site.btaAugust 22, 1952: A Market Day in Sofia

Zhenski Pazar (Women’s Market), Sofia’s oldest open-air market, was established shortly after Bulgaria’s Liberation in 1878. As a commercial hub, the market emerged even before 1878, under the names Wheat Market and Horse Market. It supplied Sofia residents with fresh agricultural produce and provided farmers from nearby villages with a place to sell their goods.

Legend has it that its name originates from an old custom dating back to the Ottoman rule, which did not allow women to visit any market other than the village market or those intended exclusively for women’s needs.

Located between Todor Alexandrov and Slivnitsa boulevards near Lion’s Bridge, the market has long been a multicultural hub in Sofia’s so-called Square of Tolerance, surrounded by the Banya Bashi Mosque, the Central Synagogue, and Saints Cyril and Methodius Church.

In the early 20th century, municipal authorities consolidated smaller street markets into Zhenski Pazar, making it the city’s main trade centre. During the communist era, when it was renamed Georgi Kirkov Market, it was one of the few places where private agricultural trade was tolerated.

A major renovation in 2014, supported by EU funding, modernized the market with new pavilions, better infrastructure, and the addition of cultural spaces, including the Serdika Gallery – the only art gallery located within an open-air market in Sofia.

Today, Zhenski Pazar combines tradition and modernity, attracting up to 60,000 visitors daily and remaining one of the capital’s most vibrant commercial and cultural landmarks.