National Museum of History

Sofia’s National Historical Museum is the country’s biggest museum. It was established on May 5, 1973. On March 2, 1984, a new representative display was unveiled in the Court of Justice building to honor the 13th century of the Bulgarian state. The museum was relocated in 2000 to Boyana, the former principal house of dictator and last communist leader Todor Zhivkov.

Bulgaria has a long and illustrious history. The Sofia National History Museum is one of those locations where you can envisage how things should be. We found this remarkable museum for the first time a few days ago in Sofia’s Boyana area, at the foot of the mountains that surround the city. The National History Museum of Sofia, founded in 1973, is Bulgaria’s biggest museum, housed in a former official mansion.

Without a doubt, the space is massive, with 11 rooms, two of which are dedicated to temporary exhibits. The exhibition features a priceless collection of over 650,000 artefacts dating from the early prehistoric settlements through the National Revival era and the Bulgarian State from 1878 to 1945.

Some of the museum displays are quite breathtaking. Among them are Panagyurishte’s rare gold jewels, Rogozen’s Thracian silver, and Bronze Age silver and bronze jewelry. The magnificent main hall (Hall 3) on the first floor will certainly wow you with its full height glass windows affording a spectacular view of the Vitosha Mountains, making this piece really remarkable. Then, on the upper level, don’t miss the outstanding collection of Bulgarian costumes by area and its peculiarities.

The museum has a cloakroom, a café, a library, and a souvenir store.