\/a>.\u00a0 The cathedral was built to commemorate\u00a0the Russian Tsar Alexander II, whose army liberated Bulgaria from the Turkish rule.\u00a0\u00a0200,000 Russian soldiers died in this war.\u00a0 It was also\u00a0named after St. Alexander Nevsky, the patron saint of the Tsar and his family.<\/p>\n<p>Helen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sofia became capital of newly liberated Bulgaria\u00a0on April 4,\u00a01878 and is the second oldest capital city in Europe, next to Athens.\u00a0\u00a0There is a lot to see and do in this compact city and we started our orientation, following the yellow brick road.\u00a0 In the city centre is the Statue of Sofia holding the symbol of [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-things-to-see-in-sofia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - 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