Sofia City News
The Central Mineral Bath in Bankya got recognition from the Annual Construction Awards 2022. The building was awarded in the category “Investor in Recreation and Sports Facility 2022” and was presented during a Forum REAL – the largest event for construction, real estate, and investments in the sector. The public bath in Bamkya opened its doors to visitors in September 2022 after several years of restoration activities. It was built in 1911 during the reign of King Ferdinand and designed by the Bavarian architect professor Karl Hoheder, a leading specialist in the design of public SPAs throughout Europe at that time. Currently, the building is temporarily managed by the municipal enterprise “Sofiyski imoti” AD and welcomes visitors to the renewed relaxation areas, thermal zones, a kids pool with mineral water, steam, and salt baths.
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Museiko Children’s Museum was donated by America for Bulgaria Foundation to the Sofia Municipality. Thus, the science museum becomes a municipal property. “Muzeiko” is the largest science center for children in Eastern Europe with over 130 interactive games, science studios, and art workshops on an area of 2,000 square meters. Every month, the museum welcomes hundreds of children eager to enjoy the museum’s interactive exhibitions. Sofia municipality is planning to launch Robotics classes for children from 1st to 4th grades. The classes will start in September this year.
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Sofia Tech Park and the Regional History Museum in Sofia announced a joint project for the renovation of the “Triangular Tower of Serdika”. The Virtual Reality Laboratory in the Technology Park is working on creating a 3D image and interactive virtual reality for VR Headset, which will demonstrate the defense facility, the fortress wall, and the northern gate of the ancient city. To implement the project, the hall was equipped with VR Headset, TV screens, laser multimedia projector, photo frames, etc. The VR project will be implemented and made available for visitors to the museum by the end of the year.
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This year, the extension of the third line of the Sofia metro to Slatina, the Arena Sofia hall, Sofia Tech Park and the St. Anna Hospital will begin. Thus, 9 new kilometers of the subway will be gradually built. Three kilometers passing through the Poduyane area are currently under construction. A project for the expansion of the western part of Line 1 – from the Lyulin metro station to Sofia Ring Road is in progress. Finalization of the procedures for approving the Detailed Development Plan is expected for the route from Cherni Vrah Blvd. through Krastova Vada, Vitosha, Simeonovo, and Studentski Grad.
According to the Sofia Municipality, by 2027, the city will have an underground network of 61 kilometers and over half a million people will travel daily. With these new sections, the share of metro transport in the city’s public transport will reach 50%.
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Sofia Municipality is working on a new project for the construction of a new park in Manastirski Livadi district. If the project is approved by the Sofia City Council, the Municipality will apply for funding under the European Cities Initiative programme and 27 decares in the district will turn into a green area with bicycle lanes; a lake; rainwater collection, and management system; greenhouses for urban farming enriched with compost; outdoor classrooms for nature and climate classes; open co-working areas with free wi-fi access; playgrounds and event stages; solar facilities powering the park, etc.
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Latest news from Sofia Tech Park. In partnership with the Technical University in Gabrovo, the tech park will establish an Association of Science and Technology Parks in Bulgaria. According to the signed agreement, the two institutions will join efforts in the field of scientific and technological transfer, innovative startup support, and the development of science, education, and innovation initiatives in Bulgaria. Sofia Tech Park also started its CERN international master classes for students aged 15 to 19. During the training, the participants will work with data from the CMS and ALICE experiments, evaluate data from the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, and discuss the results with CERN scientists via direct video conference sessions.
