Was Sofia really demolished by Bulgarians after 1878 and why?

Question

I've heard many times that when Bulgaria became independent country in 1878, all the town was rebuilded from scratch. After the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War_(1877-1878)">Russo-Turkish War</a>, architects from Austria–Hungary were invited to shape the new architectural appearance of Sofia, which was chosen to be a new capitol. But what intrigues me is that people with who I've talked about it claim it was completely demolished by Bulgarians after the liberation, not during any battles. The reason provided to me by tourist guides was that Bulgarians wanted to make a modern town their own way, without Turkish influence like it was previously. I know that Turkish mosques were demolished by Russian engeeners, yet sources I've found don't speak about secular buildings. According to Bulgarian wikipedia, ( http://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/София ), Bulgarian and Jews together were around 90% of town citizens before the war, so that explanation sounds unsatisfactory for me, as even without Turkish districts, still it should be full of Bulgarian habitants. This way it's hard to believe for me that Sofia was completely demolished just to rebuild it in a new way. Why, when and by who Sofia was actually destroyed? Do you know about any other towns where such situation occur, especially in the western culture?

Answer 1

Sofia was 'demolished' due to the achievement of partial autonomy from the Ottoman Empire, which by that point was a largely dying empire. The "oriental" architecture from the Ottoman period was seen as a hangover from their old occupier. Thus, there was a project to not only modernize the city, but to "Europeanize" it. This is according to a few sources I could locate, such as: 'Capital Cities in the Aftermath of Empires: Planning in Central and Southeastern Europe. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, 2009. 94-5' and 'Dogo, Marco. The Jews and the Nation-States of Southeastern Europe from the 19th Century to the Great Depression: Combining Viewpoints on a Controversial Story. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016. 86.'

Neither source claims that the entirety of the city was demolished, but that portions were selectively destroyed and rebuilt in accordance with a city-plan produced by Czech architect Adolf Václav Kolár. This plan was never fully put into place, however.

A similar example from the West would be my hometown of Chicago. In 1871 much of the city was destroyed in a fire. This gave urban developers and architects the ability to rebuild the city in a more organized and visually pleasing way. It is often claimed, especially by tour guides, that it was rebuilt in accordance with Daniel Burnham's Plan of Chicago, but this wasn't released until 1909. That plan was, like the plan of Sofia, never fully enacted, but much of it is visible in the city today.

I would be weary, just across the board, of any claim that an entire city was demolished and rebuilt, unless destroyed by war or natural disaster. Rebuilding an entire city is a monstrous expense that is rarely undertaken unless absolutely necessary. It would instead appear that portions of Sofia were demolished and rebuilt, notably those that displayed Ottoman architecture.

I am, however, not a Bulgarian speaker and primary sources in the language would be necessary to make a more definitive statement.