|
|

SOFIA#REDIRECT Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy SofiaThe city of Sofia (Bulgarian: София), at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, has a population of 1,208,930 (2003), and is the biggest city and capital of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is located in the Western part of Bulgaria at the foot of the mountain massif Vitosha and it is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country. {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" align="right" style="margin-left:1em; background:#e3e3e3;" ! Coat of Arms ! Map |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | align="center" | Sofia's coat of arms | align="center" | |- ! colspan="2" | Data |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Municipality(Oblast): || Sofia-City (София-град) |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Area: || 1,310 Square kilometre |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Altitude: || 550 m |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Population: || 1,192,603 census December 15,2004 |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Population density: || 907 persons/km² |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Average age of population: || 38.3 years |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Postal code: || 1000 |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Area code: || 02 |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Municipal Code: || C |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | motto: || "''It grows but does not age''" |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | latitude: || 42° 42' N |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | longitude: || 23° 20' E |----- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | mayor (кмет): || (SSD) Stefan Sofiyanski |- |colspan="2" | |} ==History== On a site inhabited as early as the 8th century B.C., Sofia is the second oldest capital city in Europe. It has been given several names in the course of history, and the remnants of the old cities can still be seen today. Sofia was originally a Thracians settlement named ''Serdica'', named after the Thracian tribe of Serdi. It was captured by Rome in AD 29. When Diocletian divided the province of Dacia into Dacia Ripensis on the shores of the Danube and Dacia Mediterranea, Serdica became the capital of ''Dacia Mediterranea''. It was destroyed by the Huns in 447. The city was rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and renamed ''Triaditsa''. Known as ''Sredets'' under the Bulgars, it was renamed ''Sofia'' (meaning "wisdom" in Greek language) in 1376. Sofia was taken by the Ottoman Empire in 1382 and became the capital of the Turkey province of Rumelia. Sofia was taken by the Russia in 1878, and became the capital of an independent Bulgaria in 1879. During World War II the Russia captured Sofia and Bulgaria from the pro-Germany government. There are 16 university in the city, among them [http://www.uni-sofia.bg Sofia University], founded in 1889. It is the see of an Eastern Orthodox metropolitan and of a Roman Catholic diocese. Landmarks include the Church of St. George, the Church of Saint Sofia, the Boyana Church, the Banya Bashi, and the Alexander Nevski Cathedral. ==Economy== Sofia is a major centre in Bulgaria's economic life. The manufacturing sector of the economy, represented by over 800 large manufacturing plants, includes metal products (75% of the total output in the country), textiles, rubber and leather goods, printing (50% of output) and electronics (15% of output). Sofia is also the country's financial hub, home to the Bulgarian National Bank, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, as well as some of the country's largest commercial banks (such Bulbank, [http://www.dskbank.bg/en/en_index.htm DSK Bank] and the [http://www.ubb.bg/index-en.htm United Bulgarian Bank]). Construction, trade and transport are other important sectors to the local economy. Increasingly Sofia is getting attention as an outsourcing location for Western European and Amrerican multinationals. ==Administration== Sofia is one of 28 counties in Bulgaria. Besides the city of Sofia, the capital county encompasses three other cities and 34 villages. It is split into 24 municipalities. Each municipality has a head person who is elected by the municipal assembly. The head of the county is its mayor (кмет). The assembly members are chosen every four years. Stefan Sofiyanski is serving his third term as of 2005. He was first elected in 1995. ==Transport== With its well-developed infrastructure and strategic location, Sofia is an important centre for international railway and automobile routes. All major types of transport (except water transport) are represented in the city, which is home to 8 railway stations, the Centre for Flight Control and the Sofia Airport (hub for flag-carrier Bulgaria Air). Three Trans-European Transport Corridors cross the city: 4, 8 and 10. Public transit is well-developed, reliable and important to the city's economy; it is provided by means of underground trains (the Sofia Metro), buses, trams and electric buses. There are over 15,000 licensed taxi cabs operating in the city. ==Backpacking information== A "Guia del Ocio"-type of guide is available at [http://www.programata.bg/index.php?page=&ln=2&city=1 Programata.bg]. An electronic map is available at [http://www.bgmaps.com/home.asp?lang=en BGMaps.com] Three hostels are [http://www.art-hostel.com/ Art Hostel], [http://www.hostelmostel.com/ Hostel Mostel] and [http://www.kervanhostel.com/ Kervan Hostel] ==Night life== A vibrant city with rich and colorful night life, Sofia is known for a great number of modern discoteques, live music clubs, cozy restaurants, chic cafes and hype bars. Notable Sofia music clubs are O'Shipka (rock, metal, hard-core) and Tri-Ushi (punk, ska, reggae) and the most vibrant bars include Barabar and Kufera both of which represent a broad cross section of Sofia's most interesting night-life. Many Erasmus students, EU volunteers can be found at "The A-Partment" sort-of-private club. The place to eat between clubs is Mimas - a doner kebap located at the intersection of Levski, Graf Ignatiev and Patriarch Evtimii streets. During the summer, the place to go is Lodkite - an open-air bar in the city park. There is also a weekly drum circle in an abandoned summer stage in the same park, similar to Barcelona's Parque de la Ciutadella and Madrid's Retiro. ==Key figures== Housing * ''Number of units'' - 475,900 * ''Utilised area'' - 30 km² * ''Living area per person'' - 15.1 m² * ''Centrally-heated housing units'' - 437,000 * ''Length of the water supply network'' - 2,657 km * ''Length of the drainage network'' - 822 km * ''Length of the electricity network'' - 7,823 km * ''Telephone land lines'' - 408,000 Street network * ''Length'' - 2,670 km * ''Area'' 28.126 km² * '' vehicles'' - 750,000 Green zones * ''Total number'' - 2,810 * ''Area'' – 54.41 km² * ''Green zones per person'' - 48.7 m² ==Institutions of higher education== *[http://www.bas.bg/ Bulgarian Academy of Sciences] *[http://www.uni-sofia.bg/ Sofia University St. Clement of Ohrid (Kliment Ohridski)] *[http://www.unwe.acad.bg/ University for National and World Economics] *[http://www.uacg.acad.bg/ University of Architecture, Construction and Geodesy] *[http://www.tu-sofia.bg/ Sofia Technical University] *[http://www.uctm.edu/ University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy] *[http://www.mgu.bg/ St. John of Rila (Ivan Rilski) University of Mining and Technology] *[http://www.betibg.org/ Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute] *[http://www.ltu.bg/ University of Forestry] *[http://www.medun.acad.bg/ Sofia Medical University] *[http://www.nsa.bg/ Vassil Levski National Sports Academy] *[http://natfiz.bitex.com/ Krastio Sarafov National Academy for the Theatre and Film Arts] *[http://www.art.acad.bg/art/index-b.html National Academy for the Fine Arts] *[http://www.art.acad.bg/music/index-b.html Prof. Pancho Vladigerov State Academy of Music] *[http://www.nbu.bg/ New Bulgarian University] *[http://www.vsu.bg/ Luben Karavelov Higher School for Civil Engineering] *[http://www.vtu.bg/ Todor Kableshkov Higher School for Transportation] *[http://www.vipond.mvr.bg/ Police Academy] *[http://rakovski-defcol.mod.bg/ G.S. Rakovsky Military Academy] ==External links== * [http://www.sofia.bg/en/index_en.asp Official webpage] * [http://www.sofiacouncil.bg/ Sofia City Council] * [http://www.sofia.com Sofia.com] * [http://www.sofia-life.com Sofia Life Travel Guide] * [http://www.pbase.com/ngruev/sofia Pictures from Sofia] * [http://www.pbase.com/ngruev/sofia2 More pictures from Sofia] * [http://www.programata.bg Cultural Guide] * [http://www.easybulgarian.com/tourism/sofia.html Brief Information on Sofia] ''See also'': List of cities in Bulgaria Capitals in Europe Cities in Bulgaria Provinces of Bulgaria Historical capitals of Bulgaria Sofia SofiaBulgaria Sofia==Satellite image== The satellite image overlaps and conceals text. This occurs (albeit in different places) whether you're using Firefox or IE6. Could someone who knows how to make WP images look pretty fix this up? User:Rlw 21:06, May 15, 2005 (UTC) See other meanings of words starting from letter: SSB | SC | SD | SE | SF | SG | SH | SI | SJ | SK | SL | SM | SN | SO | SP | SR | SS | ST | SU | SW | SX | SY | SZ |Words begining with Sofia: SOFIA Sofia Sofia Sofia Sofia,_Bulgaria SOFIA_(observatory) Sofia_(region) Sofia_Airport Sofia_Coppola Sofía_de_Grecia Sofía_de_Grecia_y_Hannover Sofia_Ghobaydullina Sofia_Ghobaydullina Sofia_Gubaidalina Sofia_Gubaidulina Sofia_Gubaidulina Sofia_Karp Sofia_Karp Sofia_Kovalevskaya Sofia_Kovalevskaya Sofia_Lidskog Sofia_Loren Sofia_Metro Sofia_Mulanovich Sofia_of_Russia Sofia_of_Spain Sofía_of_Spain Sofía_of_Spain Sofia_Polgar Sofia_Province Sofia_Region Sofia_region Sofia_Rotaru Sofia_Rotaru Sofia_Sanchez Sofia_Shinas Sofia_Vasilyevna_Kovalevskaya Sofia_Vergara Sofía_Vergara Sofía_Vergara/Copyvio Sofia_Wilhelmina_Mariana_Henrietta_of_Nassau.jpeg |
These materials are based on Wikipedia and licensed under the GNU FDL
YouTube.com videos better site than Turbo Tax 2007 |
|
|