Play

Sofia

Capital of BulgariaSofia lies in the Sofia Valley at the foot of Vitosha mountain, in the western part of Bulgaria. The valley sits at an average height of about 550 m.

Why it's the capital

Russian forces freed Sofia from Ottoman rule on 4 January 1878. Marin Drinov then proposed it as the capital of the new Bulgarian state, and it was accepted as the capital on 3 April 1879.

Fun facts

  1. The city is named after the old Saint Sofia Church, and in ancient times it was called Serdica, after a Celtic tribe called the Serdi.
  2. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built mostly between 1904 and 1912, honours the Russian soldiers who died in the war of 1877–1878 that freed Bulgaria.
  3. Sofia's motto is "Ever growing, never ageing".

Finding it on the globe

Aim for the west of Bulgaria, toward the borders with Serbia and North Macedonia and far from the Black Sea. Skopje is about 170 km to the south-west.

Sources: Wikipedia: Sofia, Wikipedia: Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, Wikipedia: Bulgaria