National Gallery Square 500

Why square 500 ? So, this is plot number 500 of the urban arrangement plan of Sofia. And the gallery is an aggregate of several buildings united into a square pattern, each of them built in a different century – the old print-house dating back to the end of the XIX century, the building of the Technical University, built in the ХХ century and one that was newly constructed in the XXI century. 

The oldest building was the State print-house of the Bulgarian Kingdom, where they used to print newspapers and government papers until 1944. The design in neoclassical style is by the Viennese architect Friedrich Schwanberg and was implemented in the period of 1885-1887. At the background of the modern city, it does not seem impressive, yet imagine it in the end of the XIX century, when it was the highest building at the square, and the square was the highest place in town. The cathedral had not been built at the time. In the spring of 1944 Sofia was subjected to air bombarding. The building is badly destroyed and is temporarily abandoned, so it no longer operated according to its initial function of a print-house. Later on there the Gallery for foreign art was located. Its facade faces the Cathedral “Alexander Nevsky”.

Consequently, additional building was constructed to it from the boulevard and the monument of Vasil Levski, and the Technical University was accommodated there, while in the period of 2012-14 a small part was additionally constructed from “Moskovska” Str. 
Thus, the gallery opened its doors in a new exhibition environment, connected into a square.

The main entrance is from the Cathedral. In front of it, there is a small garden with flowers throughout the year, and in the summer you should not miss the chance to enjoy the fragrance of the blooming Bulgarian roses.