Sofia
or SOPHIA, capital of the kingdom of Bulgaria; lies in a fertile plain on the upper waters of the Isker, an affluent of the Danube, to the N. of the Vitsch Mountains, 75 miles N. W. of Philippopolis. The seat of a Greek metropolitan and a Roman Catholic bishop, it has many mosques, minarets, Christian churches, synagogues, etc. Sofia is the converging point of several important trade routes (three from the Balkans), and carries on considerable manufactures of cloth, silk wares, leather, and tobacco.
In the vicinity are celebrated hot springs, with a temperature of 48° C. Sofia occupies the site of old Sardica, which was built by Justinian. It was taken from the Byzantine emperor Basilius in 809 by the Bulgarians, who called it Triaditza, a name which gave place at the time of the Crusades to that of Stralitz or Sternitz. It fell to the Turks in 1382. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 the abandonment of Sofia became necessary as soon as a considerable Russian force had made its way S. of the Balkans, and the retreat was effected without loss, At the Congress of Berlin (July, 1878), the English plenipotentiaries strove to join the town and district of Sofia to the province of Eastern Rumelia, but they were eventually included in Bulgaria. On Oct. 25, 1878, Sofia became the seat of government of Bulgaria. Pop. about 105,000.