
Sofia City Court
Monumental limestone courthouse with bronze lions on its staircase, a frequent stage for protests.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Sofia City Court, inside the Palace of Justice on Vitosha Boulevard, starts with the two bronze lions on its staircase and one July night in twenty thirteen, when an unknown artist came to them with a brush. It follows the street protests of that summer against Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski's government and the courts housed behind these doors. Stand at the foot of the steps, where you can study the left-hand lion's stride.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
National Assembly of Bulgaria
Neo-Renaissance parliament house of the 1880s, scene of a night-long siege of deputies in 1997.
Bulgarian National Bank
Interwar central bank in pale limestone, guarded by a stone saint, carved lions and gods of trade.
Lions' Bridge
Stone bridge over a small river, guarded at each corner by four bronze lions cast in Vienna.
Presidential Palace of Republic of Bulgaria
Head-of-state offices in a fifties ensemble, guarded by sentries in scarlet nineteenth-century dress.
Museum of Socialist Art and Monuments
Garden of toppled communist-era statues and socialist realist paintings, guarded by a giant red star.
Monument of the Unknown Soldier
Eternal flame and bronze lion guarding a soldiers' tomb inscribed with patriotic verse.