Български
English
The contemporary “St. Sofia” Basilica is located in the centre of the main necropolis of the antique town of Serdika. This part has a dense network of tombs from the period of the 2nd century BC - 4th century AD. There are tombs of all types - cist graves, made of roughly cut stone slabs, individual masonry brick tombs, covered with stone slabs and family arched or domed tombs.
The first Christian church was built in this place in the first quarter of the 4th century in the area of the ancient town of Serdika. This was a very modest church of area 25 m2 and it is assumed that it was a martyrion (a place where the remains of a martyr for the Christian faith were buried). For about 250 years after the building of the first church, this place was the scene of active cult life - the church was extended to the west, which was later incorporated in the third church, a three-nave basilica, and later a fourth church was built, a three-nave basilica again. Each subsequent church is larger than the previous one. The “St. Sofia” Basilica of nowadays was built at the end of the 6th century and it was devoted to the Holy Wisdom of God. It is a three-nave cross-domed basilica of unique semantics and impressive size for the time.
Availability for visits: Yes, free of charge, all year round
Transport accessibility: Public Transport
Tourist infrastructure: Yes
