“Lyulin” is a residential complex in Sofia, named after the Lyulin mountain of the same name. It is included in the administrative district of the same name “Lyulin” of the Metropolitan Municipality. “Lyulin” is the largest residential complex (complex with residential blocks) in Bulgaria. According to official data from 2001, its inhabitants are 121,234.
Location: Lyulin is located in the northwestern part of Sofia. West of the neighborhood is the ring road and Filipovtsi district. North of the complex is the Obelya district. To the northeast of the neighborhood, beyond Europa Blvd., is the Modern Suburb district. To the southeast is West Park – one of the largest city parks in Sofia.
In the mid-1960s, the design of a large residential area for about 120,000 people in the northwestern part of Sofia was assigned to IPP “Sofproekt.” This area was located on the territory of the then Modern Suburb district and the surrounding vacant areas. At that time, Modern Suburb was a neighborhood with low-value and highly depreciated housing stock and almost no infrastructure. The future complex was initially called zh.k. Modern suburb.
The project for the area was prepared by a team of “Sofproekt” headed initially by architect Nedelcho Paskalev and subsequently by architect Kiril Bochkov. The project was completed in 1969. According to the plan, the complex was supposed to consist of 11 micro-districts organized around two mutually perpendicular main road arteries (today Tsaritsa Joanna and Pancho Vladigerov boulevards) and a central area that would serve as the main administrative and cultural public center of the region. Each micro-district was planned to have multi-storey parking lots for residents’ cars, as well as shops, schools, kindergartens, sports facilities, and more. Industrialized methods, including large-panel construction, were to be used for all residential construction in the complex.
Construction in the complex began in 1973, starting from the third micro-district. The buildings were constructed using industrialized methods, mainly large-panel construction. The construction of the various micro-districts progressed, and around 1978-1979, the main construction of the first several micro-districts was completed. Accommodation in the finished homes began around 1977.
As construction continued, there were changes to the original project, reducing the number of micro-districts from 11 to 10. The plan for the sixth micro-district was also altered. In 1976, the complex was officially named “Lyulin.” In 1978, the first trolleybus line to the neighborhood was opened (Lyulin-1 – Stochna station, later extended to Lyulin-3). In 1980, bus route 309 was renumbered to 112.
By the first half of the 1980s, the remaining three micro-districts (8th, 9th, and 10th) of Lyulin were also built, although part of them (from Europa Blvd.) remained unfinished. The planned sports facilities, main public center, multi-storey parking lots, and the reconstruction of “Baba Parashkeva” Blvd. and “Valcho Ivanov” Blvd. were not realized. During this period (around 1986), fast bus lines were opened on routes 109 and 110, which were essentially the line 309 (closed in 1980) and the new line 310. In 1985, the second trolleybus line – trolleybus 7 – was opened. In 1986, the residents of Lyulin enjoyed the fastest bus line “Express Lyulin,” which had only two stops – Cooperative Market and Lion’s Bridge. Subsequently, two more stops were added – Vitosha store and Hr. Blvd. Botev. The line was closed in 1993. Towards the end of the 1980s, the tram route of line 21 was opened, later renumbered to the current tram line 8.
Until the construction of the last three microdistricts and the central part of Lyulin, the southern part of the Modern Suburb quarter still existed in their place, which was destroyed to make way for the new micro-districts. Subsequently, the Modern Suburb quarter remained only north of Baba Parashkeva/Slivnitsa Blvd.
The subway line connecting the housing complex to the city center was partially opened in 1998, 19 years after the first sod was broken. Since September 2009, the metro line from Lyulin has been extended to Zhk. Mladost-1, and since August 31, 2012, through the Obelya metro station, it is connected to metro line 2, passing through the central railway station of Sofia, the National Palace of Culture, and reaching the Lozenets district.
Housing Construction:
The “Lyulin” residential complex consists of 10 microdistricts, each with its unique characteristics:
1. **Microdistricts 1 – 5:** Located between the Ring Road and Pancho Vladigerov Blvd.
2. **Microdistricts 6 and 7:** South of Tsaritsa Joanna Boulevard and east of Pancho Vladigerov.
3. **Microdistricts 8 – 10:** Situated between Europa Blvd. and Tsaritsa Joanna Blvd. (under which Line 1 of the Sofia Metro passes).
The primary construction in “Lyulin” utilized large-panel techniques. The panel blocks were built from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s, primarily using the Bs-2-69 and Bs-69-Sf series (nomenclature). EPK-blocks are also present, except in Lyulin-8. The EPK-buildings on the west side of “Dobrinova Skala” Blvd. are new, lacking a thermal power plant. New construction is concentrated around the Metropolitan Metro route and the complex center. Single-family houses with yards and several new cooperatives are found in northeastern parts of Lyulin-9 and Lyulin-10. Lyulin-8 witnesses intense construction around the large stores “Billa” and Technopolis.
Numbering of Residential Buildings:
The complex has two numbering systems. The first, in effect until 1980, used a two two-digit number format, separated by a dash, indicating the number of entrances in a building. The second system, in use from 1980 onwards, employs a three-digit number. The first digit signifies the microdistrict number. Blocks in Lyulin-1 have numbers starting with 0xx, while those in Lyulin-10 start with 1xx. Some newly constructed buildings may not adhere to this numbering system. The second system replaced the first due to its perceived complexity and potential for confusion.
Transportation:
Lyulin is well-connected to various modes of public transportation, and several entrance-exit roads facilitate access to the area:
1. Lyulin Tunnel: Connects to Tsaritsa Joanna Blvd.
2. “Orion” Intersection: Connects Slivnitsa Blvd. (east), Europa Blvd. (west), Dr. Petar Dertliev Blvd. (south), and Adam Mickiewicz St. (north).
3. Slivnitsa Blvd.: Connects to Gevgeliyski district, Sveta Troitsa residential complex, and the central part of the city.
4. Europa Blvd.: Western continuation of Slivnitsa Blvd., connecting to main road E80 and the town of Bozhurishte.
5. Dr. Petar Dertliev Blvd.: Formerly “Dobrinova Skala,” serves the neighborhood.
6. Adam Mickiewicz Street: Connects to Copper Factory district, the cemetery park, Vrabnitsa, and Nadezhda.
7. Filipovsko Shose Street: Connects to “Filipovtsi” district and Bankya town.
8. Pancho Vladigerov Blvd.: Serves the neighborhood.
9. Obelsko Shose Street: Northern extension of Pancho Vladigerov Blvd., connects to Modern Suburb district and Obelya residential area.
10. Tsaritsa Joanna Blvd.: Connects to Zapaden Park railway station, the central part of the city, the ring road, and the Lyulin highway.
Public transportation lines in Lyulin include trolleybus lines 6 and 7, tram line 8, bus lines 42, 44, 47, 49, 54, 81, 82, 83, 108, 111, and 310, and electric bus 309. Additionally, the Sofia Metro serves the neighborhood with three stations: “Zapaden Park,” “Lyulin,” and “Slivnitsa.”
Historically, Lyulin has had various bus lines that were closed or renumbered. Bus lines 109 and 110 closed in 1990, Express Lyulin closed on 04.05.1993, line 112 closed on 20.06.2000, trolleybus lines 10 and 12 (former 6a and 7a) closed on 01.05.1993, and tram line 21 was renumbered to tram line 8 in 1995.
Education, Culture, Health, and Administration:
The educational system in Lyulin is organized by micro-districts, featuring 11 unified children’s institutions (ODZ), 4 full-day kindergartens (CDG), and a complex for children’s meals. Schools in the area include:
1. Secondary School 137 “Angel Kanchev” – 1st microdistrict
2. Secondary School 90 “Gen. Jose de San Martin” – 2nd microdistrict
3. Primary School 33 “St. Petersburg” – 3rd microdistrict
4. Language High School 33 “Saint Sofia” – 3rd microdistrict
5. Secondary School 96 “Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy” – 4th microdistrict
6. Secondary School 97 “Bratya Miladinovi” – 5th microdistrict
7. Secondary School 27 “Acad. Georgi Karaslavov” – 6th microdistrict
8. Private German Language School “Erich Kestner” – 6th micro-district
9. Secondary School 79 “Indira Gandhi” – 7th microdistrict
10. Secondary School 56 “Prof. Konstantin Irechek” – 8th microdistrict
11. Secondary School 40 “Louis Pasteur” – 9th microdistrict
12. Secondary School 37 “Raina Knyaginya” – 10th microdistrict
The complex also houses the newly built church “St. Kliment Ohridski,” Lyulin Cultural Center, and four community centers. The health services in Lyulin include the 12th Diagnostic Advisory Center, two dental centers, one private clinic “Mediva,” and various medical specialists in private practice. A hospital for emergency medical care is under construction in Lyulin 6, on Dr. Petar Dertliev Blvd. The Lyulin Municipality is located in the 3rd microdistrict on Zahari Stoyanov Blvd.
Economy and sport
Bul. “Peter Dertliev” and furniture store “Labyrinth”
On the territory of Lyulin-7 (Lyulin Center) are located the first mall-like building (Silver Center), as well as the large outdoor pool “Lyulin Beach”. In this neighborhood is also one of the large branches of the “Fantastico” retail chain, which also has another large store in Lyulin-1. At the northern end of Lyulin, near the Slivnitsa metro station, on Pancho Vladigerov Blvd., hypermarkets of the construction chain Praktiker and HIT, a branch of Vrabnitsa-Liulin, are located next to each other. On Tsaritsa Joanna Blvd., next to the Lyulin metro station, in the southern part of the 8th microdistrict, there are hypermarkets of the “Billa” retail chain, which has two more stores in the neighborhood, and “Technopolis”. On the same boulevard, near “Louis Pasteur” street, there is also a branch of the “Zora” chain of stores for white and black appliances. Next to the “Zapaden Park” metro station, in September 2014, the first large shopping center in the western part of Sofia was opened – Mega Mall, which is connected by a warm connection to the station. Mega Mall offers over 100 shops, restaurants and cafeterias and has nearly 600 parking spaces with 4 hours of free parking. One of the largest furniture stores in the capital – “Labyrinth” – is located next to the same metro station. On “Orion” there is a restaurant from the McDonald’s chain and a furniture store “Zona”, located on several floors.
At the intersection of “Javaharlal Nehru”, “Zahari Stoyanov” and “Pancho Vladigerov” boulevards, in the southeastern part of Lyulin-3 and immediately next to Lyulin-4, Lyulin-6 and Lyulin-7 (Lyulin Center), there is one of the most – the large cooperative markets in the capital – this place is considered the unofficial center of the housing complex. In addition, there are also numerous fast food restaurants, cafes and a disco, as well as a supermarket of the “T-market” chain, which also has one branch each in Lyulin-2, Lyulin-9 and Lyulin-10. To the south of the Cooperative Market there is also a large furniture store located on Pancho Vladigerov Blvd. on the east side of Lyulin-4. There is a Kaufland hypermarket at 56 Petar Dertliev Blvd. There are also two Lidl stores.
The residential complex also has several casinos, a billiards center and “Mega Extreme” (entertainment center). In Lyulin there are also branches of the large chain of stores for white goods and hardware “Technmart”, one of the two stores of the chain of building materials “Mr Bricolage”, nearby are also “METRO”-2, furniture store “Aiko”, ” Technomix” and a subsidiary of the chain of toys and consumables “Jumbo”. There are ten gas stations of various chains scattered in the micro-districts of the complex, mainly located around the entrance-exit points of the complex. There is also a designated industrial zone in the area of the neighborhood.
In 2012, Lyulin Volleyball Club was established, which managed to raise sports in Lyulin to another level. As well as achieving victories over famous teams and successful rankings in Bulgaria every year.
In 1985, FC Lyulin was established and currently competes in the Capital Region Group – South (4th Division). Home matches are played on the field in the 2nd microdistrict.
