House-museum of Vassil Levski

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8, Vele Mitrov Str.

(location: Benkovski district, minibus 11 from Lion’s bridge, metro- exit Knyaginya Maria Luiza)

In 1871 in the village of Birimirtsi / today in Benkovski neighbourhood / the Bulgarian Apostle of Liberty Vasil Levski founded a secret revolutionary committee. Together with his friend Father Gennady Ihtimanski – abbot of the Dragalevski monastery collected patriotic peasants from Birimirtsi and Obradovtsi in the house of Velle Mitrov and thus laid the foundations of a secret conspiracy.

Every year on 19 February, when the anniversary of the death of the Apostle is acknowledged, the library organized a commemorative ceremony for a grateful tribute of the generation of Benkovski to the life and work of Levski and the founders of the revolutionary committee.

In 1978 Velle Mitrov’s house was pronounced a monument of culture. It hosts a museum exhibition that brings the spirit of the XVIII and XIX century.

The Saint Sofia Church

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The Saint Sofia Church(Bulgarian: църква „Света София“, tsarkva „Sveta Sofia“) is the second oldest church in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, dating to the 6th century. In the 14th century, the church gave its name to the city, previously known as Serdica.

The church was built on the site of several earlier churches and places of worship dating back to the days when it was the necropolis of the Roman town of Serdica. In the 2nd century, it was the location of a Roman theatre. Over the next few centuries, several other churches were constructed, only to be destroyed by invading forces such as the Goths and the Huns. The basic cross design of the present basilica, with its two east towers and one tower-cupola, is believed to be the fifth structure to be constructed on the site and was built during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in the middle of the 6th century (527-565).

In the 14th century, the church gave its name to the city. In the 16th century, during Ottoman rule, the church was converted into a mosque: the original 12th-century frescoes were destroyed and minarets were added. In the 19th century two earthquakes destroyed one of the minarets and the mosque was abandoned. Restoration work was begun after 1930. In 1955 the temple was pronounced a cultural monument. Some of the church rituals related to choosing a new patriarch are associated to his church.

The Saint Sofia Church is now one of the most valuable pieces of Early Christian architecture in Southeastern Europe. The present building is a cross basilica with three altars. The floor of the church is covered with complex Early Christian ornamental or flora and fauna-themed mosaics. The Saint Sofia Church stands in the middle of an ancient necropolis and many tombs have been unearthed both under and near the church. Some of the tombs even feature frescoes. During the building of commemorative monument next to the church were made new archaeological findings. The grave if the famous writer Ivan Vazov is behind the church.

Vasil Levski monument

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It is one of the first monuments to be built in the then newly-liberated Principality of Bulgaria. It commemorates the hanging of Bulgarian national hero and major revolutionary figure Vasil Levski on the same spot on 18 February 1873. The monument is 13 m high, made of grey Balkan granite and designed by Czech architect Antonín Kolář. The bronze bas-relief of the head of Levski, part of the monument, was created by Josef Strachovský, whereas Italian Abramo Peruchelli did the stonecutting work. It was inaugurated on 22 October 1895.

Eagles’ bridge

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Eagles’ Bridge (Bulgarian: Орлов мост, Orlov most [1]) is a bridge over the Perlovska River in downtown Sofia. The bridge and junction were it is located, sometimes referred to as Ploshtad Orlov Most (Orlov Most Square) are usually referred simply as Eagles’ Bridge (Orlov most)

The name of the bridge itself comes from the four statues of eagles on it, which are, symbolically, its protectors and patrons. The bridge was constructed in 1891 by Czech architect Václav Prošek, his brother Jozef and his cousins Bohdan and Jiří.

The Russian Monument

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The Russian Monument (Bulgarian: Руски паметник, Ruski pametnik) is a monument in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The first monument to be built in the capital of the newly liberated Principality of Bulgaria, it was unveiled on 29 June 1882 and is located on the road which Osman Nuri Paşa used to flee from Sofia to Pernik on 22 December 1877.

The funds for the construction of the memorial were collected by the Russian people. The monument was erected on 29^th June 1882. It is not exactly known who designed the monument. The monument is an obelisk: a rectangular pyramid with a truncated top and a three-step pedestal. The eastern side of the memorial features a marble relief of the coat of arms of Russia and the Order of St. George, and a text commemorating Alexander II in pre-reform Russian.

National museum of military history

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The National Museum of Military History (NMMH) is a state museum, which from its establishment until today is a structure of the Ministry of Defense .It investigates, preserves, processes scientifically and popularizes cultural valuables connected with the national and European military history. NMMH develops its activities throughout the country.

For its almost centennial presence in the cultural life, in the museum store are preserved and investigated more than 1 000 000 artifacts – witnesses of Bulgarian and European military history.

NMMH disposes of 41 decares of exterior and 5000 m. square of interior exposition area.

The exposition of the museum is designed in a thematic, chronological and collection plan. 28 000 exponents are displayed as a part of the one- millionth fund of the museum . An accent in the thematic-chronological part, which follows the development of the Bulgarian Army is its participation in the wars for national unification. The collection exhibition presents weapons, uniforms and insignia – the three oldest and richest collections of the museum.

The Library covers an access to about 15 000 volumes of specialized literature. Soon it will also provide electronic access to the collections of the museum.

National Historical Museum

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The National Historical Museum(Национален исторически музей, Natsionalen istoricheski muzey) in Sofia is Bulgaria’s largest museum. It was founded in 1973 and its first representative exposition was opened in 1984 to commemorate 1300 years of Bulgarian history. The museum was moved to a former governmental residence in 2000 and currently stores and owns over 650,000 objects connected to archeology, fine arts, history and ethnography.

Church St. Nedelya

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Holy Sunday Church (Bulgarian: църква „Света Неделя“ Sveta Nedelya) is an Eastern Orthodox church in Sofia. The church is dedicated to the martyr St. Nedelya (Holy Sunday).

The chucrh was called Sveti Kral (Holy King) in 19^th and beginning of 20^th century. Around 1460, the remains of Serbian king Stephen Milutin were carried to Bulgaria and were stored in various churches and monasteries until being transferred to St Nedelya after it became a bishop’s residence in the 18th centur

The history of the cathedral’s earliest years is to a large extent unknown. It was probably built in the 10th century and had stone foundations and an otherwise wooden construction, remaining wooden until the middle of the 19th century, unlike most other churches in the city

The former building was demolished to make place for a larger and more imposing cathedral on 25 April 1856. The construction of the 35.5 m-long and 19 m-wide church began in the summer of the same year. The still incomplete building suffered from an earthquake in 1858, which prolonged the construction works that ultimately finished in 1863. It was officially inaugurated on 11 May 1867 in the presence of 20,000 people. A new belfry was erected to accommodate the 8 bells given to the church as a present by Russian Knyaz (Prince) Dondukov-Korsakov in 1879.

The church was razed in the assault by the communists on 16 April 1925 that claimed over 190 victims. The attack was done during the burial service of Konstantin Georgiev. The injured were more than 500 people. It is believed that this was the hardest terrorist act in Bulgaria, and for that time also in the world.

After the assault, the church was restored to its modern appearance between the summer of 1927 and the spring of 1933 (once again inaugurated on 7 April 1933).The paintings of the icons and he intetrior was done by the team led by Nikolay Rostovtzev. It was almost erected anew as a temple 30 m in length and 15.50 m in width and featuring a central dome that made it 31 m high.

The National Library for the Blind

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1B, Slaveykov Sq.

The entrance is from Solunska Str.

The National Library for the Blind was founded in April 1928. One of its first activities as a cultural union was to begin the printing and accumulation of braille books. Prof. Ivan Shishmanov had the idea of establishing the Institute of the blind in Sofia in 1905. Until 1994 the books were hand made in one copy only. In this way were have produced over 1800 titles, which is more than 12 000 volumes. At the beginning of the 60′ the first tapes of audio books were recorded.

With time the organisation of a small group of blind people became a national braille library. Since 1994 there is computerised printing.

The Statue of St. Sofia

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The 8-yard statue of St. Sophia, rises to a 14 meters high pole right in the heart of Sofia. Author of this monumental sculpture, that still rises public debates and grievances, is the famous Bulgarian sculptor Georgi Chapkanov.

The 4 tones female figure made of bronze and copper electroplating was erected over the underground “Serdica” in 2001 In the one hand Sophia holds a laurel wreath and blesses. In the other hand it is perched owl – the symbol of wisdom.

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