The historical route of Sofia (2 part)
We remain on our tour with more curious streets, buildings and hidden stories of the capital. Sofia is a place where one can always find a new inspiration or astonish themselves. If you missed the first part of that short explanation of our guide – here you go.
Until that point, we have found the stories of many houses in Sofia. Now, the second part of our journey awaits with its representative and monumental buildings. Once again we can look at the lovely dome of the old Civic insurance company and the “bulbs” of the Russian Church and then we can return to Moskovska Street with some of the first buildings of Sofia, built after 1878. Among them we can enjoy the elegant home of Dimitar Grekov, a remarkable “builder” of modern Bulgaria, and the first military club with its “clock tower”. The stairs on Budapest Street, which have existed since the 20s of the last century, reveal the amazing “crown” of the residential building between Budapest and Dondukov Blvd. And then another staircase – this time on Malko Tarnovo Street, hidden between the two high-raised modernist residential buildings of the 30s. We climb the stairs and reach the place where the clock tower of Ottoman Sofia was located. One of the brilliant symbols of continuity between the old and the new Sofia is located here – the Royal Palace, which indeed is transformed and redesigned Ottoman Konak (prison). We head to the Largo and the unique combination of Roman ruins and a monumental socialist complex. One after another, we look at significant Sofia churches from different periods. Then we step into the delicate charm of Lege Street, which had been named after French consul Leander Lege since 1878. He then protected Sofia from burning in the days before the liberation of the town. On this central street we have examples of upgrading the old or its destruction in the name of the new. From Knyaz Alexander I Street we enter the city garden with the popular fountain, which have been there since 1975. We now see the National Theater, erected with the majesty of an ancient temple, as well as the building of Baron Gendovich, designed by Nikola Lazarov to be the tallest building in Sofia at the time of 1914. We surround the theatre to go past the former Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Central Cooperative Bank and then we reach the house of the most famous national poet Ivan Vazov. The two-storey building witnessed Ivan Vazov’s speech of November 27, 1919, to the many Sofia citizens who sought his wisdom after the Bulgarian crash during the First World War.
