site.btaLIK Magazine's September Issue Presented on Sofia's Feast Day
The September issue of LIK magazine, published by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), dedicated to the theme "Sofia from its First Tram to Nowadays", was presented on Thursday at the Bulgarian News Agency’s (BTA) MaxiM Hall. It was inspired by the 125th anniversary of the launch of the first tram, an event that made Sofia one of the first European capitals to have electric public transport.
BTA Deputy Director General Evgenia Drumeva said that the issue is dedicated specifically to Sofia and is being presented on the day commemorating Faith, Hope, Love, and their mother, Sophia. According to her, the focus is on the 125th anniversary of the launch of the first tram in the capital, which took place in January 1901 and was a symbol of modernity at the time.
LIK magazine Editor-in-Chief Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov outlined three faces of Sofia. According to him, there is a widespread perception in the public consciousness that urban culture is bourgeois and therefore not truly a form of popular culture, with people not recognizing it as their own. “This issue portrays Sofia’s urban culture as it exists today,” he noted.
Yanitsa Hristova, Мanaging Еditor of LIK magazine, spoke about some of Sofia’s iconic places. According to her, the articles in the issue also convey the idea that making a city function well requires a great deal of work and careful thought, even when it comes to the smallest details. This applies to everything from urban planning and transportation to water supply systems and waste collection.
"Every day I encounter tourists who are in central Sofia and are very impressed by what they see, things that are part of our everyday lives and that we tend to overlook. But through their eyes, I realize that we do not live in an ordinary city, and that there is much here to see, preserve, and remember," Veneta Handzhiyska-Yankulova, Director of Sofia's Regional History Museum said.
Sofia City Library head Marchela Borisova explained that the library preserves documents related to the history of Sofia. She noted that many readers who are not researchers are surprised to learn that the library has an entire department dedicated to the history of the city.
During the tenure of Mayor Ivan Ivanov, Sofia was determined to have the finest and most luxurious trams, journalist Stanislav Kolev said. He pointed out that very few written sources have survived documenting the development of Sofia’s electric public transport, adding that after September 9, 1944, thousands of tram drawings and technical documents from the former Tramkar tram factory were destroyed as old and unnecessary paper.
"Sofia’s architectural heritage is under enormous threat, and it is essential to preserve as much as possible of what remains of the city’s historic architecture," architect Stanislav Konstantinov said. According to him, a large part of the capital’s architectural heritage is deteriorating before the eyes of the public.
Literary critic Prof. Mihail Nedelchev shared his memories of some of Sofia’s landmark places. He noted that he was born in the Kingdom of Bulgaria and therefore considers himself a museum exhibit.
All electronic issues of LIK magazine since its relaunch in 2022 are free to access on BTA's website in Bulgarian and other languages, including the September issue about the 125th anniversary of the first tram in Sofia.
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