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The National Assembly Building is used by the 
Due to insufficient space in the main building at Parliament Square, some administrative offices of the National Assembly are now housed in the former headquarters (Партийния дом, ''Partiyniya dom'', "the
The National Assembly Building is used by the Bulgarian parliament
The National Assembly ( bg, Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution.
Ordi ...
for parliamentary debates.
The main building has been proclaimed a monument of culture for its historic significance. Situated in downtown 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 ha ...
, it was designed in Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...
style by Konstantin Jovanović
Konstantin Jovanović ( sr-cyr, Константин Јовановић; bg, Константин Йованович; 13 January 1849 – 15 February 1923) was a Serbian and Bulgarian architect known for providing the original designs of the Nati ...
, a Serbian-Bulgarian architect who received his education in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and whose other works include the Parliament of Serbia
The National Assembly ( sr-cyr, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ) is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are proportionally elected to four-year terms by secret ballot. The as ...
building. It was constructed between 1884 and 1886 by Friederich Wilhelm Gustav Liebe, a young builder from Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
who was only 22 years old when construction began. The building was originally painted in an off-white hue, but since the latter part of the 20th century has been white.
The building is depicted on the reverse
Reverse or reversing may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001
* ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005
* ''Reverse'' ...
of the Bulgarian 20 leva
Leva may refer to:
* Bulgarian lev, Bulgarian currency
* ''Leva'' (grasshopper), a genus of insects
* Levice
Levice (; hu, Léva, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Lewenz, literally lionesses) is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies o ...
banknote, issued in 1999 and 2007.
Due to insufficient space in the main building at Parliament Square, some administrative offices of the National Assembly are now housed in the former headquarters (Партийния дом, ''Partiyniya dom'', "the Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
House") of the Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...
, located at the Largo
The Largo ( bg, Ларго, definite form Ларгото, ''Largoto'') is an architectural ensemble of three Socialist Classicism edifices in central Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, designed and built in the 1950s with the intention of becoming th ...
.
There has been a proposal that the entire National Assembly be permanently moved to the former Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...
headquarters building, with its inner courtyard being converted into an interior space for the plenary chamber, which happened in 2020. In September 2020, parliament moved to the former BCP Party House.
After the April 2021 Bulgarian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 4 April 2021 at the end of the term of National Assembly members elected in 2017. Parties in the governing coalition led by Boyko Borisov lost seats and no party leader was able to form a coalit ...
, the National Assembly moved again to the old Parliament House because the new opposition led-majority ( ITN, Democratic Bulgaria
Democratic Bulgaria ( bg, Демократична България, ДБ, ''Demokratichna Balgariya, DB'') is an electoral alliance in Bulgaria formed by three political parties – Yes, Bulgaria!, Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria and The Green ...
, ISMV) viewed the Party House building as a symbol of Bulgaria's communist past.
References
{{coord, 42.6944, N, 23.3328, E, source:wikidata, display=title Government buildings completed in 1886 Buildings and structures in Sofia Legislative buildings in Europe