A four day trip to Bulgaria: Second Stop Sofia

After a 2 hour drive from Rilla Monastery, passing through some villages and a big highway, we arrived to Sofia.
Entering into town you can see old residential blocks, some new shopping centers and small shops, to be honest I was a bit disappointed, because it looked nothing like from what I saw, when I google it. Then our guide came and she took us to all the attractions of Sofia by foot. I was blown away. Amazing buildings with beautiful architecture, big parks and everywere you looked so clean. First stop was at the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The gold-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in the early 20th century in memory of the 200,000 Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian and Bulgarian soldiers, who died in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878. It is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world. The cathedral’s gold-plated dome is 45 m high, with the bell tower reaching 50.52 m.

Here are some pictures:

Our next stop was at Church of St. Sophia. The early Byzantine Church of St Sophia was built in the 6th century on the place of an ancient Roman theatre and several earlier churches. During the Second Bulgarian Empire the structure served as the cathedral of the city but was later converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Empire.

Here are some pictures:

Here you can see The Monument to the Unknown Warrior which is located next to the 6th-century Church of St Sophia, on Alexander Nevsky Sqr. The monument commemorates the hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian soldiers who died in wars defending their homeland Bulgaria. Ceremonies involving the President of Bulgaria and foreign state leaders are often performed here.
The monument was designed and opened on September 22, 1981 for the 1300th anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian state.
The Monument to the Unknown Warrior features an eternal flame, turf from Stara Zagora and Shipka Pass, sites of two of the most important battles of the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation, a sculpture of a lion which is the national symbol of Bulgaria, and a stone inscription of by the national writer Ivan Vazov.

Passing through some parks we saw a few historic statues then we arrived to our next stop, which was the St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker.

Monument of Bulgarian volunteers

The monument of the Bulgarian volunteer units who fought with the Russian Army against Ottoman Turkey in the Bulgarian Liberation War of 1877-78 is located behind the Military Club. It is a seven-meter high bronze monument – a copy of the famous painting of Jaroslav Veshin "The Samara Flag" (1911).

Walking down "Tsar Osvoboditel" street you will see the beautiful gold domes of the so-called the prettiest church in Sofia. Its high dome, surrounded by four smaller domes, all made of gold harmonize perfectly with the roof of the church which is covered with green majolica tiles.
This is the church of St Nicholas the Miracle-Maker also known as the Russian church in Sofia. This extraordinary white and green building was designed by Russian architect Preobrajenski and built by Russian workers, some of them worked on the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, from 1912 until 1914.

Here are some pictures:

Then we headed to the National Ethnographic Museum, which is housed in the premises of the former Royal Palace, a remarkable building in the center of Sofia from the end of the 19th century – a monument of culture. The purpose of the National Ethnographic Museum is to collect, preserve and expose everything connected to the Bulgarian ethno cultural wealth. The Museum possesses more then 50000 collection items.

Here are some pictures on our way to the National Ethnographic Museum:

The Bulgarian National Bank is one of the oldest national institutions established right after the restoration of the Bulgarian state, on January 25, 1879 and on 6 of June of the same year the first banking operation was conducted.

National Ethnographic Museum

Our last stop was at the The Presidency building and "St. George" Rotunda.
The President practically governs the country during the period between a dissolution of the National Assembly and the conduct of early parliamentary elections. In this caseth e President appoints a caretaker cabinet, which is accountable to him or her.
The president office is in the Presidency building located at 2 Dondukov Blvd.

Here are some pictures on our way to the The Presidency building:

The Presidency building

Hidden away in a courtyard of the Presidency and the dainty Sheraton Hotel, amid remains of the ancient town of Serdica, rises the famous Roman Rotunda, a red-brick building transformed into the present day St. George Church. The Roman Rotunda the church "St. George" is the oldest preserved structure which still serves its original purpose in the Sofia city.
It was built in the 4th century by the Romans according to a fairly complex plan: a vast, circular central chamber, surmounted by a dome and surrounded by four semi-circular apses.

"St. George" Rotunda

After our great tour in Sofia, we had free time to do whatever we wanted before we headed back to Bansko. It was really cold and it started snowing. It was really magical. So we went to a German Christmas Market at Stefan Stambolov Square.

Here are some pictures: