On February 19, 1882, on the highest place in Sofia at that time, southeast of the church "St. Sophia" the foundation stone of the cathedral in the Bulgarian capital was laid.
The monument was built as a tribute to the Russian liberators of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. The idea belonged to Petko Karavelov – a Bulgarian politician and public figure. On 17 December 1880, the Second National Assembly voted to build a cathedral in Sofia. It was to be named after the Russian prince Alexander Nevsky (canonised as saint in 1547) who was the heavenly patron of the Russian Tsar Alexander II. The actual construction of the cathedral began in 1904, and its bells rang out in Sofia for the first time in 1913.
The temple is a monumental five-aisled cross-domed basilica with an atrium and a bell tower. The architecture is based on the Byzantine-style cathedrals, which were built in Russia in the second half of the 19th century, but it also has medieval Bulgarian elements and other architectural forms. The building spans an area of 3,170 square metres (34122.6 square feet) and it can accommodate up to 5,000 people. The bell tower has 12 bells. It rises to a height of 53 m (174 ft). The largest bell has a mouth diameter of 3 m (9 ft)and weighs 11 748 kg (25899.9 lbs).
The frescoes and icons of the three iconostases are the work of Bulgarian, Russian and Czech artists. The domes of the temple are gilded, and the façade is lined with white Vratsa stoneand decorated with exquisite stone carvings.
In the basement of the temple is the Crypt, where one can see masterpieces of medieval and Bulgarian Renaissance art.
Compiled by: Gergana Mancheva
English: Elizabeth Radkova
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