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5 MINUTES SOFIA
SOFIA 2019 CANDIDATE FOR EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE
On 1 January 1901
from the tram depot at Georgi Dimitrov boulevard
the first tram in Sofia set out.
A quote from a newspaper report:
‘Yesterday capital’s residents witnessed a new phenomenon of world progress
the first tram cut through almost the full length of Vitoshka Street.
Multitudes marveled the tram’s speed
and the sparks under the wheels.
The tram glides swiftly and smoothly, it has electrical lights
and elegant furnishings’.
At first people were hesitant to get in,
so Roma children were given a penny to demonstrate that the ride was safe.
Knyazhevo, Pavlovo, Krasno selo and Poduyane
now city boroughs were then villages in the outskirts.
When the tram lines were built and the trams started operating
they became the first and still the only villages, in our history,
served by trams.
The first 25 motor cars were imported from Belgium.
Some were new, other used and then renovated.
In 1908 Sofia acquired for the first time 6 big 4-axis motor cars.
Three of them were destroyed during 1944 bombings,
but the rest served faithfully until 1976.
Between 1924 and 1931
over 70 motor cars and 40 trailers
were bought from European manufacturers, including Siemens и MAN.
‘Our trams were up to the best European standards,
they were luxurious, top class. Everything was beautiful.’
Designed by eng. Teodosii Kardalev, head of the Repair shop,
12 trailers were built using old and discarded parts.
In 1936 the same shop started to make motor cars.
The first were based on a Siemens old design,
only they were bigger and with more powerful engines.
The last foreign cars
for many years were imported in 1938.
These were Breda motor cars, which functioned up until the 70s.
Hard work in ‘6 September’ factory to ensure fast and convenient public transport.
In 1951 new modern cars called ‘Republica’ were produced.
The luxurious motor cars twice cheaper that the foreign ones
are the pride of our young industry.
Later the Tram producing factory in Sofia launched 2 new models:
‘Komsomoletz’ in 1959
and ‘Kosmonavt’ in 1961.
Our beautiful capital is developing further.
The tram system is expanding.
Today convenient trams and trolley buses
carry workers to factories and offices.
Our socialist metropolitan transport is growing.
Since the mid 60s a new series with a new design
was produced under the brand name "Sofia".
The basic version later developed
into ‘Sofia-70’
and ‘Sofia-100’,
dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Sofia as a capital.
Celebrating the 1300th anniversary of the founding of our country
‘Bulgaria 1300’ was launched.
Meanwhile the import of foreign motor cars was resumed
mainly from the Czech factories ‘Tatra’.
Mostly used cars from this producer
were bought in 1995.
Various models of trams are being used every day
by the residents and visitors of the capital,
but they are also of interest to researchers and collectors.
The history of trams appeals to young people
who create scale models of various cars
and thus keep the spirit of the old times alive to this day.
SOFIA 2019 CANDIDATE FOR EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE
Producer: KAMEN Vo STUDIO© 2012
Directors: MISHO LANDJEV and KAMEN VODENICHAROV