Bulgaria National Assembly Building, Neo-Renaissance parliament house in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The Bulgaria National Assembly Building on Parliament Square in Sofia is a Neo-Renaissance structure designed by Konstantin Jovanović, with a symmetrical white facade and the motto "Union Makes Strength" inscribed on the pediment. A three-storey north wing added in 1925–1928 by Pencho Koychev faces the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
The building was completed in 1886, marking Bulgaria's transition to constitutional monarchy following the end of Ottoman rule. Its construction under Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Liebe reflected the political and architectural ambitions of Bulgaria's early independence.
The building appears on Bulgaria's twenty leva banknotes, representing the nation's democratic institutions. Citizens view it as a symbol of their national identity and parliamentary heritage.
The building faces Parliament Square at the head of Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard, with the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral just behind its northern wing. Since August 2023 the National Assembly has sat in the former Party House at the Largo for a planned two to three years during repairs, so the chamber here may be closed. Check the parliament's own site for visiting arrangements before travelling.
The building appears on the reverse of the Bulgarian 20 leva banknote issued in 1999 and 2007. Its original off-white hue gave way to white only in the latter part of the 20th century, not during the Soviet era.
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