SofiaThe city of '''Sofia''' (Bulgarian: София), at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, has a population of 1,208,930 (2003), and is biggest city and the capital of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is located in the Western part of Bulgaria at the foot of the mountain massif Vitosha and it is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country.  {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" align="right" style="margin-left:1em; background:#e3e3e3;" ! Coat of Arms ! Map |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | align="center" | Image:Sofia_gerb.png|70px Sofia's coat of arms | align="center" | Image:Oblast Sofia grad.png|thumb|120px| |- ! colspan="2" | Data |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Municipality(Oblast): || Sofia-City (София-град) |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Area: || 1,310 Square kilometre|km² |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Altitude: || 550 m |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Population: || 1,192,603 census December 15,2004 |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Population density: || 907 persons/km² |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Average age of population: || 38.3 years |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Postal code: || 1000 |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Area code|Dialing code: || 02 |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Municipal Code: || C |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | motto|motto of the city: || "''It grows but does not age''" |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | latitude: || 42° 42' N |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | longitude: || 23° 20' E |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | mayor (кмет): || (SSD) Stefan Sofiyanski |} Image:Sofia, Bulgaria.JPG|Thumb|left|350px|Satelite picture of Sofia __toc__ ==History== On a site inhabited as early as the 8th century B.C., Sofia is the second oldest capital 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. Sofia was originally a Thracians|Thracian settlement named ''Serdica'', named after the Thracian tribe of Serdi. It was captured by Rome in AD 29. When Diocletian divided the province of Dacia into Dacia Ripensis on the shores of the Danube and Dacia Mediterranea, Serdica became the capital of ''Dacia Mediterranea''. It was destroyed by the Huns in 447. The city was rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and renamed ''Triaditsa''. Known as ''Sredets'' under the Bulgars, it was renamed ''Sofia'' (meaning "wisdom" in Greek language|Greek) in 1376. Sofia was taken by the Ottoman Empire|Ottomans in 1382 and became the capital of the Turkey|Turkish province of Rumelia. Sofia was taken by the Russia|Russians in 1878, and became the capital of an independent Bulgaria in 1879. During World War II the Russia|Russians captured Sofia and Bulgaria from the pro-Germany|German government. There are 16 university|universities in the city, among them [http://www.uni-sofia.bg Sofia University], founded in 1889. It is the see of an Eastern Orthodox metropolitan and of a Roman Catholic diocese. Landmarks include the Church of St. George, the Church of Saint Sofia, the Banya Bashi, and the Alexander Nevski Cathedral. Image:Gerbbg.png|thumb|none|400px|Coats of arms Image:sofia02.jpg|thumb|right|National Theatre, Sofia Image:SofiaCathedral.jpg|thumb|right|Alexander Nevski Cathedral Image:SofiaCathedral2.jpg|thumb|right|Front View ==Economy== image:Sofia06.jpg|thumb|left|World Trade Center, Sofia Sofia is a major centre in Bulgaria's economic life. The manufacturing sector of the economy, represented by over 800 large manufacturing plants, includes metal products (75% of the total output in the country), textiles, rubber and leather goods, printing (50% of output) and electronics (15% of output). Sofia is also the country's financial hub, home to the Bulgarian National Bank, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, as well as some of the country's largest commercial banks (such Bulbank, [http://www.dskbank.bg/en/en_index.htm DSK Bank] and the [http://www.ubb.bg/index-en.htm United Bulgarian Bank]). Construction, trade and transport are other important sectors to the local economy. Increasingly Sofia is getting attention as an outsourcing location for Western European and Amrerican multinationals. ==Transport== With its well-developed infrastructure and strategic location, Sofia is an important centre for international railway and automobile routes. All major types of transport (except water transport) are represented in the city, which is home to 8 railway stations, the Centre for Flight Control and the Sofia Airport (hub for flag-carrier Bulgaria Air). Three Trans-European Transport Corridors cross the city: 4, 8 and 10. Public transit is well-developed, reliable and important to the city's economy; it is provided by means of underground trains (the Sofia Metro), buses, trams and electric buses. There are over 15,000 licensed taxi cabs operating in the city. ==Backpacking information== A "Guia del Ocio"-type of guide is available at [http://www.programata.bg/index.php?page=&ln=2&city=1 Programata.bg]. An electronic map is available at [http://www.bgmaps.com/home.asp?lang=en BGMaps.com] Three hostels are [http://www.art-hostel.com/ Art Hostel], [http://www.hostelmostel.com/ Hostel Mostel] and [http://www.kervanhostel.com/ Kervan Hostel] ==Night life== A vibrant city with rich and colorful night life, Sofia is known for a great number of modern discoteques, live music clubs, cozy restaurants, chic cafes and hype bars. Notable Sofia music clubs are O'Shipka (rock, metal, hard-core) and Tri-Ushi (punk, ska, reggae) and the most vibrant bars include Barabar and Kufera both of which represent a broad cross section of Sofia's most interesting night-life. Many Erasmus students, EU volunteers can be found at "The A-Partment" sort-of-private club. The place to eat between clubs is Mimas - a doner kebab located at the intersection of Levski, Graf Ignatiev and Patriarch Evtimii streets. During the summer, the place to go is Lodkite - an open-air bar in the city park. There is also a weekly drum circle in an abandoned summer stage in the same park, similar to Barcelona's Parque de la Ciutadella and Madrid's Retiro. Image:Sofia-skyline-360-wikipedia-edit.jpg|thumb|right|600px|Sofia 360 view of the "Old City" center ==Key figures== '''Housing''' * ''Number of units'' - 475,900 * ''Utilised area'' - 30 km² * ''Living area per person'' - 15.1 m² * ''Centrally-heated housing units'' - 437,000 * ''Length of the water supply network'' - 2,657 km * ''Length of the drainage network'' - 822 km * ''Length of the electricity network'' - 7,823 km * ''Telephone land lines'' - 408,000 '''Street network''' * ''Length'' - 2,670 km * ''Area'' 28.126 km² * '' vehicles'' - 750,000 '''Green zones''' * ''Total number'' - 2,810 * ''Area'' ? 54.41 km² * ''Green zones per person'' - 48.7 m² ==Institutions of higher education== *[http://www.bas.bg/ Bulgarian Academy of Sciences] *[http://www.uni-sofia.bg/ Sofia University St. Clement of Ohrid (Kliment Ohridski)] *[http://www.unwe.acad.bg/ University for National and World Economics] *[http://www.uacg.acad.bg/ University of Architecture, Construction and Geodesy] *[http://www.tu-sofia.bg/ Sofia Technical University] *[http://www.uctm.edu/ University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy] *[http://www.mgu.bg/ St. John of Rila (Ivan Rilski) University of Mining and Technology] *[http://www.betibg.org/ Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute] *[http://www.ltu.bg/ University of Forestry] *[http://www.medun.acad.bg/ Sofia Medical University] *[http://www.nsa.bg/ Vassil Levski National Sports Academy] *[http://natfiz.bitex.com/ Krastio Sarafov National Academy for the Theatre and Film Arts] *[http://www.art.acad.bg/art/index-b.html National Academy for the Fine Arts] *[http://www.art.acad.bg/music/index-b.html Prof. Pancho Vladigerov State Academy of Music] *[http://www.nbu.bg/ New Bulgarian University] *[http://www.vsu.bg/ Luben Karavelov Higher School for Civil Engineering] *[http://www.vtu.bg/ Todor Kableshkov Higher School for Transportation] *[http://www.vipond.mvr.bg/ Police Academy] *[http://rakovski-defcol.mod.bg/ G.S. Rakovsky Military Academy] ==External links== * [http://www.sofia.bg/en/index_en.asp Official webpage] * [http://www.sofiacouncil.bg/ Sofia City Council] * [http://www.sofia.com Sofia.com] * [http://www.pbase.com/ngruev/sofia Pictures from Sofia] * [http://www.pbase.com/ngruev/sofia2 More pictures from Sofia] * [http://www.programata.bg Cultural Guide] * [http://www.easybulgarian.com/tourism/sofia.html Brief Information on Sofia] ''See also'': List of cities in Bulgaria Category:Capitals in Europe Category:Cities in Bulgaria Category:Provinces of Bulgaria Category:Historical capitals of Bulgaria|Sofia Category:Sofia bg:София de:Sofia es:Sofía eo:Sofio fr:Sofia he:סופיה id:Sofia io:Sofiya it:Sofia nl:Sofia (Bulgarije) no:Sofia mk:Софија ja:ソフィア (都市) pl:Sofia pt:Sófia ro:Sofia ru:София sr:Софија fi:Sofia sv:Sofia, Bulgarien tt:Sofia Source: unknown First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

This article on Sofia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sofia".

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