Sofia



Sofia is one of the oldest cities in Europe. As a settlement, it was founded seven thousand years ago, and for 120 years it has been the capital of Bulgaria. Sofia is a governmental and cultural center. The town is famous for its mineral springs and beautiful mountain. The modern outlook of the city are incorporates hundreds of archeological, historical and cultural monuments created through the ages by Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Slavs, Bulgarians and Turks. Temporary Sofia is the center of the political, social, economic and cultural life of the country, and a major center of sport.
  
There are few capitals in the world of the situated at the food of a mountain. Vitosha - the natural landscape of Sofia - is already a part of the suburban environment. The access to the mountain is easy and the highest peak Cherni Vruh is only 20 km away from the city center. Vitosha offers ideal possibilities for sport and recreation all year long. The unique feographical position and the well developed sport facilities encouraged Sofia to make the bid for hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 1992 and in 1994.
Sofia is the capital city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the center of the Balkans at the foot of the Vitosha Mountain where the important international highways from Western and Central Europe to Instanbul and Athens intersect. The population of Sofia is 1 200 000.
Sofia is a major transport center. There are railway connections to quite a number of countries like Yugoslavia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Rumania, Moldovia, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, Greece etc. Sofia is an important motor transport center as well. The Hemus, Tracia and Maritsa highways connect Sofia with the cities of Varna, Bourgas, Plovdiv and Istanbul. There are first-class highway connections to Yugoslavia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece. The Struma highway provides a very comfortable connection between Sofia and Athens. It has a big international airport that provides international flights to many countries around the world. The distance to Athens is 785 km.
Sofia has a temperate continental climate. The average annual temperature is 10.5°C. The winters in Sofia are cold and sometimes foggy. Snow usually falls between 11 November and 8 April. Springs are cool and rainy. Summers are hot. The temperatures in the months of June, July and August range between 20°C and 40°C. Seventy per cent of all days in the year are windless. The relative air humidity is lowest in August with an average value of 61 %.

Sport facilities in Sofia
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Bulgarian Olympic Committee  Bulgarian Tourist Chamber  Ministry of Youth and Sport ATHENS 2004 - the Official Site