The bronze eagles
Four, wings spread, at the corners.
Boby Dimitrov from Sofia, Bulgaria — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bin im Garten — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bin im Garten — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bin im Garten — CC BY-SA 3.0
Orlov most — Eagles' Bridge — is a small stone bridge over the Perlovska river at the entrance to Borisova Gradina, with four **bronze eagles**, wings spread, guarding its corners since 1891. The bridge is the work of the Czech architects who built much of modern Sofia, and it is a small landmark but one of the city's best-known addresses: the taxi, the bus and the arrangement all use it — at Orlov most is understood by everyone. Its name has a direct meaning: it was at this point in 1878 that Bulgarians returning from Ottoman exile in Diyarbakır were received after independence, and the eagle stands for freedom in that context. At the other side of the centre stands the **Lions' Bridge** with its four lions, built in the same year in the same manner — the two are always mentioned together. The bridge today is a busy traffic junction and a gathering point for demonstrations. **Seen in passing** rather than as a destination.
Four, wings spread, at the corners.
Sofia's largest park begins at the bridge.
Orlov most, Sofia
The Monument to the Tsar LiberatorA large equestrian monument in front of the Bulgarian parliament, showing the Ru7 minutes walk4.7
Alexander Nevsky CathedralAlexander Nevsky Cathedral is Bulgaria's stone thanks to Russia: built (1882-1919 minutes walk4.9
St. Sofia ChurchSt. Sofia Church is the building that gave the entire city its name: an ancient 10 minutes walk4.8
The Ivan Vazov House MuseumThe house where the Bulgarian writer Ivan Vazov lived his last years and died in11 minutes walk4.6
The Russian ChurchThe church of St Nicholas — the Russian Church — is the smallest of central Sofi11 minutes walk4.7Sofia's oldest and largest park, beginning at this bridge and running about three kilometres south. It was laid out in 1884 by a Swiss gardener and extended by others, and holds lakes, shaded walks, playgrounds, an open-air theatre, a sports ground and monuments from the communist period. People in Sofia use it daily for running, cycling and weekend outings, and it rarely appears in a guidebook. Free and always open, and the best place in the city to escape the asphalt on a summer day.