St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is located in the heart of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. This largest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world is designed in Neo-Byzantine style and has a capacity of 10,000 people. Saint Alexander Nevsky is named after a Russian prince.
The building materials for this cathedral were sourced from various cities: marble from Munich, metal from Berlin and produced in Vienna, and mosaics from Venice.
The cathedral's signature style is the green and gold dome. This magnificent building soars as high as 45 meters. The bell tower of the cathedral has 12 bells with a total weight of 23 tons. The bells can be heard within a radius of nearly 10 miles. Inside, you can marvel at the dazzling and sprawling interiors of the royal throne and majestic pulpit, as well as the mosaic murals of Tsar Ferdinand and Queen Eleanor.
Construction of the cathedral began in 1882, was not completed until 1912 and was inaugurated in 1924. The church was built to honor the people who sacrificed during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, which liberated Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire. The cathedral has a museum in the crypt containing a collection of Orthodox art and symbols. If you want to visit this cathedral by subway, you can go to the Sofia University station.