About the project

Navigating the city, phone in hand, you are invited to discover a hidden face of the capital. Invisible to the naked eye and concealed beneath the layers of history, it is a window to a different Sofia – the Sofia from the days before and during the devastating bombings of the Second World War. Following different routes, you will discover that war’s terror scars not only human life, but also a city’s soul. Assisted by this app, you can follow the fate of public and administrative buildings, of private homes, of churches and monuments – material symbols of Sofia’s close ties to the cultural developments of pre-war Europe, some irreversibly destroyed by the bombings.

The Scars of War: The Lost Architectural Heritage of Sofia is a project developed by the National Museum of Military History in partnership with the Bulgarian National Film Archive, funded by the Sofia Municipality’s Culture Program. It delivers an interactive guide mobile app and an immersive space at the National Museum of Military History, which will transport you into the horror of the bombings that left an indelible mark on the architectural face of the capital.