The Yellow Pavements of Sofia
The yellow ceramic pavement is one of the symbols of the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The new capital was declared in 1879. , many architects and builders from all over Europe were invited, and European-style construction of the new buildings began quickly.
The paving of the streets and squares in the central part of Sofia begins under the management of Mayor Martin Todorov. Following his wide-ranging speech at a meeting of the Municipal Council (27.02.1906), two expert committees were appointed to examine the matter in detail, proving the advantages of ceramic flooring. Their high value, however, directed the municipality to stone blocks.
The first pavements of syenite and granite extracted in two Vitosha municipal quarries,
were laid (1905) on Blvd. Maria Louisa ”by the developer Nikola Ivanov.
In October 1906, the underwriting conditions for the construction of streets and squares in the center of Old Sofia with ceramic flooring were developed by a contractor through a restricted tender. The tender was won by the “Bulgarian Industrial Ceramic Society Isida” with headquarters and production in Novoseltsi Station (today Elin Pelin).
A specialized company in Austria-Hungary was engaged, which under conditions assumed the customs duties.
The contractor undertook to transport, to import, to carry out the pavement and to represent the manufacturer.
The yellow pavements are made from marl, a limestone known in Hungary as the “marga”, mined at the Buda Pest mine by the company “Koszenbanya Teglagyar Tarsulat Pesten”, (a Sand company, a coal mine and a brick factory). A ground powder, was molded and baked at 1300 degrees in blocks of dimensions 8/21/10 cm. The blocks were laid on a 10 cm concrete layer diagonally on the street axis, and were compacted to the edges of pentagonal blocks.
In 1907-1908, 59302.46 sq.m. were laid with ceramic pavement. and covered the main streets and boulevards in the center of the capital.
The final paving with ceramic blocks was completed in 1909.
The Prime Minister and former Mayor of Sofia Dimitar Petkov was closely monitoring the process.
A rigorous commission inspected thoroughly and accepted the work done and claimed the sections that have been poorly completed.
Being 100-years-old, the yellow pavements have become a cultural value of the capital – its landmark, a symbol of its historic center, marking the area of the representative state institutions.
These circumstances are sufficient justification for their legal protection by officially announcing their status as cultural property.
Despite their exceptional value, uniqueness and limited number, today the century – old yellow pavements of Sofia are endangered with replacement, breakage and extinction. Their numbers are steadily declining and fewer and fewer streets in downtown Sofia are losing these priceless treasures. The Bulgarian capital loses its original historical appearance and becomes gray, impersonal and ‘modern’, with no memory of its past.
We would like these unique yellow ceramic paving blocks to become one of the recognizable symbols of Sofia among Europeans.
* This text is based on an article by Arch. Phd. Ljubinka Stoilova.
