Royal Palace (Sofia)
Erected in the late 19th century as the royal residence, the palace's architecture blends various styles, with prominent influences from Austrian Neo-Baroque and French Rococo.
Through underground tunnels, the structure was connected to the nearby places such as the Chelebi Mosque, the Pasha's house, an inn (at the location of the old hotel ‘Bulgaria’).
The building was quickly refurbished by the Russian army, but barely a year after its installation, it became clear that the structure was not suitable to house the prince and his family, who had to move to allow for a complete reconstruction.
From 1880 to 1882, the Austrian architect Viktor Rumpelmayer directed the reconstruction of the old konak, which was almost completely demolished, although the foundations were used to erect the new palace, which was also enlarged with an eastern wing for receptions.
The idea was to give the new princely residence a cosmopolitan air that would symbolize Sofia's transformation from an Ottoman provincial city to the capital of a newly independent state.
[1][2] On 20 August 1886, a group of military men unhappy with the outcome of the Serbo-Bulgarian War (1886) stormed the palace and forced the prince to abdicate and then moved him to the border.
A few months after the fall of Alexander I, the representatives of the Third Great National Assembly, who held a meeting at Tarnovo, offered the throne to Prince Valdemar of Denmark, which he refused.
On 7 July 1887, to the surprise of the chancelleries and the European courts, the assembly elected Ferdinand I of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary (1861–1948), son of princess Clémentine of Orléans and therefore grandson of the last king of France, Louis Philippe I, as the new prince.
[3] Friedrich Grünanger was supported by a wide range of artists such as the sculptor Andreas Greis and architects Franz Aisler, Anaki Shamardzhiev, Yordan Sevov, and Ivan Vassilov.
Furthermore, the opulent oak doors, featuring intricate marquetry designs composed of exotic wood, ivory, brass, silver, and gold, depicting regal crowns and personal princely emblems, were proudly marked with the insignia of the esteemed firm "Franz Michel" from Vienna.
Despite all these additions, the palace maintained a compact volume, with comfortable and well-thought-out internal communications, which allowed easy transit between the more institutional reception areas and the more domestic spaces of the princely family.
Not to be forgotten is the garden, created as early as 1879, during the reign of Alexander I of Battenberg, who decided to plant a two-hectare park designed by Anton Kollar that surrounded the palace and was enclosed by a gate.
[4] The princely family did not inhabit their palace in Sofia all year round, but in summer moved to Euxinograd on the Black Sea coast, while from 1903 onwards they made more and more use of the hunting lodge in Vrana, especially after its expansion in 1909, located on the outskirts of the capital.
As early as 1893, Ferdinand had decided that Boris would be educated in the Orthodox religion, a constitutional obligation, as well as one of the conditions set by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia for the re-establishment of diplomatic relations broken since 1886.
Following his marriage to Princess Giovanna of Savoy (1907–2007), daughter of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III, in October 1930, a thorough renovation and modernization of the palace was carried out.
In 1942, faced with the deteriorating military situation, the royal family moved to live in Vrana Palace, in the outskirts of Sofia, and Tsarska Bistritsa, a hunting lodge in the Rila Mountains near Borovets.
A gradual purging of the royalist symbols of the Royal Palace began, while the boy-king Simeon II and his family remained in Vrana.
In 1946, in the controversial referendum organized by the Fatherland Front government, Bulgarians voted 95% in favor of the republic, the royal family left the country soon after.
[5] The palace design also included chapels for Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic worship, reflecting the king’s personal interests.
[5] Despite an ambitious design by the renowned architect Nikola Lazarov, the onset of the First World War and subsequent political and economic upheavals prevented the palace’s construction.
