The

Ivan Vazov Ivan Minchov Vazov ( bg, Иван Минчов Вазов; – 22 September 1921) was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley ...

National Theatre ( bg, Народен театър „Иван Вазов“, ') is

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 Macedon ...

's national theatre, as well as the oldest and most authoritative theatre in the country and one of the important landmarks of

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. It is located in the centre of the city, with the facade facing the

City Garden City Garden is a private housing estate in Fortress Hill, Hong Kong. It was built from 1983 to 1986 by Cheung Kong Holdings Limited. It consists of 14 blocks, each 28 storeys tall. Part of the site was occupied by the North Point Power Sta ...

BASA 138K-1-102-36 National Theater actors postcard (crop)

Founded in 1904 by the artists from the ' company, it was initially called simply the National Theatre, but before being named after the prominent writer Ivan Vazov it also bore the name of Krastyu Sarafov between 1952 and 1962. Vazov's play '' The Outcasts'' was the first to be performed at the theatre when it opened. The theatre's Neoclassical building, designed by famous

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

theatre architects

Hermann Helmer Hermann Gottlieb Helmer (13 July 1849 – 2 April 1919) was a German architect who mainly worked in Austria. Biography After completing an apprenticeship as a bricklayer, and some further education he joined the architecture firm of Ferdinand ...

and

Ferdinand Fellner Ferdinand Fellner (19 April 1847 – 22 March 1916) was an Austrian architect. Biography Fellner joined his ailing father's architecture firm at the age of nineteen. After his death he founded the architecture studio Fellner & Helmer together w ...

, was finished in 1906 and opened on 3 January 1907. The building was extensively damaged by a fire in 1923 during an anniversary celebration, but was reconstructed in 1929 by German architect

Martin Dülfer Martin Dülfer (1 January 1859, Breslau – 21 December 1942, Dresden) was a German architect and professor; best known for designing theatres in the Historical and Art-Nouveau styles. Life and work His father, Carl Dülfer, was a publisher ...

. A theatrical school was established as part of the National Theatre in 1925. The

bombing of Sofia in World War II The Bulgarian capital of Sofia suffered a series of Allied bombing raids during World War II, from mid 1941 to early 1944. Bulgaria declared war on the United Kingdom and the United States on 13 December 1941. The Southern Italy-based Allied a ...

caused considerable damage to the building, but it was reconstructed in 1945. Another reconstruction followed in 1971–1975, and a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

100,000 restoration project was implemented in 2006. The Ivan Vazov National Theatre has a well-equipped main stage with 750 seats, a smaller 120-seat stage and an additional 70-seat one on the fourth floor. The building's facade is depicted on the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

of the Bulgarian 50 levs banknote, issued in 1999 and 2006.Bulgarian National Bank
Notes and Coins in Circulation
50 levs
(1999 issue)
50 levs
(2006 issue). – Retrieved on 26 March 2009. The theatre has been host to productions from notable theatre directors such as

Alexander Morfov Alexander Morfov (Bulgarian: Александър Морфов; born 9 November 1960) is a Bulgarian theater and cinema director. Biography Alexander Morfov was born in 1960 in Yambol. His father was an officer, and his mother was a teacher i ...

who has been the Chief director since 1993.

Gallery

File:BASA-3K-7-328-5a-Sofia Ivan Vazov National Theatre, 1907.jpg, The theatre in 1907 File:Sofia Ivan Vazov National Theatre 03136.jpg, Detail of the tower File:NocturnalTheatre.jpg, A view at night File:Ivan Vazov National Theater in 2018.jpg, The facade of the building

References

External links

Official website

Official Facebook Page

3D Laser scanning of the interior
{{Authority control Theatres in Sofia National theatres Tourist attractions in Sofia 1904 establishments in Bulgaria Theatres completed in 1906 Fellner & Helmer buildings

Gallery

See Also

References

External links