Sofia Celebrates 130th Anniversary as Bulgaria Capital

A solemn church service to commemorate Sofia’s 130th anniversary was held on the square in front of the “Alexander Nevski” cathedral. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency.

Sofia marked Friday the 130th anniversary of being declared Bulgaria's capital.

A solemn church service was held on the square in front of the "Alexander Nevski" cathedral. State officials including Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Sergey Stanishev, and the Speaker of the Parliament, Georgi Pirinski, were among the attendees.

The exhibit "Russia and Bulgaria at the End of the 19th Century" on display at the outdoors gallery in front the National "Ivan Vazov" Theater was inaugurated at 1:00 pm. The exhibit has been prepared by the Moscow House in Sofia.

The gala concert dedicated to the anniversary began at 7:00 pm at the National Palace of Culture. The funds collected through the event will be given to charity.

One of the oldest cities in Europe, Sofia was taken by Russian forces in January 1878, during the Russian-Turkish Liberation War, and was declared the capital of the autonomous Principality of Bulgaria in 1879, which became the Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1908. It was proposed as a capital by Marin Drinov and was accepted as such on 3 April, 1879.

 

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