Prince Alexander I Square ( bg, площад Княз Александър I, Ploshtad Knyaz Aleksandar I), often called simply Battenberg Square (площад Батенберг) is the largest square of

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, the capital of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. It is named after Alexander Joseph of Battenberg (Alexander I of Bulgaria), the first prince of modern Bulgaria. During the Communist rule of Bulgaria, the square was named September 9th Square, after a coup on September 9, 1944, made the country a

Communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...

. Before 1944, the square was known as Tsar's Square because the former royal palace, now the

National Art Gallery List of national galleries is a list of national art galleries. {{tocright Africa *Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa *National Art Gallery of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia The Americas *Galería Nacional, San Juan, Puerto ...

was located there. It was the site of the Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum from 1949 until 1999. It is arguably the most suitable place in Sofia for major open-air concerts such as the concert series ''"Opera on the Square"'', demonstrations, parades (including the military parade on St George's Day) and other large-scale events.

Events

Parades

During the communist era, September 9th Square was the main site of civil and military parades in honor of

International Workers' Day International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every year on 1 May, ...

, The Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944, The

Great October Socialist Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

, and in 1981 the

1300th Anniversary of the Bulgarian State The 1300th Anniversary of the Bulgarian State was a yearlong celebration in 1981 when Bulgaria celebrated the 1300th anniversary of the establishment of the first Bulgarian state in modern history. There were 23,000 events connected with the 130 ...

. The government leaders ascended to the top of the Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum to view these parades. After the fall of communism in 1989, only parades were held in honor of Armed Forces Day.

External links

A gallery of early photos of the square
{{bulgaria-stub Squares in Sofia