St. Sofia Church

The church St. Sofia is a successor of an ancient Orthodox Christian church and it is the second oldest church in Sofia. It was built in the VI century by emperor Justinian I upon the remains of several older churches from the Roman city Serdica. The temple is a cross-shaped basilica with a dome and three altars. The length is 47m, the width is 20m and the dome height is 20m. During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (XII-XIV century) St. Sofia became a metropolitan’s church and gave its name to the city. During the Ottoman rule the church was reconstructed in a mosque, the wall-paintings were destroyed and minarets were built. In XIX century it collapsed after two earthquakes and the Ottomans abandoned it. After the Liberation the church was restored and it became Christian again. Its restoration ended in 1930 and the same year it was sanctified on September 21. Today the church St. Sofia is one of the most significant architectural buildings from the early Christianity in South-eastern Europe.

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