The National Natural History Museum, founded in 1889, is Bulgaria’s oldest museum and stands among the natural history museums with the most extensive exposition on the Balkan Peninsula. Initially, it housed the personal collection of butterflies, birds, and mammals of Prince Ferdinand, and in 1907, the first exhibition was opened. The current building has been in use since 1936, with exhibitions across 16 halls.
The central lobby displays an exposition dedicated to minerals, showcasing over 1,300 samples, including native elements like platinum metals, gold, and silver. The hall for temporary expositions hosts various museum exhibitions. On the second floor, five halls display stuffed birds, amphibians, fish, fossils, and more. The exhibits feature various bird species from around the world, including rare species like the spectacled penguin, black vulture, and paradise crane.
The museum’s second floor also houses the “Fish” hall, presenting fish species from Bulgarian freshwater basins, the Black Sea, and other regions. The “Paleontology” exhibition on the same floor features a giant ammonite, considered 84 million years old. The third floor is dedicated to mammals, including an impressive two-meter bear from Rila, which won a gold medal at the 1937 International Hunting Exhibition in Berlin.
The fourth floor hosts the insect exposition, showcasing insects systematically in 20 showcases, with a focus on butterflies and beetles. Other rooms on this floor present medicinal plants in Bulgaria and a collection of sea creatures. The museum offers information materials and souvenirs for sale. The institution officially opened its permanent exhibition on September 17, 2015, covering the period from the 6th millennium BC to the 1940s in eight halls. The museum has over 100,000 original exhibits, including archaeological materials, coins, ornaments, ancient weapons, clothing, orders, medals, and items belonging to historical figures like Tsar Ferdinand and Stefan Stambolov. The museum also has branches, including the underground museum at the Basilica of Saint Sofia and the tomb of Prince Alexander I.
Prices:
Adults: BGN 10.00.
Pupils, students, pensioners: BGN 5.00.
Children from 3 to 6 years and people with disabilities: BGN 4.00.
Groups of pupils and students over 10 people: BGN 4.00.
Family ticket (parents with two children under 18): BGN 25.00.
Children up to 3 years: Free
Work time:
For the scientific departments:
Monday – Friday:
08:30 – 17:00
About the exposure:
Monday – Sunday:
10:00 – 18:30
The last visitors are admitted at 17:30.
