The Largo (, definite form Ларгото, ''Largoto'') is an architectural ensemble of three Socialist Classicism buildings around Independence Square () in central

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, the capital of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. It was designed and built in the 1950s with the intention of becoming the city's new representative centre. Today it is regarded as one of the prime examples of Socialist Classicism architecture in

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and Archipelago, archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of t ...

, as well as one of the main landmarks of Sofia. The Largo complex consists of three buildings around Independence Square: The

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

and the TSUM department store on the north side, the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

(former Communist Party headquarters) with its iconic spire on the east side, the Presidential Administration (former Council of State) and the Balkan Hotel to the south side. Plans for a 16-storey City Hall on the east side, resembling the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

main building, were not carried out following de-Stalinisation.Stara Sofia (Old Sofia)
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History

The yellow-cobblestoned square around which the ensemble is centred is called Independence Square. It is formed by the Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard and Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard merging from the east to continue as Todor Aleksandrov Boulevard west of the Largo. Originally, the square was named after Lenin. A Council of Ministers of Bulgaria

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

was published in 1951 regarding the construction of the Largo. The lot in the centre of the city, damaged by the bombing of Sofia in World War II, was cleared in the autumn of 1952, so that the construction of the new buildings could begin in the following years. The Party House building, once crowned by a

red star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

on a pole, was designed by a team under architect Petso Zlatev and completed in 1955. The building of today's Presidential Administration and Balkan Hotel, the work of Petso Zlatev, Petar Zagorski and other architects, was finished the following year, while today's Council of Ministers and TSUM part of the edifice, designed by a team under Kosta Nikolov, followed in 1957. The fountain between the Presidential Administration and the older National Archaeological Museum was shaped in 1958. The Largo also once featured a statue of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

, which was later removed and replaced by the one of St. Sophia in 2000.

Refurbishment

Following the democratic changes after 1989, the symbols of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

in the decoration of the Largo were removed, with the most symbolic act being the removing of the red star on a pole atop the former Party House using a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

and its substitution by the

flag of Bulgaria The national flag of the Republic of Bulgaria is a tricolour consisting of three equal-sized horizontal bands of (from top to bottom) white, green, and red. The flag was first adopted after the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War, when Bulgaria gained ...

. In the 1990s there have been suggestions to reshape the former Party House, sometimes regarded as an imposing remnant of a past ideology, by introducing more modern architectural elements. According to the new architectural plan of Sofia, Independence Square is being reorganized. The lawn and the flags in the centre are replaced by glass domes, so that the ruins of the ancient

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

city of Serdica can be exposed in an impressive way, thus becoming a tourist attraction. The two underpasses, the one in front of the former Party House and the one with the medieval Church of St Petka, are also connected to ease the access to the nearby

Serdika Serdika or Serdica (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: ) is the historical Roman Empire, Roman name of Sofia, now the capital of Bulgaria. Currently, Serdika is the name of a district located in the city. It includes four neighbourhoods: "Fondovi z ...

and Serdika II metro stations.

Gallery

Image:Sofia, 1984.jpg, The former Party House in 1984, before the removal of the red star on spire Image:Sofia-former-party-house-ifb.JPG, The former Party House in 2006 Image:P7120045.JPG, Council of Ministers Image:Largo-president-ifb.JPG, Presidential Administration Image:Flags of all Nato member states near Bulgarian parliament in Sofia, Bulgaria September 2005.jpg, TZUM department store Image:StGeorgeRotundaSofia.JPG, The 4th-century St George Rotunda behind the Balkan Hotel Image:Bulgaria Bulgaria-0537 - Presidential Palace (7390213724).jpg, Presidential Guard

References

{{Sofia landmarks Buildings and structures in Sofia Stalinist architecture Squares in Sofia Tourist attractions in Sofia Headquarters of political parties Seats of national legislatures Presidential residences 1955 establishments in Bulgaria