Three Essential Landmarks in Sofia

Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria and one of the oldest cities in Europe, is located near mountain Vitosha, at approximately 380 km from Bucharest, our home city. Last year we made a visit, learned a few interesting things about our neighbour country’s capital and took a bunch of photos – make sure you come back next week, for our photo gallery.

Saint Sofia Statue

The statue you see above represents Saint Sofia, the goddess protector of the city. It was built in the year 2001 and placed on the same spot where the statue of soviet communist leader V.I. Lenin stood for decades. 
The Statue is located in the commercial heart of the city, near some of the busiest crossroads in Sofia.

Sveta Petka Samardjiyska Chapel

The Chapel of Sveta Petka Samardjiyska, located also in the centre of Sofia, is a small medieval orthodox church built around the 14th century and dedicated to Saint Petka, the patron of the saddlers, who lived in Bulgaria during the 11th century.
This 600-year-old church made from bricks and stones is well preserved, even though it sits right in the middle of busy streets and modern buildings of Sofia’s centre.

Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church

Sveti Sedmochislenitsi (Seven Saints) is an Orthodox church, converted at the beginning of the 20th century from a 400-years-old Ottoman mosque. The church is dedicated to Cyril, Methodius (two ancient Byzantine Greek missionaries) and their five disciples: the Seven Saints (Sveti Sedmochislenitsi).

Don’t forget to come back for part two of this article where we talk about another famous Bulgarian symbol: the Rila Monastery.
Meanwhile, we’d love to hear about other places you’ve visited in Sofia or its surroundings.