The renovation of ul. Malko Tarnovo, which took place during the summer months as a donation from the construction and investment company BLD to Sofia Municipality. The street has been reopened to through traffic with underground infrastructure and paving replaced, leaks repaired, facades repainted, wiring cleaned, and new lighting and elements. Also to be unveiled is the "Street of Time" project, which aims to transform the shortest pedestrian street in downtown Sofia into an interactive experience to present legends and stories from our city's history to visitors and passersby through installations and urban design elements.
The project "Street of Time" was developed by Filip Boyadzhiev and the team - the author of the information system for orientation to tourist sites in Sofia. It will be presented on14 October (Monday), at 18:30 at After 5 bar on ul. The event will take place in the afternoon, at 5 pm. Work on it started with the discussions on the renovation project that took place before the start of the renovation in the spring. These brought to the fore the importance of the street and the sites along it as testimonies to Sofia's history. This was followed by historical research and an exhibition in the gallery of the State Archives Agency, presenting important stories and urban legends about the street, collected with the assistance of Prof. Nikolai Poppetrov from the Institute of Historical Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Sofia History, the State Archives Agency and Bulgarian Architectural Modernism. Based on the collected information, a first of its kind urban design workshop was held with the methods of design thinking and inclusive design. It aimed to involve citizens in generating ideas for the presentation of historical information about the street. The aim of the project was to preserve and tell the stories and legends of the street to the residents and visitors of Sofia, and to transform ul. Malko Tarnovo into an even more beloved place and one of the symbols of the city.
The whole project of urban renewal of ul. Malko Tarnovo is realized by BLD as a donation to Sofia Municipality, and the renovation project itself is donated by Atelier Serafimov Architects. The initiative is inspired by the multifaceted and rich history that Sofia's shortest pedestrian street hides. At a modest 60 meters, the street holds memories and artifacts that bear witness to some of the most significant eras in Bulgarian history. Beneath the yellow cobblestones lie remnants of Roman times, urban legends of the clock tower from the Renaissance era and memories of King Boris III and his beloved Luna Bar. A secret door, sung about in rock ballads, still stands on the street, behind which lie the communist-era State Security cells.