Vitosha ( ) is one of the 24 districts of

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 ...

, situated in the southern parts of the City on the foot of the

Vitosha Vitosha ( ), 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. Convenient bus lines and ...

mountain. As of 2006 it has 42,953 inhabitants. The district includes 7 neighbourhoods:

Boyana Boyana ( ) is a neighbourhood of the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, part of Vitosha municipality and situated 8 km south of the city centre, in the outskirts of Vitosha. Boyana is one of the most expensive parts of Sofia to live in. The res ...

, Simeonovo,

Dragalevtsi Dragalevtsi ( ) is a neighborhood of Sofia, which is located at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. It is part of the administrative district "Vitosha" of Sofia Municipality. Dragalevtsi is an affluent quarter built up with luxurious one-family country ...

Pavlovo Pavlovo () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Arkhangelsk Oblast As of 2010, one rural locality in Arkhangelsk Oblast bears this name: * Pavlovo, Arkhangelsk Oblast, a village under the administrative jurisdiction of the tow ...

, Buxton, Manastirski Livadi, and Knyazhevo as well as two villages

Vladaya Vladaya (, ) is a village on the Vitosha and Lyulin mountains in western Bulgaria at an altitude of about 1000 m. In the 2011 census in Vladaya were counted 4043 residents, which makes it the tenth largest village in Bulgaria. Remark: you should ...

and

Marchaevo Marchaevo, or Marčaevo, ( ) is a village located in the Vitosha municipality in the southern parts of the capital Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in t ...

. It is among the richest and greenest districts in Sofia and

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 ...

with many beautiful residences, houses, villas and residential complexes.

Landmarks

* National Historical Museum which is among the most important

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an museums with rich collection dating from prehistorical ages to modern day. Among the most precious items are several splendid

Thracian treasure The Thracians (, , ) were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting a large area in Central and Southeastern Europe, centred in modern Bulgaria. They were bordered by the Scythians to the north, the Celts and the Illyrians to the west, the Gree ...

s, fine church plates, ancient manuscripts and many others. It is part of the

100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria is a Bulgarian national Social movement, movement established in 1966 to promote tourism among Bulgaria's most significant cultural, historic, and natural landmarks. As part of this program, sites of cultural and his ...

. *

Boyana Church The Boyana Church () is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, in the Boyana quarter. In 1979, the building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The east wing of the two-story ...

dating back to the 9-10th century with magnificent 13th-century frescoes. It is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

and part of the

. *

Boyana Waterfall Boyana Waterfall is the largest waterfall in the Vitosha mountain massif in western Bulgaria, with a height of 25 meters. Location Boyana Waterfall is formed under the waters of the Boyana River, which streams down the northern hills of Vitosha ...

, a 15 m high waterfall. *

Dragalevtsi Monastery Dragalevtsi Monastery of the Holy Mother of God of Vitosha (, ''Dragalevski manastir „Sveta Bogoroditsa Vitoshka“'') is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery on the lower slopes of Vitosha mountain on the outskirts of the capital Sofia in western ...

, built under Ivan Alexander. * Knyazhevo mineral springs, with a temperature of 31°C

Education

There are 8 schools and 7 ''chitalishta'' (something like a library) with 102,000 volumes. The

Lycée Français Victor Hugo In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

, a French international school, is in the Maxi Complex in Vitosha.Contact
"

. Retrieved on 14 May 2015. "Site MAXI COMPLEX complexe MAXI 110 Simeonovsko chaussée quartier Vitosha 1700 Sofia "

Gallery

Image:Knyazhevo Church TodorBozhinov.jpg, Church in Knyazhevo Image:Boyana Church E1.jpg, Boyana Church

External links

Vitosha municipality on the Capital municipality official site

Site of Vladaya
{{Districts of Sofia Districts of Sofia