Aleksander Nevski Cathedral, Sofia

Here is the Cathedral. Beautiful XIX century building, done in Byzantine style.

Despite having a Byzantine Balkanic style, the cathedral was named as a tribute to the Russian soldiers who died in the Russo-Turkish war.

That war liberated Bulgaria from the Ottomans.

It is named after a Russian, Alexander Nevsky.

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Sofia's skyline's dominated by the gold domes of the Aleksander Nevski Memorial Church.

This most photographed monument was built in honour of the Russian Tzar Alexander II, 'Tzar Liberator', and the 200,000 Russians who died helping to liberate Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire during the 1877-1878 Russian-Turkish War. It was named after St. Aleksander Nevski, the patron saint of the Tzar and his family. The central altar's dedicated to him, whereas the southern and northern altars are dedicated to St Boris, who brought Christianity to Bulgaria, and to Saints Cyril and Methodius, who created the Cyrillic alphabet.

The Russian architect Pomerantsev designed this monumental building that took 30 years (1882-1912) to be completed. Inside, you can admire real masterpieces of icons, frescoes, huge chandeliers and murals that 45 Russian, Czech and Bulgarian artists worked on.

Opening hours: 7.00-18.00

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This magnificent building with its gilt domes was the highlight of my trip to Sofia. It looks stunning either bathed in sunlight or lit up at night. The church was built between 1882-1924 to commemorate the Russian contribution to Bulgaria's War of Liberation 1877-1878. It's named after a famous medieval Russian ruler.

The interior is decorated with frescoes which are lit up by hundreds of candles. It also contains a marble, onyx and alabaster iconastis. Beneath the church is the crypt. Here you'll find a gallery full of religious icons from the 12th to the 19th century. The admission to the crypt was 6 leva. Both the church and crypt are fascinating places to explore, my only regret was that photography is not allowed in either.

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This is almost the gem of Sofia.

The cathedral is huge, and breathtaking.

The artwork inside has to be seen for yourself.

Well worth a visit and a browse.

ps - don't miss the Icon Exhibition in the Crypt either.

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The Bulgarian-Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Hram-pametnik Sveti Aleksandar Nevski) is probably Sofia's main landmark. The cathedral was built in Neo-Byzantine style and completed in the early 20th century.

Its size is impressive both from the outside and the inside, where it can host up to 5000 people. The 45 m high cathedral is also well worth a visit at night when the outside is impressively illuminated.

Directions:
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is located at the square pl. Alexander Nevsky right in the heart of Sofia's city centre.

Address:
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, pl. Alexander Nevsky, Sofia

Undoubtedly the most spectacular building in Sofia, a neo Byzantine style typical of Russian churces in the 19th centruy. It was built between 1882 and 1912 and said to have a capacity of up to 7,000 people. It was named after St. Alexander Nevski, a Russian Tsar who saved Russia from invading Swedish troops in 1240. He became the patron saint of Tsar Alexander II.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in Neo-Byzantine style. The construction of the cathedral started in 1882, but it was finished between 1904 and 1912 in honour to the Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish War to liberate Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. The cathedral is a cross-domed basilica. The gold plated dome is 45 m high. The interior is decorated with Italian marble in different colours.
Visit this cathedral if you have a chance, it's very beautiful.

The Crypt of the Al. Nevski Cathedral features the National Art Gallery's storage room for ancient art work. You can visit these paintings any day other than Monday and they do provide a good idea of the earlier eras of Bulgarian religious painting. There is a sizable collection with some quite good examples. The only problem is that there is extremely limited explanation of anything but the most basic information in English, so be prepared to be in the dark about the stories behind these paintings. There are a few paintings where there was quite a long write-up in Bulgarian about the biography of the artist, but nothing was given in any other language.