Free Sofia Tour's Blog

When is The Department of Theology of the Sofia University founded? The Department of Theology was founded in 1923 and since then it has been an active center for the dissemination of religious knowledge in Bulgaria. Today it also houses the St. Kliment Ohridski chapel, a church library and the National Museum of Church History and Archaeology of the Holy Synod. The museum exhibits over 10,000 objects: icons, wood carvings, church utensils, books, documents and more. History of the Department of Theology At the turn of the previous century the same space was occupied by the bell tower of the nearby Sveta Nedelya (Holy Sunday) church. The construction of the Department of Theology started with the proclamation of Bulgaria’s independence in 1908 and was completed in 1914. However, finishing works and mural painting continued until the autumn of 1923. The building was designed by the famous Austro-Hungarian architect Friedrich Grünanger and is one of the several prime representatives of the then trendy Byzantine Revival or Neo-Byzantine architectural style. Decorative ceramic tiles, […]

Sofia and Paris An interesting historical fact connects the symbol of Sofia and Paris. The French capital hosted the Exposition Universelle – the World Fair – in 1900. As Bulgaria was also represented at the fair, Sofia needed to have its Coat of Arms that was to be shown next to the ones of other cities. Since Sofia was a new capital it was of great importance for the city to have a good image and to be popularized. That’s why the creation of the Coat of Arms of Sofia was assigned to Haralampi Tachev – one of the most talented students of the head of the National Academy of Arts at the time Ivan Mrkvička. The Coat of Arm of Sofia For the main four fields of the Coat of Arms Tachev decided to choose images that were somehow connected to either the historical heritage of the city or its surroundings. In the upper left corner you would see a lady’s head, which is a personified image of Ulpia […]

Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” If you’ve ever been in Sofia, you must have noticed the massive baroque building of the Sofia University. Though the name might fool you, this is not simply the local university, but the first higher education institution in Bulgaria, established in 1888. Its full name is Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, named after a high-ranked medieval clerk, credited with the creation of the Cyrillic alphabet. The main building, which everyone here refers to as ‘the Rectorate’, was built between 1924 and 1934. All of this, however, started with a scandal! Sofia University’s founders The two people sitting in front of the University are two Bulgarian entrepreneurs, bankers and merchants: Evlogi Georgiev (left) and his brother Hristo Georgiev. They were, many claim, the wealthiest Bulgarian businessmen of the 19th century. Hristo and Evlogi Georgievi Evlogi is the older one and he started out as a teacher, before joining his uncles in their family rice trading business in Romania. Later the company was also joined by the younger […]

A little over a month ago Free Sofia Tour celebrated its fifth birthday! For the occasion we organized a party, tours in Bulgarian and tree planting. We worked hard, but we also had fun. This is what happened on our big day, August 13, and afterwards: August 13, 2015  To us the best gift are the smiles of our guests. On August 13 we managed to show our capital to 179 people from all over the world. In the past five years and a month the Free Sofia Tour has walked around Sofia with over 95,000 tourists coming from over 140 countries. They have enjoyed almost 3,000 tours, which cumulatively have covered 3.5 times the distance of the Equator. 35 guides have participated in our team, selected among over 300 applicants. Currently the Free Sofia Tour relies on 24 young professionals. We organized an awesome party, joined by about 90 of our friends, partners and supporters. We enjoyed a lot of congratulations, shared emotions and, of course, wonderful presents! Thank you!  August 13 […]

Българска версия: (For English scroll down) В края на август е ред на още един музикален фестивал – Беглика фест (линк към фестивала) До момента 2015 беше изпълнена с покани за фестивали, събори, концерти и различни събития. Беглика фест по традиция ще се състои на язовир Голям Беглик в Западни Родопи. Фестът е посветен на живота с устрем и в хармония с природата. Тазгодишното издание е 7мо подред и ще се състои от 27 до 30 август. Поляната на яз. Голям Беглик ще бъде изпълнена с звук и движение. Беглика Фест 2015 г. ще бъде посветен на живия и осъзнат обмен на знания, творчество, емоции, идеи и много музика. Фестивалът отваря пространството за всички да взаимодействат свободно като ги въвлича в играта на съвкупността от трите цветни нишки, вплитащи се в една уникална шевица – Играй, Твори, Бъди, на Беглика. Билети и пълната програма на събитието можете да намерите тук. За тези, които вече са посещавали фестивала знаем, че ще повторите. А тези, които все още се колебаят – мястото и музиката […]

Free Sofia Tour celebrates its fifth birthday Free Sofia Tour turns 5! And we have prepared for you a whole month of celebrations and surprises. We are starting with a big party on 13-th of August at 20:30 held at One More Кино. Free Sofia Tour turns 5! This is why we want to share it with everybody by making you feel special on this significant day. Because of that we decided to organize a special campaign: Get to know Sofia! For a whole month from 13.08 to 13.09 we will literally give away knowledge on the streets of the capital in the form of small cards with little known and curious facts. Moreover, for our 5-th birthday we are organizing 5 free tours in Bulgarian every Sunday (more information here). If that is not enough for you, for the end we have left you the most exciting. Turning five happens only once and for the purpose in the end of the monthly celebrations on 13.09 at 11:00 we are […]

English version  here 🙂 Free Sofia Tour празнува своя пети рожден ден ( Тук може да намерите цяла статия за събитието ) За целта сме ви подготвили цял месец празненства и изненади. Откриваме честването с голямо парти на 13 август от 20:30ч в One More Кино. Нашият 5-ти рожден ден е нещо значимо и вълнуващо за нас Затова искаме да го споделим с всички като ви накараме да се почувствате специални . Затова организираме специална кампания –  Опознай София: Free Sofia Tour става на 5! Да обичаш София колкото нас е страхотно, затова решихме да ви заразим. През целия месец из града ще откривате нашите усмихнати гидове, които ще ви раздават малко известни и любопитни факти за София под формата на картички. С тях, ръка за ръка върви и покана към всички софиянци и българи да опознаят столицата ни. Организираме 5 безплатни пешеходни обиколки на български език, на дати 16.08, 23.08, 30.08, 06.09 и 13.09 от 10:30 часа, със стартова точка Съдебна палата. Обиколките ще се организират без предварително записване. За завършек сме […]