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Founded by 1st Grand National Assembly of Bulgaria on Oct 1, 1888.1
The university was founded on 1 October 1888—ten years after the liberation of Bulgaria—to serve as Bulgaria's primary institution of higher education.
The university's first iteration was as a year-long "Higher Pedagogical Course" extending the curriculum of an already existing secondary school in Sofia. The course's founders "consciously built the foundations of an institution of higher learning" within their curriculum, drawing upon the subject matter of Austrian and German Universities from which four of them had received their doctorates. Subsisting of seven initial lecturers and forty-three students, the Higher Pedagogical Course aimed to educate elementary school teachers at the Gymnasium to fill national gaps among civil servants in "education and scholarship."
With aid from provisional statutes provided by founder Ivan Shishmanov in January 1889, the initial Higher Pedagogical Course was legally extended into a multi-departmental "Higher School" with three-year study tracks before the end of its first year. As the demand for educators was met, Sofia's Higher School and its staff continued to organize, expand, and refine their efforts across disciplines. And though it would take 15 years for its fully-actualized "vision" to come to fruition, according to historian Marin Pundeff (Bulgarian: Марин Пундев [1]), by the mid 1890's the Higher School was a respected national hub for scholarship with all "the functions and earmarks of a university." Shishmanov became Minister of Education in 1903, and by 1904 he passed a law through the National Assembly which expanded the Higher School's now four-year magistrate program into an officially instituted university. Sofia University's first rector was Bulgarian linguist Aleksandar Teodorov-Balan.
During its first years, Sofia University had three faculties, namely a Faculty of History and Philology (since 1888), a Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (since 1889) and a Faculty of Law (since 1892). History, geography, Slavic philology, philosophy and pedagogics, mathematics and physics, chemistry, natural sciences and law were also taught. The first women (16 in number) were welcomed to the university in 1901 and 25 November (8 December N.S.), the day of St. Kliment of Ohrid, became the university's official holiday the following year.
As Prince Ferdinand opened the National Theatre in 1907, he was booed by Sofia University students, for which the university was closed for six months and all lecturers were fired. Not until a new government with Aleksandar Malinov at the head came into power in January 1908 was the crisis resolved.
At the beginning of the Balkan Wars, 1,379 students (725 men and 654 women) were recorded to attend the university. A fourth faculty was established in 1917, the Faculty of Medicine, the fifth, the Faculty of Agronomy following in 1921, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Faculty of Theology being founded in 1923. In 1922–1923, Sofia University had 111 chairs, 205 lecturers and assistants and 2,388 students, of which 1,702 men and 686 women.
The foundation stone of Sofia University's new edifice was laid on 30 June 1924. Funds were secured by the brothers Evlogi Georgiev and Hristo Georgiev. The rectorate was built according to the initial plans of the French architect Henri Bréançon, who had won a competition for the purpose in 1907. The plans were developed by Nikola Lazarov and revised by Yordan Milanov, who also directed the construction, but died before the official opening on 16 December 1934.
On 27 October 1929, the first doctoral thesis in natural science of the university was defended by geologist Vassil Tzankov. The second one in chemistry followed on 1 July 1930 and the title doctor was granted to Aleksandar Spasov. In 1930–1931, the university had four more doctors.
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After the political changes of 9 September 1944 and the emergence of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, radical alterations were made in the university system of the country. At that time in 1944–1945, 13,627 students attended the university, taught by 182 professors and readers and 286 assistants. Communist professors were introduced to the higher ranks of university authority, with others that did not share these views being removed. Specific party-related chairs were established and the university was restricted after the Soviet model. Three new faculties were founded in 1947, one of forestry, one of zootechnics and one of economics and major changes occurred, with many departments seceding in later years to form separate institutions.
In 2001, the Sofia University was the first Bulgarian Athenaeum to open a Theological Faculty ruled by the national Orthodox Church after the fall of communism.
Sofia University Mountains on Alexander Island, Antarctica were named for the university in commemoration of its centennial celebrated in 1988 and in appreciation of the university's contribution to the Antarctic exploration.
Astronomy Observatory
Astronomical Observatory of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" is the first astronomical observatory in Bulgaria and one of the first on the Balkan Peninsula. The Observatory is also the first building constructed for the needs of Sofia University. It was established in 1897 at the initiative of Prof. Marin Bachevarov. It is located in Borisova Gradina, near the "Maria Luisa" swimming pool. The primary purpose of the astronomical observatory is educational, serving the Department of Astronomy of the Faculty of Physics of Sofia University.
From Wikipedia’s article on Sofia University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3