Mausoleo de Alejandro I de Batenberg - 4

The Memorial Tomb of Alexander I of Battenberg ( bg, Гробница паметник „Александър І Батенберг", ''Grobnitsa pametnik „Aleksandar І Batenberg"''), better known as the Battenberg Mausoleum (Мавзолей на Батенберг, ''Mavzoley na Batenberg'') in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, the capital of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, is the mausoleum and final resting place of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

Alexander I of Bulgaria Alexander Joseph ( bg, Александър I Батенберг; 5 April 185717 November 1893), known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince ('' knyaz'') of the Principality of Bulgaria from 1879 until his abdication in 1886. The Bul ...

(1857–1893), the first

Head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

of modern Bulgaria. Commissioned to the Swiss architect Hermann Mayer, designed in the

eclectic style Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact t ...

(with prominent elements of Neo-Baroque and Neoclassicism) and opened in 1897, the mausoleum measures 11 metres in height and 80 square metres in area. The interior was painted by the noted Bulgarian artist Haralampi Tachev. The Battenberg Mausoleum is located at 81 Vasil Levski Boulevard. It was partially restored in 2005. When Alexander died in exile in Graz,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in 1893, he was initially buried there. However, in accordance with his wish, his remains were transferred to the Bulgarian capital. He was given a state funeral attended by the new prince,

Ferdinand of Bulgaria , image = Zar Ferdinand Bulgarien.jpg , caption = Ferdinand in 1912 , reign = 5 October 1908 – , coronation = , succession = Tsar of Bulgaria , predecessor = Himself as Prince , successor = Boris III , rei ...

, Alexander's widow Johanna Loisinger, and a great number of Bulgarians. Following a service in the

St Nedelya Church Sveta Nedelya Church ( bg, Катедрален храм "Св. великомъченица Неделя" в София or църква „Света Неделя“, translit=Sveta Nedelya) is an Eastern Orthodox church in Sofia, the capital of ...

his body was moved to the Church of St George and subsequently to the newly constructed mausoleum in the centre of the city. The mausoleum was closed between 1947 and 1991, during the period of Communist rule in Bulgaria, but was subsequently reopened for the public. Today it also exhibits some of Alexander's private possessions and papers, donated by his wife in 1937.

References

* * * * {{Museums and galleries in Sofia , state=collapsed Mausoleums in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Sofia Buildings and structures completed in 1897 Tourist attractions in Sofia Burial sites of the House of Battenberg