August 2016: Sofia, Bulgaria. Looking out our hotel window was the Hagia Nedela Church. Reading the sign posted at the entrance to the church, it appears the site has a long history as a place of worship dating back to the 10th century. The present structure was rebuilt and completed in the 1930’s. The Church’s history includes renovations, earthquakes, destruction, new build, renovations, additions, and restorations.
Our journey to Sofia, over a twenty-four hour period transplanted us to an old world steeped in history. The view out our hotel window was a reminder that we were embarking on a visual world history lesson.
Debbie Draws 
Its hard to imagine, looking at the church now, that the communists bombed it in 1925 (http://history.info/on-this-day/1925-communists-plant-bomb-in-bulgarian-church-150-killed/) mistakenly thinking that Tzar Boris was inside. Bulgarians generally refer to the church as “Baba Nedelya” – Grandma Sunday. The name is obscure even for the Bulgarians.
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Thank-you for your insight to this historic site. The sign outside the church in an English translation does say: “after the destruction of Hagia Nedelja church as a result of the communist terrorist act against the Tsar family on 16 April 1925, a competition procedure was announced for its restoration.”
We did see several weddings at the church on our week-end in Sofia.
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