Timeline of Sofia

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The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Sofia, Bulgaria.

Prior to 14th century

• 2nd C. CE – Serdica founded by Trajan.^[1]
• 268 CE – Serdica raided by Goths.^{[citation needed]}
• 343 CE – Council of Serdica convenes (approximate date).^[2]
• 4th C.
  • Church of St. George ^[3]
  • Amphitheatre of Serdica built (approximate date).
  • Saint Sophia Church, Sofia originates.
• 447 – Town burned by Huns.^[1][3]
• 809 -
  • Town becomes part of Bulgarian Empire.^[4][3]
  • Town renamed "Sredetz."^[5][3]
• 987 - Successful resistance to the attacks of the emperor Basil II.^[3]
• 11th C. – Boyana Church built near town (approximate date).
• 1194
  • Town becomes part of Byzantium.^[4]
  • Town renamed "Triaditsa" (approximate date).^[4]

14th–18th centuries

• 13th C. – Church of St. Nicholas built.
• 1329 – Town renamed "Sofia".^[4]
• 1382 – Ottomans take Sofia.^[6]
• 1443 – Town occupied briefly by Hungarian forces under John Hunyadi.^[3]
• 1493 – Kremikovtsi Monastery reestablished near Sofia.
• 1494 – Buyuk Mosque [bg] built.
• 1528 – Black Mosque built.
• 1576 – Banya Bashi Mosque built.
• 1610 – Catholic See of Sophia established.^[5]

19th century

• 1818 – Earthquake.^[7]
• 1829 – Town occupied by Russian forces.^[8]
• 1858 – Earthquake.^[7]
• 1863 – St Nedelya Church rebuilt.
• 1878 – Town liberated by Russian forces.^[1]
• 1879
  • Capital of Bulgaria relocated to Sofia from Veliko Tarnovo.^[1]
  • Area of city: 3 square kilometers.^[9]
• 1881 – Population: 20,501.^[3]
• 1882 – Royal palace built.^[3]
• 1884 – Boris' Garden (park) laid out.
• 1886 – National Assembly building constructed.
• 1888
  • Sofia University founded.
  • Sofia Central Station and Sofia Zoo^[10] open.
  • Dimitar Petkov becomes mayor.
• 1890 – 31 May: "Destructive thunderstorm."^[11]
• 1891 – Eagles' Bridge and Lions' Bridge built.
• 1893
  • Bulgarian Literary Society relocates to Sofia.
  • Population: 46,593.^[3]
• 1897 – Battenberg Mausoleum erected.
• 1898 – Central Hunters' Society headquartered in Sofia.^[12]

20th century

• 1903
  • Bulgarian Social Democratic Workers' Party (Narrow Socialists) headquartered in Sofia.
  • Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church inaugurated.
• 1904 – National Theatre founded.^[3]
• 1905 – National Archaeological Museum opens.
• 1907
  • Central Military Club built.
  • Population: 82,187.^[3]
  • The Monument to the Tsar Liberator was inaugurated on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard in Sofia
• 1908
  • Bulgarian Opera Society established.
  • City becomes capital of the Kingdom of Bulgaria.^[5]
• 1909 – Sofia Synagogue built.
• 1910 – Population: 102,812.^[7]
• 1911
  • Central Sofia Market Hall opens.
  • Union of Bulgarian Chitalishta headquartered in Sofia.^[12]
• 1912 – Alexander Nevsky Cathedral built.^[10][3]
• 1913 – L'écho de Bulgarie newspaper begins publication.^[13]
• 1914
  • Levski Sofia (sports club) founded.
  • Russian Church consecrated.
  • Vrana Palace built near Sofia.
• 1919 – Simplon Orient Express (Paris–Sofia) begins operating.
• 1922 – National Opera established.
• 1925
  • 16 April: St Nedelya Church assault.
  • Thracian student society founded.^[12]
• 1926 – Vladimir Vazov becomes mayor.
• 1927 – Kino Vlaikova (cinema) established (approximate date).^[14]
• 1929 – Ivan Vazov National Theatre rebuilt.^[10]
• 1930 – Church of St Paraskeva built.
• 1934
  • City becomes seat of Sofia Oblast.^[4]
  • Population: 287,095; department 1,152,053.^[1]
  • French Institute built on Slaveykov Square.^{[citation needed]}
• 1939
  • Bulgarian National Bank built.^[10]
  • Area of city: 42 square kilometers.^[9]
• 1940 – Sofia Court House built on Vitosha Boulevard.
• 1943 – Bombing of Sofia in World War II by Allied forces.
• 1944 – Bombing of Sofia in World War II by Allied forces.
• 1946 – City becomes capital of the People's Republic of Bulgaria.
• 1949 – Sofia Power Plant commissioned.
• 1951 – Vecherni Novini newspaper begins publication.^[15]
• 1953 – Vasil Levski National Stadium and National Opera and Ballet building open.
• 1955 – Communist Party Centre built.^[10]
• 1956 – Park Hotel Moskva built.
• 1959 – Borisova Gradina TV Tower erected.
• 1962 – Boyana Film studio established.
• 1963 – Georgi Asparuhov Stadium opens.
• 1964 – Population: 739,200 urban agglomeration.^[16]
• 1965 – Theatre 199 founded.
• 1968 – City hosts World Festival of Youth and Students.^[17]
• 1974 – Sofia Central Station rebuilt.
• 1976 – Hemus Hotel built.
• 1977 – Princess Hotel Sofia built.
• 1978 – CITUB Administrative Building built.
• 1979 – Hotel Rodina and Vitosha New Otani (hotel) built.
• 1981 – National Palace of Culture opens.
• 1984 – Population: 1,097,791 (estimate).^[18]
• 1991
  • New Bulgarian University and Higher Islamic Institute^[19] established.
  • Aleksandar Yanchulev becomes mayor.
  • Odeon Cinema active.
• 1993 – June: Union of Democratic Forces demonstration.^[15]
• 1995 – Stefan Sofiyanski becomes mayor.
• 1997
  • January: 1997 Bulgarian protest [bg].^[20]
  • Sofia Film Festival begins.
• 1998 – Sofia Metro begins operating.

21st century

• 2001
  • November: Protest.^[21]
  • Iceberg Sofia hockey team formed.
• 2003
  • Radio Nova begins broadcasting.
  • City plan "Sofia 2020" adopted.^[9]
• 2004 – Central Bus Station Sofia opens.
• 2005
  • Boyko Borisov becomes mayor.
  • Suhodol, Sofia [bg] landfill protest.^[22]
• 2006
  • Mall of Sofia in business.
  • Kino Cineplex opens.^[23]
  • Cathedral of St Joseph rebuilt.
• 2007
  • Olympia Sofia women's football club established.
  • Bulgaria becomes part of the European Union.^[24]
• 2008
  • Sofia Pride begins.
  • 3 July: 2008 Chelopechene explosions.
• 2009
  • Sofia Middle East & North Africa Film Festival begins.^[25]
  • Yordanka Fandakova becomes mayor.
  • Benchmark Tower built.
• 2011
  • September: Anti-Roma demonstration.^[21]
  • Armeets Arena and Sofia Arsenal Museum of Contemporary Art opens.
  • Sopharma Business Center towers built.
• 2012
  • Line 2 of Sofia Metro began operation.
  • Population: 1,241,396.
• 2013
  • February: Protest against the Borisov cabinet.
  • June: Protest against the Oresharski cabinet.^[26]
• 2015 – Capital Fort became the tallest building in Sofia with its 126 meters (413 ft).
• 2017 – Millennium Center was completed.
• 2020 – Sofia Metro Line 3 is set to open.

See also

• History of Sofia
• List of mayors of Sofia
• Timelines of other cities in Bulgaria: Plovdiv, Varna
• List of the oldest buildings in Sofia

References

1. Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1960, p. 1057, OCLC 3832886, OL 5812502M
2. Patrick J. Healy (1913). "Council of Sardica". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
3. Britannica 1910.
4. Leon E. Seltzer, ed. (1952), Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, New York: Columbia University Press, p. 1789, OL 6112221M
5. Vailhe 1913.
6. Dimiter Mihailov and Pancho Smolenov (1986). Bulgaria: a Guide. translated by E. Yanev and R. Yossifova. Sofia: Collet's, Sofia Press.
7. British Admiralty, Naval Intelligence Division (1920), Handbook of Bulgaria, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, OL 13445326M
8. Chambers 1901.
9. Hirt 2011.
10. Balkantourist 1959.
11. Haydn 1910.
12. Nikolay Valkov (2009). "Associational Culture in Pre-Communist Bulgaria: Considerations for Civil Society and Social Capital". Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. 20 (4): 424–447. doi:10.1007/s11266-009-9093-0. JSTOR 27928186. S2CID 143842129.
13. "Global Resources Network". Chicago, USA: Center for Research Libraries. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
14. "36 Hours in Sofia, Bulgaria". New York Times. 30 August 2012.
15. Europa World Year Book 2003. Taylor & Francis. 2003. ISBN 978-1-85743-227-5.
16. "Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants". Demographic Yearbook 1965. New York: Statistical Office of the United Nations. 1966.
17. Karin Taylor (2006). Let's Twist Again: Youth and Leisure in Socialist Bulgaria. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-8258-9505-1.
18. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistical Office (1987). "Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants". 1985 Demographic Yearbook. New York. pp. 247–289.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
19. Jørgen S. Nielsen, ed. (2010). Yearbook of Muslims in Europe. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-18475-6.
20. Viara Djoreva (2001). "Seeing Beyond the Crowd: A Case Study of the Political Protests in Sofia in the Beginning of 1997". Polish Sociological Review (133): 99–122. JSTOR 41274789.
21. "Bulgaria Profile: Timeline". BBC News. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
22. "Global Nonviolent Action Database". Pennsylvania, USA: Swarthmore College. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
23. "Movie Theaters in Sofia, Bulgaria". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
24. Andrew Higgins (24 December 2013). "Change Comes Slowly for Bulgaria, Even With E.U. Membership". New York Times. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
25. "Festival". Sofia Middle East & North Africa Film Festival. Pozor Company. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
26. Nikolay Staykov (ed.). "The Protest". Sofia: Noresharski.com. Retrieved 28 December 2013. Antigovernment Press Centre

This article incorporates information from the Bulgarian Wikipedia.

Bibliography

• "Sophia", Handbook for Travellers in Turkey (3rd ed.), London: J. Murray, 1854, OCLC 2145740
• "Sofia". Chambers's Encyclopaedia. London. 1901.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• "Sofia", Türkei, Rumänien, Serbien, Bulgarien [Turkey, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria], Meyers Reisebücher (in German) (6th ed.), Leipzig: Bibliographisches Institut, 1902, hdl:2027/njp.32101064637836
• Bourchier, James David (1910). "Sofia" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). pp. 344–345.
• Benjamin Vincent (1910), "Sofia", Haydn's Dictionary of Dates (25th ed.), London: Ward, Lock & Co.
• S. Vailhe (1913). "Sardica". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• William Harman Black (1920). "Bulgaria: Sofia". The Real Europe Pocket Guide-Book. Black's Blue Books. New York: Brentano's.
• "Sofia". Bulgaria Guide Book. Bulgaria: Balkantourist. 1959.
• Philip Ward (1993). Sofia: portrait of a city. Cambridge, England: Oleander. ISBN 0906672651.
• "Bulgaria: Sofia", Eastern and Central Europe (17th ed.), Fodor's, 1996, OL 7697674M
• Trudy Ring, ed. (1996). "Sofia". Southern Europe. International Dictionary of Historic Places. Vol. 3. Fitzroy Dearborn. OCLC 31045650.
• Irina Gigova (2011). "The City and the Nation: Sofia's Trajectory from Glory to Rubble in WWII". Journal of Urban History. 37.
• Sonia Hirt (2011). "Integrating City and Nature: Urban Planning Debates in Sofia, Bulgaria". Greening the City: Urban Landscapes in the Twentieth Century. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0-8139-3114-2.
• Roman A. Cybriwsky (2013). "Sofia". Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 282+. ISBN 978-1-61069-248-9.

External links

 

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• Europeana. Items related to Sofia, various dates.
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