Lessons Learned from History of Sofia's Street Names Project

The project “Тhe Streets of Sofia: a Digital Guide to the History of Heritage on the Move” explores the history of the streets and the history of street names in the Bulgarian capital city of Sofia from the late nineteenth century up to the present day.

Frequent street name changes are examined as a complex and multifaceted phenomenon reflecting major political and cultural shifts in Bulgarian society, enabling at the same time the presentation of broader processes in an accessible and meaningful way.

The project examines street names as a lot more than just an instrument for practical spatial orientation within the city. Street names and street history are highlighted as an essential component of urban memory and identity.  

Being symbolically loaded, streetscapes have been used in many places and various epochs to inscribe in the everyday life current ideologies and to affirm dominating official visions of the past. Sofia’s streets, in particular, experienced two larger renaming campaign in the 1940s and the 1990s, while many other smaller-scale name changes took place in the meantime.

Contested Names, Contested Central Avenues: The example of Maria Luisa boulevard, a new main avenue leading from the central railway station to the centre, one focal points of the expanding city in the late 19^th century    

Balkana street (geographic reference, the Balkan mountain) 

Lomskа street (geographic reference, the road to the town of Lom on the Danube ) 

Vitosha boulevard (geographic reference, Vitosha mountain) – from 1883 to 1893

Dimitar Petkov (named after influential politician and urban reformer, the avenue got this name towards the end of his mandate of mayor of the city) – from 1893 to 1895

Vitosha from 1895 to 1899

Maria Luisa  (named after Princess of Bulgaria Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma, renamed shortly after the first wife of monarch Ferdinand I passed away)  from 1899 to 1946

Georgi Dimitrov, (communist politician, among the leading figures of the Communist International, the central boulevard was renamed after him while Dimitrov was still the leading figure in the ruling communist regime. In the wake of the referendum for abolition of the monarchy, Sofia’s city council declared its decision to purge “names related with the monarchic regime”, renaming several main arteries) from 1946 to 1991

Maria Luisa  (restoration of the historical name, one of the common patterns along with replacement of socialist-era toponyms with new names) since 1991

 Exploring the complex realities of fluid streetscapes, the project aims to present and disseminate knowledge about evolving visions of past and present with the help of new technologies and digital tools. It addresses not only professional researchers and educators but also to the wider non-expert public.

The project is affiliated with CLaDA-BG and integrates its data with this E-infrastructure which will make it available to future research on related topics.

The main channel for dissemination is a web site currently being made, based on an extensive data set featuring street names and other data throughout history.

The web site provides access to curated and reliable information and documents on at least two different levels:

• A basic function which enables street name searches providing information on how street names have changed over various historical periods. It could be of interest to a very wide range of audiences.
• A more comprehensive look, giving different kinds of additional information about major historical streets in the city, thus illustrating the importance of this phenomenon as part of urban memory. In addition to the different names, historical context, visual materials, original documents, etc. are provided.

Data set: The data set includes information about name changes of a few hundred bigger streets. It also features more elaborated data about a few dozen historical avenues in the central part.     

The team designed a model for describing each particular unit of the data set:  

1. Name (current name)

2. Name changes (historical names with years/dates of change)

3. Documents related to historical names/biography of the street

 4. Physical parameters: coordinates of different points, width, numbers (identifying plots and buildings), other characteristics, intersections with other streets, boundaries through objects

5. Important buildings and sites (existing/non-existing)

6. People who were related with the street

7. Important events that happened on the street

8. Links to other objects, including links to info about historical persons or geographic objects

9. Connections with neighbourhoods or certain parts of the city

Sources used: The data set is based on variety of sources, including archival documents, predominantly city-council proceedings that discussed and officially sanctioned name changes. Historical city maps and map fragments are also used as they provide a convenient overview. Pictures, newspaper publications from the epoch, memoirs and others are also being used.

Current work confirms opportunities for contextualization of facts and knowledge. Exploring the specific case of Sofia, the project suggests the applicability of the model in many other contexts. The digital tools and technologies further expanding prospects for visualization and reaching new audiences etc. Future work will explore options for adding curated user-generated content.