Sofia's vast concert hall dates from 1981 and houses countless chambers, as well as music clubs and cafes. It watches over an elongated park known as pl Bulgaria. At the northern end of the park is the disintegrating 1300 Years Monument, built in 1981 to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the First Bulgarian Empire.
Nearby is a memorial and chapel dedicated to the victims of the communist regime, with a plaque bearing some 10,000 names. Behind it is a section of the Berlin Wall.