Showing 1-13 of 13 results
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Aleksander Nevski Memorial Church & Crypt
One of the symbols not just of Sofia but of Bulgaria itself, the massive, awe-inspiring Aleksander Nevski Memorial Church was built between 1882 and 1912 in memory of the 200,000 Russian soldiers who died fighting for Bulgaria's independence during the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78).
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Archaeological Museum
The Buyuk Djami (Great Mosque), with its nine lead-covered domes, was built in 1496, and since 1899 it has housed Sofia's fascinating Archaeological Museum.
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Ethnographical Museum
Spread over two floors in the Royal Palace, the Ethnographical Museum has a permanent collection of regional costumes and crafts, although most of the space is usually occupied by long-term temporary exhibitions on topics of varying interest, such as traditional festivals, carpet-making, or, as was the case through 2007, provincial bread stamps. (Everything is captioned in English.)
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Ivan Vazov House Museum
Bulgaria's best-loved author, Ivan Vazov (1850-1921), lived at this house, now a museum, from 1895 until his death. Vazov wrote Under the Yoke , a classic of Bulgarian literature based around the 1876 April Uprising against the Turks. Several rooms have been restored to their early-20th-century appearance, and in the study, you can even meet Vazov's beloved pet dog, Bobby, whom Vazov had stuffed after he was run down by a tram.
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Mineral Baths
The Mineral Baths - also known as the Turkish Baths - was built between 1911 and 1913. With its elegant striped façade and ceramic decorations recalling the designs of Nesebâr's medieval churches, it's one of Sofia's architectural gems, but it fell into dereliction in the 1990s and has been undergoing sporadic restoration for over a decade. When restoration is finally complete, it will house a new civic museum, although no date has been set for this.
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National Art Gallery
Occupying the east wing of the Royal Palace, the National Art Gallery holds one of the country's most comprehensive collections of Bulgarian art, with several galleries full of mainly 19th- and 20th-century paintings and sculptures. All the big names are represented, including the ubiquitous Vladimir Dimitrov, whose orange, Madonna-like Harvester hangs in the former royal music room.
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National Gallery for Foreign Art
An eclectic assemblage of international artworks is on display in the huge National Gallery for Foreign Art, and although you won't find any world-class treasures here, there are a few big names and plenty of little-known artists to discover. On the ground floor you can browse Indian woodcarvings, Burmese Buddhas, African tribal art and colourful Japanese prints.
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National Museum of Military History
Don't be put off by the rusting army trucks in the overgrown front yard - the National Museum of Military History is among the most interesting and best presented in Sofia. Displays over three floors tell the story of warfare in Bulgaria from the time of the Thracians onwards, with extensive labelling and information boards in English.
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National Museum of Natural History
You can almost sense the ghosts of generations of school parties dutifully trooping through the musty halls of the old-fashioned National Museum of Natural History. The didactic collection of animal, plant and mineral specimens is vast, although there's little labelling in anything but Bulgarian.
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National Polytechnic Museum
One of Sofia's less visited attractions, this small museum is nevertheless a treasure trove for anyone interested in the history of technology. On show is a varied, though not always well labelled, collection covering such subjects as photography, radio and time measurement. A gleaming, perfectly restored 1928 Ford Model A stands just inside, while other displays include atomic clocks, typewriters, early movie cameras and mechanical pianos.
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Peyo Yavorov House Museum
The Romantic poet and revolutionary Peyo Yavorov (1878-1914) briefly lived in the small apartment in this house, now a low-key museum.
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Royal Palace
Originally built as the headquarters of the Ottoman police force, it was at the Royal Palace that Bulgaria's national hero, Vasil Levski, was tried and tortured before his public execution in 1873. After the Liberation, the building was remodelled in Viennese style and in 1887, apparently undeterred by its grisly recent past, Prince Alexander Battenberg moved in and it became the official residence of Bulgaria's royal family until the communist takeover.
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Sofia Municipal Gallery of Art
Originally built as a casino, the chunky building at the southern end of the City Garden is now the avant-garde Sofia Municipal Gallery of Art. It stages rotating exhibitions of mostly contemporary Bulgarian and international art over two floors.
Showing 1-13 of 13 results
