Patriarch Evtimiy Square ( bg, площад „Патриарх Евтимий“, ''ploshtad Patriarh Evtimiy''), more popularly known as Popa (Попа, "The Priest"), is a small urban square and a busy intersection in the centre of
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, the capital of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. The square was named after
Evtimiy of Tarnovo
Saint Euthymius of Tarnovo (also ''Evtimiy''; , ''Sveti Evtimiy Tarnovski'') was Patriarch of Bulgaria between 1375 and 1393. Regarded as one of the most important figures of medieval Bulgaria, Euthymius was the last head of the Bulgarian Orth ...
,
Patriarch of Bulgaria
The Patriarch of All Bulgaria is the patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The patriarch is officially styled as ''Patriarch of All Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia''. Patriarch Neophyte acceded to this position on 24 February 2013.
Hist ...
from 1375 to 1393 and one of the most important figures of
medieval Bulgaria
In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...
; a monument to Evtimiy by sculptor Marko Markov has adorned the square since 1939.
Patriarch Evtimiy Square is located at the crossing of the car-freeGraf Ignatiev Street,
Vasil Levski Boulevard
Vasil Levski Boulevard ( bg, Булевард Васил Левски) is a major boulevard in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It lies between the Freight Station Square at the Slivnitsa and Danail Nikolaev Boulevards and the area of the Nationa ...
and Patriarch Evtimiy Boulevard, which branches off Vasil Levski at the square. Due to its central location, between
Sofia University
Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...
and
Orlov most
Eagles' Bridge ( bg, Орлов мост, ''Orlov most'' ) is a bridge over the Perlovska River in downtown Sofia, capital of Bulgaria.''Travel Sofia: Illustrated Guide, Phrasebook and Maps'', MobileReference, 2010 The bridge and junction where it ...
to the east and the
National Palace of Culture
The National Palace of Culture (, ; abbreviated as , NDK), located in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is the largest, multifunctional conference and exhibition centre in south-eastern Europe. It was opened in 1981 in celebration of Bulgaria's 130 ...
to the west, it is a very popular
meeting point
Meeting Point (Chinese: 匯點) was a liberal political organisation and party in Hong Kong formed by a group of former student activists in the 1970s and intellectuals for the discussion for the Sino-British negotiation on the question of Hong ...
, particularly for teenagers and young adults.
The Odeon Cinema lies in the western part of the square and the
Bulgartabac
Bulgartabac Holding Group AD or simply Bulgartabac ( bg, Булгартабак) is a Bulgarian tobacco industry, tobacco holding company. Established in 1947 and based in the capital Sofia, it includes 11 joint-stock subsidiary companies in the to ...
headquarters lie to the south of it. Other nearby landmarks include
Slaveykov Square
Slaveykov Square ( bg, Площад Славейков) is one of the most popular squares in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is named after Bulgarian writers Petko and Pencho Slaveykov, father and son. A sculpture of the two sitting on a bench ...
to the north along Graf Ignatiev Street and the
Vasil Levski National Stadium
Vasil Levski National Stadium ( bg, Национален стадион „Васил Левски“), named after Bulgarian national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,2 ...
to the southeast.
The square is well connected to many parts of Sofia through the nearby
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
way,
trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
and
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
stops; many routed taxicabs of the
marshrutka
''Marshrutka''St. Patriarch Evtimiy Metro Station of
Sofia Metro
The Sofia Metro ( bg, Софийски метрополитен, translit=Sofijski Metropoliten, also colloquially called ) is the rapid transit network servicing the Bulgarian capital city Sofia. It began operation on 28 January 1998. , the Sofi ...