Vitosha Boulevard ( bg, булевард „Витоша“, often called just , Vitoshka) is the main commercial street 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 h ...

, the capital of Bulgaria, which is abundant in posh stores, restaurants and bars. It extends from the St Nedelya Square to the Southern Park. Many high-end fashion labels have outlets on Vitosha boulevard and the neighbouring streets:

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as ...

Escada Escada SE is a luxury women's designer clothing company headquartered in Munich, Germany. The company is owned by Regent, L.P., an international private equity firm led by investor Michael Reinstein. The company was founded in 1978 by design ...

, Bulgari, D&G, La Perla,

Lacoste Lacoste S.A. is a French company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur Mangkha. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company can be recognised by its g ...

, Van Laak,

Ermenegildo Zegna Ermenegildo Zegna (; born 30 September 1955), often simply known and referred to as Gildo Zegna, is an Italian entrepreneur and manager. He is Chairman and CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna Group. Early life and education Gildo is a grandson of Ermeneg ...

, Tru

Trussardi Trussardi is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Milan, Italy, and specialized in leather goods, ready-to-wear, perfumes, and accessories. Trussardi was founded in 1911 as a leather glove manufacturer, and expanded its line to additional ...

, Moreschi, Marella,

Max Mara Max Mara (Italian aks 'ma:ra is an Italian fashion business. It markets up-market ready-to-wear clothing. It was established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). In March 2008, the company had 2, ...

Gianfranco Ferré Gianfranco Ferré (; 15 August 1944 – 17 June 2007) was an Italian fashion designer also known as "the architect of fashion" for his background and his original attitude toward creating fashion design. Early life and education Ferré was born ...

Emporio Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and h ...

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

Boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

, Baldinini. Among the notable buildings, located on the boulevard are: The National Palace of Culture, The Palace of the Courts, the house where the famous Bulgarian poet Peyo Yavorov lived and died. The corner of Vitosha and

Patriarch Evtimiy 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 ...

boulevards, so called the Pharmacy (Аптека), is a popular place for meetings. The boulevard is named after

Vitosha Vitosha ( bg, Витоша ), the ancient ''Scomius'' or ''Scombrus'', is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Conven ...

, the mountain just next to Sofia. It was an unadjusted street during the

Ottoman rule of Bulgaria The history of Ottoman Bulgaria spans nearly 500 years, from the conquest by the Ottoman Empire of the smaller kingdoms emerging from the disintegrating Second Bulgarian Empire in the late 14th century, to the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878. A ...

and acquired the name ''Vitoshka ulitsa'' ("Vitosha Street") after the

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, in 1883. The street was initially built up with low one-storey houses, but turned into an imposing trade street in the Interwar period as massive public buildings were constructed, changing Vitoshka's appearance completely. According to a 2007 Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. study, Vitosha Boulevard is the world's 22nd most expensive trade street.

http://www.europe-re.com/system/main.php?pageid=1393&articleid=5903&objectid=10019

http://www.dnes.bg/article.php?cat=1&id=15108] In May 2007, a renovation of the boulevard was announced, which aimed to restore the style of 1930s Sofia. Historical benches and street lights were added, as well as Art Nouveau round kiosks, more green areas, fountains, open-air bars, and a clock tower at the

St Nedelya Church Sveta Nedelya Church ( bg, Катедрален храм "Св. великомъченица Неделя" в София or църква „Света Неделя“, translit=Sveta Nedelya) is an Eastern Orthodox church in Sofia, the capital of ...

displaying the time in various world capital

In March 2013, reconstruction works on the boulevard started. In summer 2015, there was another renovation of the boulevard completing the entirely pedestrian zone of the boulevard between Patriarch Evtimiy Blvd. and Alabin Str.

Transport links

The north end of the pedestrian part of the boulevard is served by Serdika Metro Station, Serdika and Serdika II stations of the

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 ...

as well as several tram lines, while the south end is served by NDK and NDK II metro stations and trolleybus lines.

Gallery

File:Boulevard Vitosha at night, Sofia PD 2012 7.JPG, Vitoshka, as seen from near NDK, with the

in the distance File:Vitosha Boulevard TodorBozhinov.jpg, A building on Vitoshka File:Court of Justice Sofia TodorBozhinov.jpg, The

Sofia Court House The Sofia Court House ( bg, Съдебна палата, ''Sadebna palata,'' literally Palace of Justice) is a building in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, accommodating several courts in the city. Stylistically a simplistic yet monumental struct ...

on 2 Vitosha Boulevard File:Vitosha Boulevard 1934.jpg, Vitoshka, circa 1934 with the

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 ...

's in front left.

References

External links

Nikola Gruev's photo gallery of Vitosha Boulevard

A shopping guide to Vitoshka
* {{commonscat-inline, Vitosha Boulevard Streets in Sofia Tourist attractions in Sofia Shopping districts and streets