St. Sophia Church

The oldest church in Sofia dating back to the 4th Century! It was part of the old Serdica and it’s next to the Cathedral! A place you simply can’t miss put on if you visit this side of the city!

A place definitely worth visiting if in Sofia. We came here on a weekday, and were able to see everything with no crowds. The church has 3 parts: the surface Basilica (6th century), under it there is a small church (4th century) and around that (also underground) is a necropolis, built before Christianity took its root in the area. It is free to enter the basilica, and the cost for seeing the crypt is 3 leva.

A very interesting historical place visible through the overlaying of several building layers. Not only a religious one. Check timetables for tourists, if you want to visit the inner site

Buy ticket for photos at front desk first. They accept Euro, but it's cash only. There's roman ruin under the church, don't forget to buy another entrance ticket for ruins and take a look at the amazing mosaic, it's so pretty. ( It's hiding at the end of the whole place.) Try not to pay attention to staff's attitude, you might think they are rude, but you only have to to show them your ticket, and still they wouldn't give you a smile. They are born and raised that way, it's a culture thing, don't take it seriously or it will ruin your whole trip.

This is an amazing relic. It is the church where the city of Sophia get its name (Saint Sofia). The most amazing thing about this church is that it is rebuilt right on top of the old one. So make sure you visit the crypt.

Truly a unique church where you can visit a 4th century Roman necropolis in its basement. The church, which should be translated to the "Holy Wisdom" Basilica (and not Saint Sofia), is the reason why the city is named Sofia. The access to the Church is free, but you you need to pay 6 levs to see the roman ruins (which is absolutely worth it)

Visiting St Sofia was underwhelming at first but it got much better when visiting the crypt. The access is not made for people having difficulties walking as there is a lot of stairs and the roof might be low on some areas. The video teaching us on the evolution of the church construction was quite interesting to put in perspective what you can see. I wished they had put that video closer to the entrance rather than quasi at the end of the path. Also there was no space for people to sit and watch the video so, really, it better be placed somewhere else. There are nice mosaics towards the end of the walk, after passing many tombs with flat and arched tops giving an indication of when they were built (together with find artefacts not displayed anymore). While in some churches in other countries the bones are visible, there everything is removed... Which rather remove curiosity and amazement from the tourist. Everything is apparently put in a museum... While it would have been so much nicer to keep findings in their original context. The place could also benefit from me pictures and descriptions of how it was looking at the time of the discovery, the intention for digging, the challenges encountered, etc. Build a story while walking through the history of the crypt.

The church is beautiful. Its architecture is unique. As one of the oldest churches in Europe it has a unique atmosphere. Also the candles are amazing. They make you pay if you take photos though.