Sofia

Sofia (, ) is the caipital an lairgest ceety o Bulgarie an the 47t lairgest ceety bi population in the European Union wi 1.3 million fowk. It is locatit in wastren Bulgarie, at the fuit o Munt Vitosha an is ranked as a Beta warld ceety.

Prehistoric settlements wur excavatit in the centre o the present ceety, near the ryal palace, as well as in ooter districts sic as Slatina an Obelya. The well-preserved toun walls (especially thair substructures) frae antiquity date back afore the 7t century BC, when Thracians establisht thair ceety next tae the maist important an heichlie respectit mineral sprung, still functionin the day. Sofia haes haed several names in the different periods o its existence, an remnants frae the ceety's past can still be seen the day alangside modren laundmerks.

 Names 

Sofia wis first mentioned in the soorces as Serdica in relation tae Marcus Licinius Crassus' campaigns in 59 BC. The name Serdica or Sardica (Σερδική, Σαρδική) wis popular in Laitin, Auncient Greek an Byzantine Greek soorces frae Antiquity an the Middle Ages; it wis relatit tae the local CelticThe Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 3, Part 2: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries BC by John Boardman, I. E. S. Edwards, E. Sollberger, and N. G. L. Hammond, ISBN 0-521-22717-8, 1992, page 600: "In the place of the vanished Treres and Tilataei we find the Serdi for whom there is no evidence before the first century bc.It has for long being supposed on convincing linguistic and archeological grounds that this tribe was of Celtic origin" tribe o the Serdi. The name wis last uised in the 19t century in a Bulgarie text, Service an hagiografie o Saunt George the New o Sofia: ВЪ САРДАКІИ. Anither o Sofia's names, Triaditsa (Τριάδιτζα), wis mentioned in Greek medieval soorces. The Bulgarian name Sredets (СРѢДЄЦЪ), which is relatit tae среда sreda (middle), first appeared in the 11t-century Vision o Daniel an wis widely uised in the Middle Ages. The current name Sofia wis first uised in the 14t-century Vitosha Chairter o Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman or in a Ragusan merchant's notes o 1376; it refers tae the famous Hagia Sophia, an auncient kirk in the ceety namit efter the Christian concept o the Holy Wisdom. Awtho Sredets remained in uise till the late 18t century, Sofia gradually owercame the Slavic name in popularity. Durin the Ottoman rule it wis cawed Sofya bi the Turkish population.

The ceety's name is pronooncit bi Bulgaries wi a stress on the 'o', in contrast wi the tendency o foreigners tae place the stress on 'i'. Interestingly, the female gien name "Sofia" is pronooncit bi Bulgaries wi a stress on the 'i'.

 Internaitional relations 

 Twin touns — Sister ceeties 
Sofia is twinned wi:

 Algiers, Algerie
 Ankara, Turkey (syne 1992)
 Berlin, Germany
 Bratislava, Slovakie (syne 2008)
 Brussels, Belgium
 Bucharest, Romanie
 Budapest, Hungary
 Bursa, Turkey (syne 1998)
 Helsinki, Finland
 Kiev, Ukraine (syne 1997)
 Lunnon, Unitit Kinrick
 Madrid, Spain
 Milan, Italy
 Paris, Fraunce (syne 1998)
 Pittsburgh, Unitit States
 Prague, Czech Republic
 Saunt Petersburg, Roushie
 Maraş, Turkey
 Skopje, Macedonie (syne 2006)
 Tel Aviv, Israel (syne 1992)
 Tirana, Albanie (syne 2008)Twinning Cities: International Relations. Municipality of Tirana. www.tirana.gov.al. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
 Yerevan, Armenie (syne 2008)
 Warsaw, Poland
 Salalah, Oman

 References 

 Freemit airtins 
 Three gigapixels photo o Sofia frae 08.10.2010
 Ceety o Sofia 
 Sofia public transport Offeecial Site 
 Sofia Ceety Cooncil 
 Auld pictures frae Sofia


 Virtual panoramas frae Sofia
 Gallery o Sofia bi Nicht 
 Image Gallery frae Sofia 
 Video Photo Gallery o Sofia, Bulgarie (video) 
 Archival images o Sofia
 Sofia live webcam - the Roushie monument 
"Sofia"  — pictures frae Sofia


Category:Caipitals in Europe
Category:Ceeties in Bulgarie
Category:Populatit places in Sofia Ceety Province
Category:Populatit places established in the 8t century BC