Clio Society: Capital Cities in the Aftermath of Empire: Athens and Sofia Compared
Theodora Dragostinova will examine the development of two Eastern European cities, the Greek capital Athens and the Bulgarian capital Sofia, in their transition from the Ottoman Empire to national independence in the nineteenth century. How did the national administrations in Greece and Bulgaria envision their new capitals? What were the architectural innovations implemented in these cities? How did urban populations change? How did the national elites use the Ottoman past? How did they create new national traditions? Examining images from nineteenth-century Athens and Sofia, this lecture will explore the meaning of architectural choices during major political transitions.
