On April 3, 2018, we mark 139 years since Sofia was elected the capital of the Principality of Bulgaria

After the Liberation, the question of which city to be proclaimed the capital of the independent Bulgarian state began to be debated. Sofia was among the convincing candidates. The famous scientist-historian and public figure Professor Marin Drinov promoted this idea in the most authoritative and justified way by.

The undeniable advantage of Sofia is its geographical position. It is in the centre of the Balkan Peninsula and a natural crossroad of all the roads that cross through the region. Serdika and its successor Sofia occupy a central place in the Bulgarian lands and this creates the conditions for the governance of the future Principality to take care of the fate of the Bulgarians who remained under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The city also has good natural protection against possible enemy attacks.

Professor Drinov thoroughly and persistently highlighted these advantages of Sofia. Most of the prominent Bulgarian politicians and public figures of that time agreed. During the discussion in the Constituent Assembly of the Organic Statute (the Constitution), the discussion on the issue of the choice of capital was short. Dragan Tsankov put an end to the debate and declared, "We have two capitals: Tarnovo - the historical one and Sofia – for the government. Therefore, I propose that in the future Sofia should remain the residence of the Prince and that the Prince's coronation should be in Tarnovo". The vote on April 3, 1879 (March 22 in old style) went ardently. At the end of the day, the patriotic fervour prevailed over the historical consciousness, and Sofia was elected the capital of the Principality of Bulgaria, albeit with a majority of only two votes.

The announcement of Sofia for Capital transformed the millennial city into the most important public and administrative centre of the country. The capital of Bulgaria got its name from the St. Sofia Church and means wisdom.

In recent years, Sofia has continued to be the largest regional economy in Bulgaria, providing the highest standard of living. The financial stability of the city is noted also by the international rating agency Standard & Poor's, which this year rated Sofia as an investment grade city.

Towards the end of 2015, Sofia had attracted more than half of foreign investment in the country. This is over EUR 12 billion or over EUR 9,000 per person, which is three times the country's average.

Sofia produces 40% of the country's GDP. Sofia is in the top 3 of European cities with the highest growth of foreign tourists in 2009-2016 - 9.4% according to MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index.

 

HOLIDAY PROGRAM

The Sofia History Museum and its affiliates will operate with a free admission.

On April 3, on the celebration of 139 years since the announcement of Sofia as the capital of Bulgaria, the Regional History Museum (Sofia History Museum) and its affiliates will operate with a free admission. Tomorrow, the underground archaeological museum of the St. Sofia Basilica, the Western Gate of Serdika and the Mausoleum-tomb of Prince Alexander I Battenberg will be open to the public. 

The Regional History Museum organizes a lecture on the topic The Modern Bulgarian Education in Sofia (1839 - 1878), which will be presented by Prof. Dr. Vera Boneva. The lecture will take place in the gallery space of the Triangular Tower of Serdika (16, Knyaginya Maria Louisa Blvd.) with the exhibition In the Light of Liberation as a special accompanying event. The starting time is 17:30 hrs.

On the holiday, the Culture Directorate of Sofia Municipality organizes a series of cultural events with free admission for the citizens and the guests of Sofia:

from 11.00 to 13.00 hrs., at the American Center of Sofia Library - presentation of the Dzyalo Project - a scientific space site with an e-journal in the field of humanities for Bulgarian studies in the period X-XXI century, co-financed under the calls of the Sofia Culture Programme for 2017 and 2018.

The Dzyalo Project - website and e-journal, brings together the interests of not only academic, university, museum and artistic circles in Bulgaria, but also of scientists from Europe and the world, some of whom are authors of thematic issues of the e-journal.  Dzyalo maintains an informational environment in the field of humanities and creates an original product with a scientific and cultural outlook. The featured materials research, develop, analyse and record the richness of our cultural traditions, language and values into the European diversity by comparing them. For more information - http://www.abcdar.com

 

12.00 hrs. under the glass dome of the Largo.

CONCERT OF THE SOFIA BRASS ORCHESTRA with conductor Vasil Deliev.

The event is organized jointly with the Municipal Cultural Institute House of Culture "Iskar".

In the program: works by Nencho Russev, Petko Staynov, Lyubomir Pipkov, Marin Goleminov, Milcho Leviev, Diko Iliev and others.         

 

17.00 hrs. Garden “Crystal" - OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION URBAN STORIES.

The stories of our city have a high degree of avalanche danger. They are these tiny stones, which, sometimes as a joke, sometimes not, show the new direction we are moving to. Now and then, they are about the buildings, from time to time about the people, or the feeling of the transience in which we live. Yet they have shaped the city from a small town with nearly 13 000 inhabitants into the metropolis that it is today.

Sofia! The city of Godly Wisdom, which has gathered 1.2 million people on 492 square kilometres of land, is a whole universe of adventures, comedies, tragedies, poetry and personalities. For 139 years as a capital and six millenniums as an urban place, it shows us a whole kaleidoscope of events and happenings. The city that grows but does not age has so many faces that sometimes one is afraid of what one will find. Yet, this city is part of us.

The exhibition is dedicated to the third birthday of Etude-and-they of Sofia, which sprang up as a joke, thanks to the love of a boy for the city and nagging of his friends about it, but turned into a chronicle of the changing city.

The Brass Band and the Cheerleaders of First English Language High School will take part in the opening.

 

- 18.00 hrs. under the glass dome of the Largo -  CONCERT OF SPECTRUM A CAPPELLA ENSEMBLE.

Group Spectrum is a unique Bulgarian vocal ensemble whose repertoire combines pop and jazz in polyphonic arrangements of folk plays and songs performed entirely without instrumental accompaniment. Boryana Yordanova, Vesela Morova, Atanas Kulinsky, Yanko Yankov and Konstantin Beykov are musicians with rich and varied experience. They are artists with a strong stage presence and energy, united for a common goal - to create a high quality and aesthetically pleasing art, showing the modern face of the Bulgarian a cappella music.

 

The celebration is part of the Calendar of Cultural Events of Sofia Municipality for 2018.