| Largo | |
.JPG) View of the Largo from the west | |
 Interactive map of Independence Square | |
| Native name | площад „Независимост“ (Bulgarian) |
|---|---|
| Type | Public square |
| Length | 200 m (660 ft) |
| Width | 50 m |
| Location | Sofia,Bulgaria |
| Coordinates | 42°41′52″N23°19′23″E / 42.69778°N 23.32306°E /42.69778; 23.32306 |
| Construction | |
| Completion | 1955 |
TheLargo (Bulgarian:Ларго, definite form Ларгото,Largoto) is an architectural ensemble of threeSocialist Classicism buildings aroundIndependence Square (Bulgarian:площад „Независимост“) in centralSofia, the capital ofBulgaria. It was designed and built in the 1950s with the intention of becoming the city's new representative centre. Today it is regarded as one of the prime examples of Socialist Classicism architecture inSoutheastern Europe,[1] as well as one of the main landmarks of Sofia.
The Largo complex consists of three buildings around Independence Square: TheCouncil of Ministers and theTSUM department store on the north side, theNational Assembly (formerCommunist Party headquarters) with its iconic spire on the east side, thePresidential Administration (former Council of State) and the Balkan Hotel to the south side. Plans for a 16-storey House ofSoviets on the east side, resembling theMoscow State University main building, were not carried out followingde-Stalinisation.[2]
The yellow-cobblestoned square around which the ensemble is centred is called Independence Square. It is formed by theKnyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard andTsar Osvoboditel Boulevard merging from the east to continue asTodor Aleksandrov Boulevard west of the Largo. Originally, the square was named after Lenin. A Council of Ministers of Bulgariadecree was published in 1951 regarding the construction of the Largo.[3] The lot in the centre of the city, damaged by thebombing of Sofia in World War II, was cleared in the autumn of 1952, so that the construction of the new buildings could begin in the following years.[3]
The Party House building, once crowned by ared star on a pole, was designed by a team under architect Petso Zlatev and completed in 1955.[3] The building of today's Presidential Administration and Balkan Hotel, the work of Petso Zlatev, Petar Zagorski and other architects, was finished the following year, while today's Council of Ministers and TSUM part of the edifice, designed by a team under Kosta Nikolov, followed in 1957.[3] The fountain between the Presidential Administration and the olderNational Archaeological Museum was shaped in 1958.[3] Plans for a 16-storey House ofSoviets on the east side, resembling theMoscow State University main building, were not carried out followingde-Stalinisation.[4]
Instead, a statue ofVladimir Lenin was erected on the east side of the square in 1966, which was replaced by the one ofSt. Sophia in 2000.
Following the democratic changes after 1989, the symbols ofcommunism in the decoration of the Largo were removed, with the most symbolic act being the removing of the red star on a pole atop the former Party House using ahelicopter and its substitution by theflag of Bulgaria. In the 1990s there have been suggestions to reshape the former Party House, sometimes regarded as an imposing remnant of a past ideology,[5] by introducing more modern architectural elements.[6]
According to the new architectural plan of Sofia, Independence Square is as of 2006[update] being reorganized. The lawn and the flags in the centre are replaced by glass domes, so that the ruins of the ancientThracian andRoman city of Serdica can be exposed in an impressive way, thus becoming a tourist attraction.[7] The twounderpasses, the one in front of the former Party House and the one with the medievalChurch of St Petka, are also connected[7] to ease the access to the nearbySerdika andSerdika II stations of theSofia Metro.
.jpg)