S O F I A
Sofia is the capital of
the Republic of Bulgaria as well as its political, administrative and cultural
centre. It lies in the Sofia plain enclosed by the Balkan Mountains to the
north, the Lozen Mountains to the southeast, Vitosha Mountain to the south, and
Lyulin Mountain to the southwest. Pancharevo Lake and the Iskar Dam are just a
few kilometers away. Its population is apx. 1.2 mlns inhabitants. Sofia has a
7000-year history which makes it a unique phenomenon in Europe and places it
among those settlements of the greatest antiquity. 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 Thracian settlement
named Serdica 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 the
Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and renamed Triaditsa. Known as Sredets under the
Proto-Bulgarians it was renamed Sofia (meaning "wisdom" in Greek) in 1376. Sofia
was taken by the Ottomans in 1382 and became the capital of the Turkish province
of Rumelia. Sofia was taken by the Russians in 1878 and became the capital of an
independent Bulgaria in 1879. During World War II the Russians captured Sofia
and Bulgaria from the pro-German government. There are 16 universities in the
city; among them is 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 Boyana Church, the
Banya Bashi, and the Alexander Nevski Cathedral.
P L O V D I V
Plovdiv is the second
largest city in Bulgaria, situated on the Maritsa River. Its unique location on
these ancient crossroads has stimulated strong cultural and political influences
from East and West civilizations, and yet maintained its unique cultural
identity. Being older than most of the oldest towns like Rome, Athens, Carthage
or Constantinople, an almost contemporary of Troy, Plovdiv is a town built upon
layers of towns and a culture developed upon layers of cultures. Plovdiv is a
picturesque town, with many parks and gardens, museums and archaeological
monuments. Its old part, called the Old Town, with houses from the National
Revival period (18-19th century), is an imposing open-air museum situated on the
three hills of the ancient Trimontium. One of the most remarkable sights of the
town, the Ancient Theatre (a well-preserved Roman theatre), is located there and
is still used for open-air performances.
B O U R G A S
Bourgas is
considered to be the sea port and the most important economic, administrative
and cultural centre of Southern Bulgaria, just about 400kms from Sofia. Due to
its extremely favorable geographic position and moderate continental climate the
town was first inhabited as early as some centuries BC. Its ancient Roman name
was Debeltus and there were several fisherman villages nearby which later on
formed a bigger settlement. The recent name Bourgas dates from 1727. Now it is
the sea capital of Southern Bulgaria with a number of wonderful beach resorts
like Sunny Beach, Diuni, Elenite, the town of Sozopol, spa and holiday villages
nearby.
V A R N A
Varna, often referred
to as the sea capital of Bulgaria, is the third largest city in the country. It
was founded and named Odessus by Milesian Greeks in the 6th century BC; later it
became a Thracian and then Roman settlement. In 681 AD it joined the First
Bulgarian Empire (c. 679-1018) and was named Varna. Now it is the main Bulgarian
naval and commercial shipping port. There are clusters of beach resorts to the
north and south of the city: Albena, Golden Sands, St. Constantine and St.
Helen, etc.
B L A G O E V G R A D
Blagoevgrad is one of the most modern towns in Bulgaria. It lies at the
foot of the Rila and Pirin mountains, 100 km south of Sofia. The border of the
Republic of Macedonia is right to the west and the Greek border is 130 km to the
south. The town is famous for being a university center and for its proximity to
Bansko mountain & ski resort.
S H U M E N
Shumen was founded 3200
years ago and had since been the cradle of the spiritual and material culture of
the Thracians, Romans, Byzantines and Bulgarians. As a fortress and a settlement
it was founded in the early Middle Ages in the Hissarlak area. By the end of
second Bulgarian Kingdom it was named Shumen. It is located in the central part
of northeast Bulgaria on the main roadways Sofia-Varna and
Ruse-Bourgas-Istanbul. Here are the remains of the first Bulgarian capitals -
Pliska and Veliki Preslav (Great Preslav), here is the village of Madara with
the unique Madara horsemen, which in 1979 was placed under the UNESCO
protection. Here is the old Shumen Fortress, the Founders of Bulgaria Complex;
there are also interesting
architectural monuments such as The
Old Clock Tower, Tamboul Mosque and Kourshoum Cheshma.
B A L C H I K
The town of Balchik
(population: 13 766) is 31 km north and north-east of Varna, 501 km away from
Sofia, and is situated on the coast itself. There is a big harbor used for
medium - size passenger and merchant vessels.
D O B R I C H
Dobrich is situated on
the Dobroudzha Plateau by the small Dobrich River. It is 512 km north-east of
Sofia and 51 km north-west of Varna, close to the border with Romania. A
district centre known as the capital of Golden Dobroudzha the bread basket of
Bulgaria. The first traces of life in the town date back to the antique epoch.
Remains of a Roman settlement (3rd-4th centuries) were discovered to the north
of the town centre and in the eastern part too. An ancient Bulgarian settlement
existed here in 8th century. The modern town sprang up in 15th century as
a big market settlement.
A H T O P O L
The town
of Ahtopol (population: 1364) is situated on a sharply jutted cape 87 km
south-east of Bourgas and 477 km south-east of Sofia. The town is perched on the
rocky peninsula at the place of an ancient Thracian settlement. It was probably
colonized in 6th century BC. Its name dates back to ancient times. The Romans
called it Peron-ti-cus. The Byzantine leader Agaton restored the town after the
barbarian invasions and gave it his own name Agatopolis. The Byzantines and the
Bulgarians took it in turns.
D Y U N I
The Dyuni
Resort is situated some 12 km north of Primorsko and 40km south of Bourgas. It
was completed in 1987 as a Bulgarian-Austrian project and is situated at a large
sea bay. It offers lots of luxury hotels, villas and bungalows.
E L E N I T E
Elenite is a resort
situated east of Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach) at the beginning of an
eight-kilometre long no through road. It is 50 km north of Bourgas and 442 km
east of Sofia.
G O L D E N S A N D
S
The resort of Golden
Sands (Zlatni Pyasatsi) is the largest one on the northern Black Sea coast (more
than 1800 hectares). It is situated 18 km north-east of Varna, 488 km east of
Sofia; it is bounded on the north by Kranevo and on the south by Chaika Villa
Area, and merges with the St. Constantine and St. Elena Resort.
N E S S E B A R
The town of Nessebar
(9437 inhabitants) is situated on a small peninsula and on the land jutted out
into the sea, 37 km north-east of Bourgas and 429 km east of Sofia. Its beach is
considered to be the best along the Black Sea coast. The big sandy strip of land
between the town and the village of Ravda is covered with extremely fine and
clean golden sand. There are marvelous dunes next to the coast. The green copses
by the sandy strips provide a cool breath of air during hot summer
days.
B A N S K O
