Following Bulgaria’s recent accession to the European Union, Phase I of the National Museum Complex in Sofia, comes at a time when Bulgarian society is undergoing a reevaluation of cultural values and is in great need of a new self-assured and positive identity.

The museum complex in the capital’s historic center is funded by the European Fund for Regional Redevelopment and will showcase the country’s two most important art collections - those of the National Art Gallery and the National Gallery for Foreign Art.

SITE HISTORY

Located on Alexander Nevsky Square, the museum complex occupies a site of extraordinary history. Over the past century the cathedral square and the surrounding buildings have seen a number of transformations that have had a profound effect on the way the site relates to the city.

Alexander Nevski Square with the museum site in 1926.

The Royal Printing House - built 1887.

In the late 19th century the three story building of the Royal Printing House framed the square to the east. Severely damaged at the end of WWII, the printing house was adapted first for the needs of the Technical University and later for the needs of the National Gallery for Foreign Art.

WWII air raids over Sofia, 1944.