Activity Review: Sofia Walking Tour
As we previously mentioned, one of our favorite activities are free walking tours! Not only do we obtain the local’s knowledge of the city, but we also gain our bearings to help us in the future!
In Sofia, there is one great free walking tour called Free Sofia Tour. Everyday, 365 days, they meet by the Palace of Justice at 11am. Usually, in non-COVID times, they run multiple tours including some interesting cultural ones in the afternoon. For today's walk, we had wonderful Stanislaw.
Brief History Lesson
Because I knew absolutely nothing about Sofia, here is my brief history lesson, as taught by Stanislaw. Dating back to 7,000BC, the area of Sofia has been inhabited. Originally settled by the Thracians, Sofia has been the center of action ever since the Roman times. The city became one of the most important cities as it sat in the middle of the Balkan Peninsula. The Romans built amphitheaters, coliseums, aqueducts, and expanded the government in this area. The Romans even debated moving their capital to Sofia for a brief moment!
However, the first Bulgaran Empire put an end to that in the Middle Ages. Ruled by themselves for the first time, they had a brief period of success - until they were defeated again by the Romans. Unlike the country's modern neighbors, Bulgaria is one of the only modern countries to keep its original name!
In the end, similar to most countries, Bulgaria was taken over by the Ottoman Empire. From the 1385-1878, the Ottomans stayed. Thankfully, most of the reign was peaceful and the Ottomans were kind rulers. Finally, in 1878, the Bulgarians overthrew their overlords and became a nation.
Modern Times
Sadly, in WW2, that all came to an end. Because of their neutrality and Italy's failed invasion of Greece, Germany made Bulgaria choose - be conquered or join our side - either way, Germany was going to go through Bulgaria to help Italy. After WW2, Bulgaria conquered by the Soviet and remained in the Iron Curtain until the wall fell.
One redeeming story about WW2 is the country did a decent job saving the Jewish population. With the help of Parliament and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, whilst they weren't able to save all of them, Bulgaria managed to save over 48,000 people from certain death despite being allied with Germany.
St Nedelya Church
Centered in the middle of Sofia lies the Eastern Orthodox church of St Nedelya. One of the oldest churches in Bulgaria, St Nedelya Church has unknown origins although it has been rebuilt many times. In Bulgaria, the church is more famous for the worst terrorist attack until the modern ages.
In 1925, the Communists tried to overthrow the government by simply blowing them up whilst they were in the church. Whoops. No wonder why they didn't want to join the Soviets in WW2!
Coat of Arms
Whilst a minor detail in these modern times, we learned about Sofia's coat of arms. First, the city chose lions although they had never seen lions - hence why they look more like cats! Another corner is taken up by the famous Sophia church as it is where the city earned its name. There is Apollo because Sofia was famous for the minerals. Lastly, there is a green mountain after the nearby Vistosha. Finally, there is a random Roman Empress in the Coat of Arms from the huge Roman excavations so people remember their own history.
Even better - the city's motto is super cool: the Ever Growing and Never Aging.
Things that make Bulgarians Proud
- Cyrillic Alphabet was founded in Bulgaria - take that Russia!
- Bulgarian yogurt is actually the best - not Greek or Turkish yogurt!
- Bulgaria is extremely famous for rose oil as it produces most of the world's rose oil.
- There is a famous footballer, but I couldn't be bothered to remember his name...
Soviet Square
In the center of town lies Soviet Square. With the head of the Communist government in the tall stone gray buildings, the square is an imposing sight. The buildings are just incredibly dull. While one building is now a 5* hotel, it use to be the only store to sell Western goods. Our guide told us that chocolate use to consist of fake cacao and fake sugar. He said his mother use to get real chocolate only once per year... How shocking as I eat chocolate as I type!
Best Kept Secret
Hidden by government buildings and protected by the Bulgarian National Guard, there is an old Roman church from the 3rd century. Allegely, this use to be one of Constantine's palaces and where he supposedly considered moving his capital to Sofia. Yes, he was giving up his namesake Constantinople for life in the Balkans!
Surprisingly, this church and former bath house has survived everything. Our guide said it truly was a miracle, but he believes the church being hidden by huge buildings certainly has helped!
St Sophia Church
As the city is named after this church, we figured we better see it! As the twin sister church to the more famous and illustrious Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, St Sophia is remarkably plain and simple. Built in the 500s, the church focuses on the religion rather than the extravagance we have seen in other Eastern Orthodox churches. While we are certainly impressed that it is still here, we aren't surprised.
However, back in the ancient times, this church was often the first building seen by weary travelers. Thus, the city became known as Sofia! While now we can easily walk here, this church was on the outside walls so the church was the final stopping point for most people.
Alexander Cathedral
Known as one of the grandest Orthodox churches and the grandest Bulgarian Orthodox church, Alexander Cathedral is simply breathtaking. As the second tallest church in the Balkans (behind one in Serbia!), Bulgaria spared no expense after the Ottomans left. The exterior is extremely beautiful with the green, gold, and white. Combined with the domes, we loved this church!
On the inside, the church is even more beautiful as you can sense the history, religion, and the cultural importance. Although it is one of the top tourist highlights, Alexander Cathedral is certainly worth the hype!
The UnChartered Summary
Similar to most walking tours, we greatly enjoyed our tour in Sofia. Not only was the tour incredibly informative about the history and culture, the tour took us to all the important sights in the city!
- We felt incredibly COVID safe on the tour so you can truly attend the tour in any type of situation!
- Because of the history, we started to really love this city!