Visit (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=191086) the March 2005 Sofia tour by braykov1988
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well I couldn't find the thread of Sofia, so I just copied/paste its clone from the Euroskyline section, keep in mind it's almost a year old:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=92134
http://www.sofia.bg/big/alnevski.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/alnevskin.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/armia.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/boiana.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/bulbankst.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/dvor.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/galeri.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/galeri.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/hilton.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/nart.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/nar_sabr.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/ndk.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/pamlevski.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/ruska.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/sgeorgi.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/sgrada.jpg
http://www.sofia.com/accommodation/rodina.jpg
http://www.sofia.com/accommodation/Night.jpg
http://www.sofia.com/accommodation/international.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/sparaskewa.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/spetka.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/su.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/mostndk.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/djami.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/obizgled.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/dukov.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/mason.jpg
And now the Synagogue, which I think is among the largest in Europe, it dates back to the beggining of the 20th century:
http://www.sofia.bg/big/sinag.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/radis.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/ok.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/prima.jpg
http://www.sofia.bg/big/bb.jpg
\
/
What did it look like in Sovietic times? here you go:
http://www.sofia.com/sofiaimages/12.jpg
parliament:
http://www.sofia.com/sofiaimages/47.jpg
University:
http://www.sofia.com/sofiaimages/48.jpg
http://www.sofia.com/sofiaimages/07.jpg
http://www.sofia.com/sofiaimages/22.jpg
http://www.sofia.com/sofiaimages/49.jpg
http://www.sofia.com/sofiaimages/50.jpg
http://www.sofia.com/sofiaimages/51.jpg
\
/
Here's a link to a webcam:
http://www.sofia.bg/webcam.asp
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next post
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Sofia Today - in figures

* Territory - 1310 sq km
* Height above the sea level - 550 m
* Population - 1,220,000
* Population density - 907 people per sq km
* Average age of population 38.3 years

Housing

* Number of units - 475,900
* Utilised area - 30 sq km
* Living area per person - 15.1 sq m
* Centrally-heated housing units - 437,000
* Length of the water supply net - 2657 km
* Length of the drainage net - 822 km
* Length of electricity net - 7823 km
* Telephone lines - 408,000

Street net

* Lenght - 2670 km
* Area 28.126 sq km

Green zones

* Number - 2810
* Area in hectares - 5,441
* Green zones per person - 48.7 sq km
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next post
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Sofia through the Centuries

Founded seven thousand years ago, Sofia is the second oldest city in Europe. It has been given several names in the course of history and the remnants of the old cities can still be seen today.


Serdika was the name of the central dwelling of the ancient Thracian tribe known as “Serdi”. It bore that name when it became part of the Bulgarian state at the beginning of the ninth century and was soon recognised as one of the most important feudal towns, acquiring the Slavic name Sredets.

Near Sofia lies Boyana church, which is one of the most valuable memorials of Bulgarian and European culture. The church boasts frescoes, acclaimed by specialists as “the best examples of eastern mediaeval art during its twelve century history”.

The decline of Sofia during the Ottoman Empire was followed by the rejuvenation after the liberation in 1879, when Sofia was chosen as the capital of Bulgaria at the First National Constituent Assembly. The plans of 1881-1882 were followed by a brisk and straight-forward period of construction.

In 1900 the City Council approved the emblem of Sofia and the motto “It Grows but Does not Age”.

During the years of the totalitarian regime (9 September 1944 - 10 November 1989) Sofia became the major national economic, academic and cultural centre. From its years of socialist growth, however, the capital inherited a great deal of problems, which are at present the priorities of the democratically - elected council of Sofia.

In 1992, in honour of the celebration of St. Sofia the Martyr, the Government chose September 17th as the Day of Sofia. The flag of Sofia Municipality was also consecrated on that day.
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next post by Prometheus
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SOFIA

http://www.pbase.com/image/28139412.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/28045039.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/28045042.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/28045047.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/28452792.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/28045031.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/28045038.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/27909018.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/28139415.jpg
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EDIT: well I'll delete the new pics I found and let Mila post them

Great pictures! :yes:

..

nice! braykov showed some nicer parts but I guess this is what tourists get to see.
did you make those photos?

aren't these the same photos as in the thread I opened the other day? :?

I hope not. :) Because it took me 45 minutes to do all this. :D

And I just checked, they are. :( Fuck.

I didn't even notice there was a Sofia thread.

Oh well. :D At least this one looks pretty. :)

well I'll combine them all, because I dislike seeing multiple threads on the same city, and since I'll be making the Your Cities list right now, I'll look for the old Sofia thread.
But I like your thumbnails version better, I'll keep this post instead

Okay. :D So it wasn't for nothing. :) LOL

nice, some are familliar.
just a few corrections, the first series in 3tmk's post is full of disgracefully old soc pictures (no one is to blame, except the idiot who's responsible for updating the official sofia webpage!). like the map from the early 70's (I have the same one at home) or this picture
http://www.sofia.bg/big/nar_sabr.jpg early 80's
http://www.sofia.com/sofiaimages/48.jpg- lol
this one is obsolete, the square now has a more retro appeal:
http://www.sofia.bg/big/djami.jpg->
http://www.pbase.com/image/28045042.jpg
Mila's pictures are great and more up to date, however the first "panorama" is really a shame...

I promise to make another tour with my cam and shoot some nice pictures, sofia is not exactly photogenic but I'll do my best ;)

3tmk, is there a way to incorporate my march thread somewhere in here without making this thread overloaded with pictures? a link would do, but I can't finded with the search optio disabled

here it is:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=191086
I'll add it to the first post and add your comment too, because you're right, people will think Bulgaria is still a commie state with no western cars :D

^ Western cars are for pussies. ;)

Live dangerously, drive a Yugo!

^^^that's the spirit! how much ladas can you count here http://www.sofia.com/sofiaimages/48.jpg? zhiguli, the true muscle car! one full turn and you get muscle fatigue for the rest of the day...

btw I like the soc pics,give a picture of what life was like among those fading colour buildings and scarce soviet cars

http://img259.echo.cx/img259/9436/14rq.th.jpg (http://img259.echo.cx/my.php?image=14rq.jpg)http://img259.echo.cx/img259/6462/19ah.th.jpg (http://img259.echo.cx/my.php?image=19ah.jpg)http://img259.echo.cx/img259/3752/17vk.th.jpg (http://img259.echo.cx/my.php?image=17vk.jpg)http://img259.echo.cx/img259/4784/14wk.th.jpg (http://img259.echo.cx/my.php?image=14wk.jpg)

great photos, thanks Mila!
btw braykov do you know what the statue is about on the 4th pic?
ah and one last thing, my plan backfired, I merged them together as to not get too messy and have one decent Sofia thread, but instead it's so empty that there are only pictures and we cannot get to page 2! lemme think a little for a solution

^ The fourth pic is taken at Sofia City Hall, if that helps you at all. :)

thanks, I didn't think you would know ;)
I wonder what does the statue commemorate, I can't figure out what's written on the pedestal.
but this makes me think about a Sofia monument thread. or Bulgaria, or EE monument thread!

Hahaha... :) "First Sofia...then the WORLD! Muahahahahaha!" :D

I had seen Sofia before so i pretty much have an idea , beautiful city without a doubt.
My dad has been to Sofia many years ago , he also went to Varna which he liked a lot , he spoke highly of Varna.

he also went to Varna which he liked a lot , he spoke highly of Varna.
now that's just sucking up to me :D
but I have to say that braykov's photothread helped a lot, because I myself am not well acquainted with the city, I've been there mostly for the airport, and know few people from there, and most of the time I just stayed overnight, I haven't really visited the city as a tourist the way I did in Veliko Tarnovo per example. of course Tarnovo has to be seen by anyone that visits Bulgaria.
and Varna is the Pearl of the Black Sea, our sea capital. and Varnentsi are pretty arrogant, maybe even more than Sofians :D
actually for Sofia, I've always wondered what is exactly considered the "CBD" of the city? I know it isn't as well demarcated as in american or australian cities where it's been pretty much planned, but with the advent of capitalism, in what part of the city did businesses set up their offices?

every possible occupiable place. at least untill a few years ago, before construction boom started, many offices were in old apartment buildings! but now there's enough office space, brokers even say the market might get oversaturated with all the new business centre projects under way.
the most impressive is the Sofia City, it plans to concentrate several "skyscrapers" of 25-30 storeys (one of them a twin pair) in an area around the recently opened subway route (against the party house). there are currently many small and poorly constructed houses from the 20s there (macedonian refugees lived there. should I say FYROMians), so there's space. but urban planners fear the parking problem might worsten with so many tall buildings in the very centre.

anyway, the thread is not a great hit because there aren't many bulgarians around...but we have to keep it alive with fresh pics :)

Mila, you absolutely have pictures of every city! never stop surprising me

I've never even noticed this statue! but I know the birds sculpture on top of that house, I like it a lot.

that is great news, I remember seeing a post about it here once.
and if it's near the Party House then that should be good for a possible 'density' if they are put close enough.
well here's another of the Theater
http://www.bulgariatravel.org/images/gphoto_288.jpg

yeah, it will look good IMO. especially if they build the twin towers. Sofia will have a sort of a western gate :banana:
I'm planning to take some street level pictures of areas in Sofia I missed on my last tour. Coming soon...

^^^
Genex is western gate of Belgrade so Sofia should built something as beautiful :D

some pics I found on snimka.bg:
http://www.snimka.bg/album.php?album_id=2319
all made by the member named Bobsan, whoever he is.
On his gallery you'll find bigger pics.
http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/7892/0000351212wc.jpg
http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/7494/0001214711hb.jpg
http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/4549/0001214746ex.jpg

Nice...but Sofia is so Old, there are moderns buildings??...all the pictures that i have seen show buildings beautifuls but olds.

check the other thread on sofia that mila made
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=225417

...there are currently many small and poorly constructed houses from the 20s there (macedonian refugees lived there. should I say FYROMians), so there's space.

WTF?!!? Refugees from what?

shame I still haven't been to Sofia, it's such a nice city and it's so nearby(after Solun it's the closest to SK). It's probably cause I prefer traveling with a car, and here we still have a fobia of car theft in Bulgaria. 3tmk how are things in BG now with this problem. Am I worried for no reason?