National Gallery of Bulgaria

The National Gallery, established in 1948, is the largest art museum in Bulgaria, with over 41,000 paintings, sculptures, graphics, decorative and contemporary artworks. It has the richest collection of Christian art from the Bulgarian lands (4th–19th centuries), boasts some of the highest achievements of the Bulgarian masters from the National Revival to the present day, along with exemplars of European art (15th –20th centuries), and unique artworks from Asia, Africa, and America.

The Gallery combines Kvadrat 500 ( St Alexander Nevsky Sq., 1, 19th February St.) with a permanent exposition on display; The Palace (1, Knyaz Alexander I Sq.) with its halls for temporary exhibitions; the Museum of Christian Art in the crypt of St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral; the Museum of Socialist Art (7, Lachezar Stanchev St.); Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art (2, Cherni Vrah Blvd.); and the House Museums of Vera Nedkova, Nikola Tanev, and Ivan Lazarov.

In accordance with contemporary trends and practices, the National Gallery defines its mission as a museum open to the public, which preserves, studies and enriches the national collection of Bulgarian and foreign art for present and future generations.

Our ambition is to transform the National Gallery into a centre promoting Bulgarian art abroad, attracting foreign art museums and artists, connecting different stylistic tendencies and civilizations, a place, where different publics can appreciate exhibitions with unique works of art and can find a variety of cultural events and educational programmes.