National Art Gallery

Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria

Suggest Place to Visit
6081
Track to location with GPS

The National Art Gallery (Bulgarian: Национална художествена галерия, Natsionalna hudozhestvena galeriya) is Bulgaria's national gallery and houses over 50,000 pieces of Bulgarian art. It is located on Battenberg Square in the capital city of Sofia, occupying most of the historic and imposing edifice of the former royal palace of Bulgaria, having been established in 1934 and moved to the palace in 1946, after the abolition of the monarchy.



The royal palace, a typical example of Second Empire architecture with chateauesque connotations, was built in two stages, the first lasting between 1880 and 1882 during the rule of Knyaz Alexander Battenberg, when Austro-Hungarian architects under Viktor Rumpelmayer worked on the building. It was inaugurated on 26 December 1882 and constituted the representative part of the palace, encompassing the administrative ground floor, the ballrooms above and the third floor service. The second stage, during Knyaz (later Tsar) Ferdinand, saw the construction of the palace's east wing by Viennese architect Friedrich Grünanger, who incorporated elements of Viennese Neo-Baroque. The east wing was where the apartments of the royal family were located, but some service premises (including a lift) were also located there.



Meanwhile, the National Archaeological Museum was established. It was the first national institution to have an art department in the country, which was founded in 1892. It collected examples from contemporary Bulgarian art. The department grew into the State Art Gallery in 1934 and was moved to a separate building. Among its exhibits were works by Bulgarian National Revival artists, foreign art and works of first-generation Bulgarian painters from after Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878.



After the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a Communist government in Bulgaria following World War II, most of the palace was given to the National Art Gallery since its building was destroyed by the bombing raids in 1943 and 1944. Fortunately, all of the paintings it had housed were preserved, and together with the royal art collection already exhibited in the palace formed the stock of the National Art Gallery.



The medieval art department was formed in 1965 and formed the crypt of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. In 1985 the foreign art section became independent as the National Gallery for Foreign Art and was moved to the former Royal Printing Office, an imposing Neoclassical building in Sofia.



The National Art Gallery houses not only examples of contemporary and National Revival art, but also the largest collection of medieval paintings, including more than four thousand icons, a comparable collection in quality and number only to that of the Benaki Museum according to the director of the gallery, Boris Danailov.
Comments
We don´t have yet any comments about:
National Art Gallery
Be the first to leave a comment as it is very important to inform other people

 

Outros locais a visitar

Within a radius of 20 km from:

National Art Gallery

  

National Ethnology Museum

0,0 Km
National Ethnology Museum

  

National Museum of Natural History

0,1 Km
National Museum of Natural History

  

The Russian Church “st. Nikolay ”

0,1 Km
The Russian Church “st. Nikolay ”

  

Ivan Vazov National Theater (Sofia)

0,2 Km
Ivan Vazov National Theater (Sofia)

  

Archeological Museum

0,2 Km
Archeological Museum

  

Church of Saint Sophia (Sofia)

0,3 Km
Church of Saint Sophia (Sofia)

  

House Museum Ivan Vazov

0,4 Km
House Museum Ivan Vazov

  

Alexandre Nevsky Cathedral (Sofia)

0,5 Km
Alexandre Nevsky Cathedral (Sofia)

  

Memorial Temple “st. Alexander Nevski ”

0,5 Km
Memorial Temple “st. Alexander Nevski ”

  

Sveta-nedelya Cathedral

0,5 Km
Sveta-nedelya Cathedral

  

National Gallery For Foreign Art

0,6 Km
National Gallery For Foreign Art

  

Cathedral of Saint Joseph

0,7 Km
Cathedral of Saint Joseph

  

Church of Saint Sophia (Sofia)

0,7 Km
Church of Saint Sophia (Sofia)

  

Petko Slaveikov And Pencho Slaveikov Museum House

0,8 Km
Petko Slaveikov And Pencho Slaveikov Museum House

  

Orlov Bridge (Sofia)

1,0 Km
Orlov Bridge (Sofia)

  

Galeriya Vaska Emanuilova

1,2 Km
Galeriya Vaska Emanuilova

  

National Palace of Culture (Sofia)

1,4 Km
National Palace of Culture (Sofia)

  

Church of St. Nicholas (Sofia)

1,5 Km
Church of St. Nicholas (Sofia)

  

Earth And Man National Museum

1,9 Km
Earth And Man National Museum

  

National Museum of Military History

2,1 Km
National Museum of Military History

  

National Historical Museum

6,5 Km
National Historical Museum

  

Vitosha Natural Park And The Vitosha Mountain

14,8 Km
Vitosha Natural Park And The Vitosha Mountain


Why to book with BOOK HOTEL PORTUGAL
The best prices
Our partnerships with the world´s largest operators offer research on the best market prices.
More options
At Rotas Turisticos you can book the hotel, buy the air ticket, book the transfer from the airport to the hotel and vice versa, book the local excursions, rent the car, take travel insurance and consult the places to visit and where to go.
Holiday Tips & Destinations
Hundreds of holiday destinations with all the options that allow you to easily choose the destination that best suits your dream vacation.
BOOK HOTEL PORTUGAL


Follow us on social networks
  

 
Rotas Turisticas
Grupo Público · 8.410 membros
Aderir ao grupo
Podem publicar fotos das vossas viagens, férias, locais que estiveram ou gostariam de estar. Podem divulgar negócios ou actividades...