National Palace of Culture

Built for the thirteen-hundredth anniversary of the Bulgarian state and opened in 1981, the National Palace of Culture is a vast prism of concrete and glass set at the head of a boulevard laid out to display it. Inside are congress halls, exhibition floors, cinemas and conference rooms; Hall 1 is among the largest indoor auditoria in the country and takes symphony concerts, opera galas, ballet and popular tours with equal facility, while the smaller halls carry chamber music, festivals and film. The National Palace of Culture in Sofia opened on 31 March 1981 as part of the celebrations of the Bulgarian state’s 1,300th anniversary. Aleksandar Barov led the architectural team, with structural design led by Bogdan Atanasov; construction began in May 1978. Its thirteen halls include Hall 1, with 3,380 seats, while its cultural programme encompasses the New Year’s Music Festival, Kinomania and literary events at the Peroto club.