Guided tour Sofia – Sofia settlement
Guided tour Sofia – Sofia became the capital of Bulgaria in 1879 but the history of the city dates back some 7000 years making it one of the oldest cities in Europe. Situated at the foothills of Vitosha Mountain and surrounded by the low lying Lyulin and Sredna Gora Mountain ranges the 1000 square kilometer Sofia Plain has throughout history been a strategic location.
The history of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia; began during the Neolithic era and the modern archaeological findings prove that, in these places; there were several Neolithic settlements that date back to the year 5000 BC.
Later in the 7th century, an ancient Thracian city was established, documented later by the Romans who lived in these lands as “Serdica”; as it was inhabited by the ancient tribe “Serdi”. When Serdica fell under the influence of the Roman Empire in the 1st century; the city was renamed Ulpia Serdica in honour of Emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajan who allowed its self-governance.
Roman time
The city flourished until the 5th century; during the Roman time, but suffered from the invasions of the Huns, Goths and Barbarians during the Migration Period. It revived in the 6th century under the name Triadica; as an important administrative and economic centre of the Byzantine Empire. In 809, the city became part of the Bulgarian state and it was called Sredets.
Guided tour Sofia – it was last renamed in the early 14th century when the “St. Sofia” church located in the city gained such great fame among the Slavic peoples that the city was renamed “Sofia” from “Sredets”. After the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule; the city became the capital of the emerging areas in 1879 and has remained so to this day.
