The
Central Sofia Market Hall , known popularly simply as
The Market Hall (Халите,
Halite) is a covered market in the centre of
SofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city by population in the European Union, with 1.4 million people living in the Capital Municipality...
, the capital of
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
, located on
Marie Louise BoulevardMarie Louise Boulevard , shortly called Marie Louise is a central boulevard in Sofia. It lies between Central Railway Station and the Vitosha Boulevard which is its continuation in direction to the National Palace of Culture. The boulevard passes through one the city's most emblematic bridges,...
. It was opened in 1911 and is today an important trade centre in the city.
The construction of the building, which spreads over 3,200 m², began in 1909 after the project of architect Naum Torbov was chosen in 1907, and took two years to complete.
The
Central Sofia Market Hall , known popularly simply as
The Market Hall (Халите,
Halite) is a covered market in the centre of
SofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city by population in the European Union, with 1.4 million people living in the Capital Municipality...
, the capital of
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
, located on
Marie Louise BoulevardMarie Louise Boulevard , shortly called Marie Louise is a central boulevard in Sofia. It lies between Central Railway Station and the Vitosha Boulevard which is its continuation in direction to the National Palace of Culture. The boulevard passes through one the city's most emblematic bridges,...
. It was opened in 1911 and is today an important trade centre in the city.
The construction of the building, which spreads over 3,200 m², began in 1909 after the project of architect Naum Torbov was chosen in 1907, and took two years to complete. The style of the building, which is regarded as Torbov's best work, is
Neo-RenaissanceRenaissance Revival is an all-encompassing style designation that covers many aspects of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian nor Gothic but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes...
, featuring also elements of
Neo-Byzantine architectureThe Byzantine Revival was an architectural revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It emerged in 1840s in Western Europe and peaked in the last quarter of 19th century in the Russian Empire; an isolated Neo-Byzantine school was active in Yugoslavia...
and
Neo-Baroque*Neo-Baroque music*Neo-Baroque painting*Baroque Revival architecture...
. The
façadeA facade or façade is generally one side of the exterior of a building, especially the front, but also sometimes the sides and rear. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is known for its relief of the
coat of arms of SofiaThe coat of arms of Sofia consists of a shield divided into four. The image of the Church of St Sophia which gave the name to the city takes up the upper left field and a humanized picture of the ancient town of Serdica taken from an antique coin is located to the right The coat of arms of Sofia...
above the main entrance created by the artist Haralampi Tachev. The famous small clock tower with three dials tops the edifice. The building was originally constructed with four entrances, though not all are used today.
Until the late 1940s the Sofia municipality let out about 170 shops and stalls in the Central Sofia Market Hall, the rents and the product quality being strictly regulated. The market hall building's interior was significantly altered after the 1950s and the market was closed in 1988 in order to be reconstructed, modernized and once again opened for Easter in 2000, after 75% of it was acquired by the
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i company Ashtrom, who invested
$The dollar is the name of the official currency in several countries, including Australia, Canada, the Eastern Caribbean territories, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States.-History:...
7 million in it.
Today the Central Sofia Market Hall employs over 1,000 people, has three storeys, and offers foodstuff stalls and shops, clothing, accessories and jewellery shops, fast food stalls, etc.