The Central Sofia Market Hall ( bg, Централни софийски хали, Tsentralni sofiyski hali), known popularly simply as The Market Hall (Халите, ''Halite'') is a covered market 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 ...

, located on

Marie Louise Boulevard Maria Luiza Boulevard ( bg, Булевард Мария Луиза), also called Maria Luiza, which is the Bulgarian transliteration of Marie Louise, is a central boulevard in Sofia. It connects Central Railway Station and Vitosha Boulevard whic ...

. It was opened in 1911 and is today an important trade centre in the city.

History

The construction of the building, which spreads over 3,200 m², began in 1909 after the design of architect

Naum Torbov Naum Torbov ( bg, Наум Торбов) (1880-1952) was a Bulgarian architect. Biography Torbov was born on 18 November 1880 in Gopesh village in the Ottoman Macedonia. His family emigrated to the Principality of Bulgaria and settled in the to ...

was selected in 1907, and took two years to complete. Until the late 1940s the Sofia municipality let out about 170 shops and stalls in the Central Sofia Market Hall. The rents and the product quality were strictly regulated. The market hall building's interior was significantly altered after the 1950s and the market was closed in 1988 in order to be reconstructed, modernized and once again opened for Easter in 2000, after 75% of it was acquired by the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i company Ashtrom, who invested $7 million in it. Today the Central Sofia Market Hall employs over 1,000 people, has three storeys, and offers foodstuff stalls and shops, clothing, accessories and jewellery shops, fast food stalls, etc.

Architecture

The style of the building, which is regarded as Torbov's best work, is

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

, featuring also elements of

Neo-Byzantine architecture Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Or ...

and Neo-Baroque. The

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

is known for its relief of the coat of arms of Sofia above the main entrance created by the artist Haralampi Tachev. The famous little clock tower with three dials tops the edifice. The building was originally constructed with four entrances, though not all are used today.

Gallery

File:CentralMarkethallSofiaTodorBozhinov.JPG, Front view Image:Hali-clock-ifb.JPG, Detail of the clock tower Image:Halite-1912.jpg, View of the Market Hall in 1912

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Sofia Market halls Tourist attractions in Sofia Buildings and structures completed in 1911 Byzantine Revival architecture in Bulgaria Renaissance Revival architecture in Bulgaria