Women`s market in Sofia

A place with potential and energy, or just one of the many misconceptions in the urban environment?

Text by Peter Torniov

…We are extremely intolerant to particular city zones which are desolate, dirty or inhabited by different ethnic groups. Such a place is the Women’s Market (Zhenski Pazar) and the neighbourhood around it which belongs to the oldest and most interesting parts of the city.
Over the last two decades, Sofia has simultaneously become the witness and the victim of a boom phase in construction which did not spare the central city zones either. Buildings and ensembles from the post-liberation epoch give way to new “modern” structures whose main purpose is quick profitableness. This uncontrolled invasion of the private business gradually changes the character and the image of the central part of our capital city by turning it into some cheap decor. Most probably, the Women’s Market is also to be subjected to such a transformation. On the other hand, none of us would like to live in a museum city purposefully preserved for tourists and visitors. In this sense, it would be good to consider whether the process of draining the blood and eliminating culture, history and identity can be averted, and whether a way of sustainable development can be found.
What is the right approach on the path to harmony between what we have preserved as heritage and the new to which we naturally aspire?

More on p. 122 – 129 in the new issue of Abitare Bulgaria