The oldest museum in Bulgaria and the first and richest natural history museum on the Balkan Peninsula. It has over 1,000,000 specimens of animals, plants and minerals. The expositions of the museum occupy 4 floors with 15 halls. The exhibits are placed in an environment close to their natural environment and are beautifully preserved. The collections have been collected for more than 100 years and include over 460 species of mammals, over 1990 species of birds, hundreds of thousands of specimens of insects and invertebrates. The collection of reptiles and amphibians is one of the richest in Europe. About a quarter of the world’s mineral species are stored in the museum. The collection of cave fauna from Bulgaria and other countries is particularly rich, many of which are not represented in any other museum in the world. Enrichment of collections is carried out through collecting activities in the country, expeditions or exchange with related institutions abroad, donations, purchase of private collections, transfer of collections or individual specimens confiscated by customs and law enforcement agencies. The museum has four scientific departments: “Invertebrates”, “Vertebrates”, “Paleontology and Mineralogy” and “Botany”. Its exposition is a perfect place for practical activities of students and pupils, for the organization of thematic and representative exhibitions. It was founded in 1889 by Prince Ferdinand under the name Princely Museum of Natural History. In the beginning, it housed the prince’s rich personal collections of birds, mammals and butterflies. The current four-story building, which houses the collections from 1936, is the only one in Sofia built specifically for a museum. The museum has the largest “royal collection” of natural history sights. Here are the personal collections of King Ferdinand I, Princess Clementine and King Boris III. The museum is located on “Tsar Osvoboditel” Blvd. #1.
Work time:
for the scientific departments:
Monday – Friday from 08:30 to 17:00
for the exhibition: Monday – Sunday 10:00 – 18:30 (the last visitors are admitted at 17:30)
on December 24 and 31 from 10: 00 to 13:00.
The museum is open every day except January 1, March 3, Easter [Orthodox] and December 25.
Entrance fees:
individual ticket for persons over 18 years: BGN 10.00
pupils, students, pensioners: BGN 5.00
children from 3-6 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
conversation [by prior request on tel. 087 9226573] in Bulgarian language: BGN 30.00
conversation [by prior request on tel. 087 9226573] in English: BGN 50.00
Free admission:
children up to 3 years May 18 (International Museum Day) June 1 — children up to 14 years old every first Tuesday of the month — pensioners, disabled people and their companions
Contacts:
National Museum of Natural History, Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. 11000 Sofia
phone: 02 9874195
fax: 02 9882894
