Royal Palace, Royal palace and monument in central Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Royal Palace sits at Battenberg Square with a neoclassical façade that blends several architectural styles, serving today as a dual museum space. Inside are an art gallery displaying works from Bulgaria and Europe, and an ethnographic museum housing collections of traditional objects and historical materials.

The building was reconstructed between 1879 and 1883 to serve as a royal residence for Knyaz Alexander of Battenberg, following its earlier use as an administrative building. This transformation reflected Bulgaria's effort to establish modern institutions after gaining independence.

The palace's two museums split by wing: the National Art Gallery occupies the northwest side, the National Ethnographic Museum the southeast. The ethnographic collection documents Bulgarian folk culture, while the gallery holds Bulgarian and European art. The building itself is a cultural monument since 1978.

The building stands at 1 Knyaz Alexander I Square, with the National Art Gallery in the northwest part and the National Ethnographic Museum in the southeast. The two collections occupy separate wings, so allow time to cross between them. The palace has been listed as a cultural monument since 1978.

The metalwork throughout the palace — stair and terrace balustrades, decorative grilles, fences, columns and internal staircases — was made by the Viennese firms Rudolf Philipp Wagner and Valerian Gillar, plus Ed. Puls of Berlin. The oak doors, in marquetry of exotic wood, mother-of-pearl, brass, silver and gilding, carry the stamp of Franz Michel of Vienna.