More than 20 years after the fall of Communism, Sofia still bears the signs of the regime in its architecture and monuments. The very centre of the city is constructed in the ostentatious style and design popular in the time of Joseph Stalin. The larger parks have monuments of Soviet soldiers, commemorating their feats in the Second World War and the supposed "eternal friendship" between the Bulgarian people and the Russians. Although the old buildings and monuments are despised by many, they bear witness to the country's past, which cannot easily be erased.

To fully understand and appreciate why Sofia looks the way it does now, one needs a bit of a background. In late 1944 the Communist Party had just gained power in Bulgaria. The centre of the capital had been devastated by Allied bombs and the new authority had the perfect opportunity to redesign it in the Communist style prevalent in the USSR. Plans by different architects were drawn up and soon buildings of a massive scale rose in the centre of Sofia. The headquarters of the Communist Party, the ministries of Electrification and Heavy Industry, a mausoleum for Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov and a hotel formed the sides of a vast space still called The Largo. Attached to the Ministry of Heavy Industry was the largest trade centre at that time in the Balkans. A national stadium, a sports palace and a number of enormous Communist memorials completed the scene.

Impressive in their massiveness, all of these architectural creations were designed in line with Stalinist brutalism. Their scale and sheer size was both unnecessary and impractical, the amount of interior space was excessive. But these features were necessary to impress upon the people the power of the Communist party and its almighty authority, and to make them feel small and insignificant, mere cogs in the system. All these buildings, except the mausoleum, have survived and, though now used for other purposes, are still functioning.

The missing mausoleum of Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov was situated in front of the National Art Gallery, the former royal palace. Built in just six days, after Dimitrov's death in 1949, this enormous memorial housed Georgi Dimitrov's embalmed body and was an important emblem during Communism. Foreign delegations were invited to lay flowers there on their visits, and official events of the Communist Party took place at the site. In 1990, however, the remains of Georgi Dimitrov were removed, cremated and buried in Sofia's Orlandovtsi cemetery. Nine years later the building was demolished under the supervision of the then deputy prime minister Evgeniy Bakardzhiev.

BULGARIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Used to be: Headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party

Built: 1954 Architect: Petso Zlatev