Planning Capital Cities

Sofia before World War II: urban design as a cultural implication

The Mussman-plan is a subject of criticism by both public and experts. The

motivations for the objections vary in character. Some of them are strictly

professional and are related to the fact that the author isn’t acquainted very well

with the peculiarities of the Bulgarian reality and of Sofia in particular. The most

discussions are born by the idea for the redesigning of the city center, because

Mussman doesn’t respect the ensembles from the turn of the century. Serious

discussions arise from the modernistic idea of the total functional division.^57

Zheleva-Martins concludes: “Despite the fact that the plan of Mussman is not

realized because of WW II, the contents and all the discussions it causes have

an exclusively fruitful influence on the attitude to urbanism issues of both

professionals and citizens. That is how the spirit of modernistic urbanism with

all its concepts, criteria and standards, come in touch with the town planning

problems of Sofia.”^58 The discussion on the plan is an expression of a ripe civil

society: The urbanism is no more seen as a technocratic decision making, but as

the result of a wider professional and public discussion. The post-war political

change interrupts this process. Many of the ideas of Mussman are however

realized later on even if changed and adapted, but his name is not mentioned

because of political reasons.

Despite of the design qualities, Sofia’s urbanism policy is from the very

beginning a controversial one. It is characterized until WW I with a very fast

implementation speed, reflecting both the expectations of the intelligence

strata, dominating politically and the need of adequate shape for the dynamic

changing society. The regulation plans are a cultural implementation and an

accelerating factor for the establishing of the civil society. Sofia’s after-liberation

urbanism can be evaluated from the distance of time as the right instrument

for a sustainable and adequate urban development. But it is in a conspicuous

contradiction to the resistant pre-modern way of life of the predominantly

uneducated rural population streaming to the capital. The realization of the

Fig. 13, 14
The analyses of the
representative center by H.
Ganchev find out regularities
in the ensemble design
composition. (Ganchev)