Bulgaria – the capital city: Sofia

Welcome to Sofia, or Serdika/Serdica as it was known in the 6th century. We are spending a few days in the capital before we head off for our Trabant tour around the country.

It is a surprisingly small city and a glance at the town map indicated just 15 main attractions. Initial thoughts had me wondering whether there would be enough to engage us during our four free days. However, small proved to be beautiful as we found out during a two-hour guided walking tour which immersed us in the history of this city. We also discovered that the most interesting sites are all within walking distance of our centrally-located hotel.

Similar to Bath in Somerset, this area grew up because of one important resource – thermal springs. These were located at the crossroads of important roadways linking Western Europe with Asia Minor and the Middle East, and the Baltic Sea with the Aegean Sea.

Those thermal springs are still important today. Free drinking water can be found in the town centre – if you like your water hot, around 37 degrees. It flows 24 hours a day through drinking fountains, rising from deep within the earth.

Sofia’s history can be traced back 7,000 years. Evidence of pre-history settlers have been found around the area dating to the 6th and 5th centuries BC. The Thracians, a tribal group, are considered in some sources to have been ‘barbaric and warlike’, but in more recent research were thought to have a fairly advanced culture with an emphasis on poetry, music and artistry (including tattooing). The people followed a polytheistic religion focusing on multiple deities. They had their own Thracian language which was considered to have continued into the 6th century AD spoken by monks, then died out completely.

But the Thracians were not to stay. The Romans moved in to make their own impact on the area. It was they who built the first thermal baths and such facilities in various forms continued until 1986, when taking baths at home was the norm. Today, a site that contained a thermal bath still remains, now being the Sofia History Museum.

The citizens of Sofia did not have it easy. Following the decline of the Roman Empire the area has been invaded by the Huns, Visigoths, Avars, Slavs, Byzantines and Ottomans, to name just some. It is this situation that makes gaining a grasp of the history an onslaught to the senses. Just as one familiarises oneself with one group, another group pops into the frame.

For many, the more recent history may be a little less testing, that of Communism which was part of Bulgarian life from 1946 until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. There are some, both young and older, who hark back to the ‘glory days’ of Communism even today saying there was no unemployment, no profit, and holidays (with their colleagues, mind you) were included, others do not think likewise.

Today, Bulgaria is part of the EU and fairly settled, although speaking to individuals they offer their own political views. The country has, of course, been hit by the pandemic affecting its economy, employment and tourism, but judging by the numbers of tourists and locals around the town centre things are evidently picking up. McDonalds, Costa and Starbucks have several sites around the centre of Sofia. So too is industry and commerce gaining ground. The country is not rich in mineral resources, but investors in new technology are moving in, including Google and Microsoft.

The population, however, is in decline, which is cause for concern (tax income, job vacancies, and empty properties are factors, to name a few). During Communist times the country’s population was 9 million. Today it is 7 million, caused by a mix of younger people leaving the country and a desire for fewer children. Smoking, poor diets, alcohol consumption and lack of exercise are factors in almost half of deaths in Bulgaria. The adult and adolescent smoking rates are the highest in the EU. Covid deaths have also been a factor. Life expectancy in Bulgaria is considered to be the lowest in Europe at 73.6 years, according to a 2021 European Commission health report. In the UK it is 81 years.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022