Time in Vlaykova Movie Theater seems to have stood still since it opened in the 1920s, and nowhere is this clearer than in the photos hanging on its walls. Maria Vlaykova, who purchased the site for the theater and built it with her own money, can be seen in some of the yellowing images. The stony expression of the subject, typical in old photographic portraits, fails to convey Maria’s ardent belief in the educational role of art, and cinematographic art in particular, and her aspiration to give the people of Sofia a place to enjoy “literary and musical evenings, folk readings, and lectures,” which would transform into “a hotbed of culture, a greenhouse for education.”
Albeit better-known as the wife of the statesman and writer Todor Vlaykov, Maria had a career as a teacher and was a pillar of her community, and it was through her efforts that Sofia gained its most authentic movie theater. The construction of the building began in 1925 at 9 Ivan Asen II Boulevard, near Eagles Bridge, opposite Borisova Garden, where the theater stands to this day, and where moviegoers today enjoy independent cinematic offerings from around the world.
Read more about Maria Vlaykova HERE.
