National Museum of History — Attraction in Sofia City

Very disappointing.

The museum is on the outskirts of the city so it’s a 25 minute drive (I used the bus no 304). They charge 12 LEV per person, which is a lot more than some of the other museums in the city centre charge. The building itself is quite special, but was built under the Communist regime as a government building, so hardly something the museum can take credit for.

Best way to describe the exhibits was as bits and pieces put together seemingly rather haphazardly with very little historical background provided by a way of commentary. So for example, in the middle of an exhibit room, I stumbled upon one isolated case which contained a few exhibits relevant to the latter stages of the Second World War but without any proper explanation as to the historical background.

There was text in English for most of the exhibits but it was in a font size which was too small with an unsuitable colour for background and located within the glass cases, so the overall effect was it was difficult to read!

There was a bit in the museum about the unification of Bulgaria, arising out of the removal of the Ottoman Empire after the Russo-Turkish war but no proper explanation of how the war arose, how Bulgarians were involved etc. You had to read between the lines and I found myself regularly having to look on the Internet on my phone to get proper explanations of the historical events which were being referred to in the museum. It was certainly a big contrast to the National History Museum in Bucharest which was far better at offering the historical background for events.

Rather, ironically, they had a section in the museum devoted to current and previous directors and administrators of the museum!

Very unimpressed and poor value for money compared to, for example, the Sofia History museum which is located in the centre of town, charged 50% less and was far more worthwhile (some very interesting exhibits relating to the education/upbringing of children under the communist regime).

I had wondered why the guidebooks I took with me to Bulgaria did not mention the National History Museum. I know now why, it’s because it’s not...

The National Museum of History in Sofia is a must-see for everyone interested in the great history of Bulgaria. The best time to visit is Sunday afternoon - not too many visitors and be ready to spend 3-4 hours inside. The building itself is in the late 20th century grand design beautifully situated at the feet of the mountain Vitosha. Inside the building is surprising us with a great symbiosis of white marble and carved wood, fantastic lighting, and numerous exhibitions spread out on the three floors. They cover the time from the Paleolite, Neolite, through Metal Eras, Elinistic, Roman, to the end of the WWII and nowadays Bulgarian History. Exhibitions are huge, rich in artifacts, with explanations both in Bulgarian and English languages, which makes it very easy for foreigners to visit by themselves and take their time. Almost all of the people working there speak English or other languages. They are very helpful and answer all your questions. Taking pictures is allowed without a flash( the lighting is enough). The tickets are 15 lv/ per adult and you can buy them from there. Restrooms are clean and on the 1st floor. There is a shop for souvenirs and a cafe. There is a garden behind the building to visit. You can go there using the transit( trolleybus 2 and bus 107) or with a taxi or a car. If you have more time, you can combine going to the National Museum of History and the Boyana Church nearby. It would be an unforgettable experience!...

I wasn't fascinated. I am native and I brought some guests from abroad to show them our history. I haven't visited in 10 years, so I really didn't remember what is inside. But honestly I was disappointed, the building is great, it is spacious, the exhibitions are ordered chronologically and this is fine, but the way history is exposed is not so nice. There are just a few informative labels with really hard facts of some particular events or short periods of the history. I've tried explaining to our guests some facts but it was hard.

At the end we had to get a tour guide so she can explain the foreigners more and we had to through the whole museum again.

In the 21st century it is unacceptable for a museum of such rank and importance to not have more interactive ways of explaining the history behind all the exhibits. I understand that its 1300 years of history only for the Bulgarian country and at least that much before that, however some audio guides, interactive timelines and more animated narrations of major historic events may be just enough to bring the museum to live and present the exhibits better.

One thing every bulgarian is particulary proud of is that once we were ruling almost the whole peninsula and had 3 seas and this was shown just on 2 old maps next to the doors of the medieval hall.

I believe we can emphasize much better on our amazing history and to make every visitor of the museum going out of it fascinated by the...