Sofia University Saint Kliment Ohridski

The University of Sofia, established on October 1, 1888, is Bulgaria’s oldest higher education institution. The university’s building was built between 1924 and 1934 with the financial assistance of the brothers Evlogi and Hristo Georgiev.

Over 21,000 students are educated at the institution, which comprises 16 faculties and three departments. It also has a university library, a university press, a computer center, a sports center, and a number of other buildings. Anastas Gerdzhikov is the current rector.

Sofia University has continuously been regarded as the best university in Bulgaria by national and international rankings, and it is routinely placed among the finest institutions in the world by QS World University Rankings.

History of Sofia University Saint Kliment Ohridski

The university was formed on October 1, 1888, 10 years after Bulgaria’s freedom, to serve as the country’s premier institution of higher education. It began with four regular teachers, three supplementary lecturers, and 49 students. It began as a higher pedagogical course, then a higher school after a few months, and finally a university in 1904. Aleksandar Teodorov-Balan, a Bulgarian linguist, was the first rector.

During its early years, Sofia University had three faculties: a Faculty of History and Philology (established in 1888), a Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (established in 1889), and a Faculty of Law (since 1892). History, geography, Slavic philology, philosophy and pedagogy, mathematics and physics, chemistry, natural sciences, and law were among the subjects covered. The first women (16 in number) were admitted to the university in 1901, and the day of St. Kliment of Ohrid, November 25 (8 December N.S.), became the institution’s official holiday the following year.

Prince Ferdinand was booed by Sofia Institution students when he launched the National Theatre in 1907, causing the university to shut for six months and all instructors to be sacked. The situation was not resolved until a new administration led by Aleksandar Malinov took office in January 1908.

At the start of the Balkan Wars, the institution was home to 1,379 students (725 men and 654 women). The Faculty of Medicine was created in 1917, followed by the Faculty of Agronomy in 1921, and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Faculty of Theology in 1923. Sofia University had 111 chairs, 205 professors and helpers, and 2,388 students in 1922–1923, with 1,702 males and 686 women.

On June 30, 1924, the foundation stone for Sofia University’s new structure was laid. Evlogi Georgiev and Hristo Georgiev, brothers, obtained the funds. The rectorate was erected following to the early ideas of Henri Bréançon, a French architect who won a competition for the project in 1907. Nikola Lazarov designed the blueprints, which were updated by Yordan Milanov, who also managed the construction but died before the formal inauguration on December 16, 1934.

Vassil Tzankov, a geologist, defended the university’s first PhD thesis in natural science on October 27, 1929. On July 1, 1930, Aleksandar Spasov was awarded the title doctor for his second degree in chemistry. The university had four additional physicians in 1930–1931.

Following the political events of 9 September 1944 and the establishment of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, major modifications were made to the country’s university system. In 1944–1945, the university had 13,627 students who were taught by 182 professors and readers and 286 helpers. Communist academics were promoted to higher levels of university leadership, while those who did not share similar beliefs were fired. The university was confined following the Soviet model, with certain party-related chairs created. In 1947, three new faculties were established: one of forestry, one of zootechnics, and one of economics, and considerable changes occurred, with several departments seceding to create distinct institutions in following years.

Following the dissolution of communism, Sofia University was the first Bulgarian Athenaeum to launch a Theological Faculty governed by the national Orthodox Church in 2001.

The Sofia University Mountains on Alexander Island, Antarctica, were named in honor of the university’s centenary celebration in 1988 and in recognition of the university’s commitment to Antarctic exploration.