The largest museum in Bulgaria and one of the largest in the Balkans. Its collection contains a vast archaeological and historical archive and over 680,000 exhibits. Most of them are exhibited in halls and in chronological order present the different civilizations that inhabited the Bulgarian lands from 6000 BC. till present days. The total museum area exceeds 10,000 square meters.
About 22,000 exhibits are on display. Hall 1 is dedicated to Prehistory -VII-II thousand BC. – the time of the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. Here you can see an exact copy of the oldest cave rock paintings from the Magurata cave (III-II millennium BC). In the Second Hall are some of the most interesting exhibits from the so-called Thracian era (end of the 6th BC to the 6th century) – gold and silver treasures (Panagyursko, Letnishko, Borovsko and part of Rogozensko), ceramics, stone plastic and archaeological finds.
The third hall is dedicated to the Bulgarian Middle Ages – the First and Second Bulgarian Kingdoms. Over ten treasures represent the life of the rulers and the life of the aristocracy of that time. In the Fourth Hall, the period from the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule in 1396 to the Liberation in 1878 is shown. In the “Revival” hall, there are separate corners for the most prominent revolutionaries. The last, Fifth Hall shows the most recent Bulgarian history – from the Liberation to the present day. In recent years, the museum has accumulated huge funds. Their enrichment takes place through archaeological excavations, expeditions, ransoms, donations, etc. NIM is among the largest repositories of cultural values not only in Europe, but also in the world.
An inseparable part of the museum are the temporary exhibitions, as well as the ethnographic ones, housed on the third floor of the building. NIM was established in 1973. The first exhibition was opened in 1984 in honor of the 1300th anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian state in the building of the Courthouse in the center of Sofia. In 2000, NIM was moved to the former House No. 1 of the Government Residence. It is located at 16 “Vitoshko Lale” Street in Boyana district.
Work time:
Monday – Sunday (winter 01.10 – 31.03)
Entrance fees:
individual visitors – BGN 12.00
pupils and students – BGN 3.00
Overview talk (duration – 1 hour and 30 minutes):
• in Bulgarian – BGN 20.00
• in a foreign language – BGN 35.00
• in Bulgarian with translation – BGN 25.00
Talk for preschool children, schoolchildren and students: (duration – 1 hour): in Bulgarian – BGN 15.00 in a foreign language – BGN 35.00 interactive talk in Bulgarian – BGN 20.00
Contacts:
Address: Sofia 1618, 16 “Vitoshko Lale” St
Telephones:
+359-(0)2-955 42 80 – for requests;
