Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, Bulgaria

We first saw Alexander Nevsky Cathedral as we quizzed past it in a taxi the day we arrived in Sophia.
We were interested to see more of it, so we visited it on our second day in Sophia, a Sunday.

The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a huge visually impressive building. Visiting it on a Sunday meant that there was less traffic driving round it, which gave us more time and peace, to enjoy the architecture.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral built in Neo-Byzantine style. It serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria, and it’s one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the World.
Unsurprisingly it’s also one of the main tourist attractions in Sofia.
St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is not only huge, but the fact that it is completely detached, not crowded by any other buildings, makes it feel even bigger. It occupies a whopping 34,100 sq ft, and can apparently accommodate 10,000 people inside.
It’s the second largest cathedral on the Balkan Peninsula, after the Cathedral of Saint Sava, in Belgrade.

Photos of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, Bulgaria

Construction of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral commenced in 1882, although the planning reportedly started much earlier in February 1879, which was when the foundation stone was laid. The bulk of the construction took place between 1904 and 1912.
Saint Alexander Nevsky, who was a Russian prince.
The cathedral was created in honour to the Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, which resulted in Bulgaria being liberated from Ottoman rule.

Relics (thought to be a piece of rib bone) of Alexander Nevsky are displayed in a case to the left of the altar, given by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Alexander Pomerantsev designed the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, assisted by
Alexander Yakovlev and Alexander Smirnov.
The construction and decoration of the building were carried out by a team of Bulgarian, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and other European artists, architects, and labourers.
The lighting fixtures and marble parts were created in Munich, the metal gate elements were made in Berlin, Germany, the gates themselves were manufactured in Karl Bamberg’s factory in Vienna, and the mosaics were shipped from Venice.

Video of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, Bulgaria

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an absolutely striking building, with its cross-domed basilica and prominent central dome. The dome on the cathedral is gold-plated, measuring 148 ft in height, and blindingly dazzling in the bright sunlight.
The bell tower is 174 ft high, it has 12 bells with total weight of 23 tons.

The interior of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is quite dark, especailly after being outside in the bright sun, it’s decorated with Italian marble in assorted colours, alabaster, Brazilian onyx, and other luxurious materials.
The central dome has the Lord’s Prayer inscribed around it in thin gold lettering.
There is a museum of Bulgarian icons inside the cathedral crypt, part of the National Art Gallery. The church claims that the museum is home to the largest collection of Orthodox icons in Europe.

Unfortunately visitors are not permitted to take photographs, or shoot video, inside the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. We understand why but it was disappointing, as the beautifully detailed interior really is something worth sharing.
We enjoyed our visit to the cathedral, it’s definitely one of the most impressive churches we’ve ever seen, both in terms of size, architectural design, and condition.