Lyulin ( bg, Люлин, pronounced ) is the largest residential complex both in 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 Macedo ...

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 h ...

and in the whole country. It is located in the western outskirts of city and is divided into 10

microdistrict Microdistrict, or microraion (russian: микрорайо́н, ''mikrorajón''), is a residential complex—a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet and former Socialist st ...

s. The complex has a population of 114,813 and is at the disposal of all means of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

. Lyulin is a relatively new district. The infrastructural work on the complex began in 1971 and the first condominium was constructed in 1973. The complex is named after the nearby

Lyulin Mountain Lyulin () is a range of hills in western Bulgaria, located several kilometres west of Sofia. The highest point is Dupevitsa Peak (1,256 m). The Buchino Pass divides the hills into two, a western and an eastern part. Bonsovi Polyani are a popular t ...

. It is a popular place to live, as transportation is favourable and the real estate is somewhat inexpensive.

Transportation

There are several

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 ...

and

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 ...

lines (8), two

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 trol ...

lines (6 and 7), and

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 ...

( Lyulin, Slivnitsa, and Zapaden park). Three main boulevards - "Tsaritsa Yoanna", "Pancho Vladigerov" and "Slivnitsa" transect the district. The bus, tram, and the trolleys go only to the center. The subway has limited overall coverage, but it is very effective for going to the downtown area and the Mladost district, the latter being in the opposite end of the city.

Education & Health

There are 9 high schools, one elementary school, and a number of private educational centers, the latter usually studying foreign languages, mathematics, and Bulgarian language and literature. Most schools have indoor swimming pools. There are 2 state polyclinics — 12th in Lyulin 9 and 26th in Lyulin 2 — and "Mediva Center" in Lyulin 4, which is private.

Recreation & entertainment

In the outskirts of the district, towards the downtown lays the second largest park in Sofia, West Park; it is in somewhat dilapidated condition (most of the alleys are dirt tracks, there is no park ranger or any lamp posts whatsoever), but is still extensively used for

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

(including dirt-biking), outdoor

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

and, occasionally, the usage of an ATV. There is also "Lyulin Beach" (outdoor swimming pool with various recreational activities) and a couple of small football stadiums.

Commerce

There is one large marketplace with numerous shops, selling various articles and a number of super/hypermarkets (

BILLA Billa may refer to: Films *Billa (1980 film), ''Billa'' (1980 film), 1980 Indian Tamil film *Billa (2002 film), ''Billa'' (2002 film), 2002 Pakistani Punjabi film *Billa (2007 film), ''Billa'' (2007 film), 2007 Indian Tamil film, remake of ''Bil ...

, Technopolis,

Technomarket Technomarket (Cyrillic: Техномаркет) is a Bulgarian retailer of consumer electronics that operates stores in Bulgaria, Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Montenegro and Romania. It also used to operate in ...

, METRO, Labyrinth,

Praktiker Praktiker AG was a German hardware store chain which operated in Europe. It was based in Hamburg and opened its first store in 1978 in Luxembourg under the name bâtiself. Initially owned by ASKO, the chain became a division of Metro AG after ...

, etc.). Most of these supermarkets are dedicated to one particular trade niche (for example, BILLA is for food and Labyrinth is for furniture) With the opening of the Mega Mall in September 2014, Lyulin’s entertainment potential has increased significantly. Regular events such as the TV show “Mini Miss and Mini Mister” are held in the Mall, which also hosts events such as international wine tastings or events celebrating local customs such as Baba Marta.

Crime

Lyulin is commonly associated with

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

. There has been a number of major crime-related incidents in the district, such as settlements between members of the

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

. On one occasion, two police officers were killed in a shootout with suspects. Also, a construction engineering businessman was shot and killed while entering his condo. There is only one police department. Image:Lulin church s7.jpg, St. Clement of Ohrid Church (1999) Image:Lulin silver centre s6.jpg, Silver Centre Trade Complex Image:Lulin free s8.jpg, A view of 6th microregion of Lyulin District

References

{{Districts of Sofia Districts of Sofia