Address: Sofia, 1 Banski Sq.
The Museum is located approximately 500 meters or 7 minutes walking away from Sofia Balkan Hotel.
Short history of the Museum
In 1889 the Austrian architect Emil von Förster won an international competition for a mineral bath with a hotel and started the construction of the building. Four years later the building of the hotel was suspended due to a shortage of funds. In 1904 the conceptual design of the complex in its present form was clarified by the architects Petko Momchilov and Friedrich Grünanger.
The small bathroom building was officially opened in 1908, and the large one – with two swimming pools, family baths, Roman baths – on May 13th 1913. A year later in 1914 a water healing treatment institute with special water facilities was opened in the northern wing of the bath. The facilities were supplied with water from the mineral springs beneath the building. During the bombing of Sofia (1944) the small bathroom building was broken down, and parts of the large one were seriously affected.
After the Second World War, the large bathroom was restored and officially proclaimed as monument of culture of local importance. Due to depreciation in 1986, the building was closed for visitors and completely abandoned after 1989. In the mid-1990’s, the building was gradually restored. From 2015, it houses the Museum of History of Sofia.