Perched in the gentle foothills of Vitosha Mountain, Boyana is many things at once: a serene escape from the city’s buzz, a showcase of history and architecture, and an open secret of Bulgaria’s legacy. Most uniquely, it hosts the brightest and most authentically preserved example of socialist-era representative architecture in the country: the Boyana Residence.
The buildings named Dom 1 and Dom 2 now house the National Historical Museum and a hotel section with conference halls. Other important residences on the grounds include the presidential and prime ministerial villas. However, not all of Bulgaria’s prime ministers have chosen to live here, several opted to remain in their private homes for various reasons. Yes, you can spend the night here as well. Dom 2 operates as a hotel, offering an experience that carries the aftertaste of a bygone era, from the aesthetics to echoes of totalitarianism.
- A Village Transformed Into the Heart of Power
- House 1: Museum and Monument
- House 2: Stay in a Living Time Capsule
- Home for High-Profile Politicians
- The Legend of the Tunnel
- Sculpted Nature: Park, Garden, and Green Legacy
- Beyond Power: Culture, Faith, and Nature
A Village Transformed Into the Heart of Power
Boyana was once a quiet village on the southern slope of Vitosha, but by 1961, it officially became part of metropolitan Sofia. Yet long before then, rulers and artists recognized its idyllic charm, fresh mountain air, and lush greenery.
The Boyana Residence complex was designed and built in the 1970s. The place was chosen by the Bulgarian government for its strategic location near three of Sofia’s major boulevards: Bulgaria, Alexander Pushkin, and Bratya Bukston. In fact, Boulevard “Bulgaria” was built specifically to connect this enclave directly to the city center.
The complex became home of the Bulgarian totalitarian elite and in the modern era Boyana keeps being residential magnet for the elite: the presidents, prime ministers and other public figures. Its transformation from pastoral hamlet into center-stage enclave was a gradual yet deliberate process.
The Boyana Residence Complex
Today, the Boyana Residence is a state complex with a special status. It is an architectural showcase of ambition, authority, and prestige. It was built in the 1970s by Glavproekt’s government-design creative ateliers, institutions tasked with designing signature state projects and its building were carefully planned.
are named Dom 1, Dom 2, etc. (“Дом” meaning “House” or “Building” in Bulgarian) as part of a systematic, utilitarian naming convention typical of state-run facilities from the socialist era. This style of labeling (numbered and generic) was especially common in administrative, residential, and institutional complexes built under communist regimes, where practicality and hierarchy took precedence over decorative or personalized naming.
- House 1 (Dom 1): Originally the State Council’s ceremonial and diplomatic headquarters, built in the 1970s by architect Alexander Barov, it now houses the National Historical Museum.
- House 2 (Dom 2): A stately hotel complex built in the 1970s by architect Stefka Georgieva for elite guests: government officials, foreign dignitaries, and today, adventurous travelers.
- House 3: A staff residence from the late 1940s.
- House 4: A former guard post, never residential.
- House 5: A 1910 summer villa now used to lodge high-level officials.
- Houses 6–8: Additional secure residences completed in 1974 for official use. Today they are under controlled access and it is unlikely for regular visitors to see them
This nomenclature mirrored the centralized, bureaucratic mindset of the time—functional, discreet, and orderly. Rather than giving each building a unique or symbolic name, they were simply part of a system, reflecting the state’s emphasis on control and uniformity.
All buildings are nestled in a meticulously designed park, putting together Vitosha’s forest backdrop with purposeful architecture and top-tier materials. The layout unites varying scales and functions in a harmonious, hierarchy-driven ensemble: domestic, ministerial, ceremonial.
Here in 2016 popped up the Bulgarian Football Union’s state-of-the-art sports base. Spread across three modern buildings, the complex features three pristine football pitches and two well-kept tennis courts, ideal for both rigorous training and relaxed recreation. Spectator stands offer a front-row seat to the action, while the on-site hotel welcomes guests with cozy rooms and a peaceful setting. The campus also houses the official headquarters of the Bulgarian Football Union, alongside a fully equipped medical and recovery center designed to keep athletes in peak form.
House 1: Museum and Monument
When you step into House 1, now the National Historical Museum, you’re entering a living artifact itself. This cubic, imposing building once sheltered Bulgaria’s highest echelon of state power. Massive glass enclosures flood the grand staircase with daylight, framing panoramic views of Vitosha’s peaks. Through its windows, you glimpse the halls where decorations were awarded, credentials handed over. The building’s layout, with folding doors and flexible chambers, was considered cutting-edge in 1970s socialist architecture.
Its design, refined and replicated in other state structures around Bulgaria, marries the grand gestures of Renaissance Revival with a sleek modernist restraint. Cantilevered bays evoke the sweeping eaves of Revival-era homes, while the interiors radiate with warm browns, soft whites, lush reds, and tobacco greens—a palette that evokes wood, marble, carpet, and nature in one harmonious symphony.
The iconic ceiling in the grand chamber known as the “Sun Hall” features a conical vaulted wood-paneled dome with radial beams and a central glass sphere, a modern reimagining of the traditional Bulgarian act of “sun” motifs in architecture. Crafted by woodcarver Kacho Grozev and sculptor-engraver Anton Donchev under the guidance of architect Alexander Barov, its artistry is matched only by the renowned panels at Sofia’s National Palace of Culture.
Particularly poignant is the plenary hall where, on November 10, 1989, the Communist Party officially deposed Todor Zhivkov, igniting Bulgaria’s democratic transformation.
Once a stage for party congresses and international state affairs, the same halls now host foreign delegations and cultural functions, yet with a gentler tone, more open to the public.
House 2: Stay in a Living Time Capsule
Imagine waking up in authentic 1970s state luxury, with a distinctly retro charm. That’s House 2, where you can now spend nights, not just diplomats or officials. Opened to public bookings after major renovations in 2017, it preserves its vintage character: two separate wings, marble floors, wooden ceiling panels, Austrian anodized aluminum frames, a copper roof. The building nearly 30,000 sq.m in total houses two restaurants, conference rooms, a spa, pool, cinema, and a fitness center.
Rumor has it that apartment A-32 is the crème de la crème: approximately 280 m² of living, with living room, dining area, office, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, wardrobe. Once graced by the likes of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, King Carl XVI of Sweden, King Juan Carlos of Spain, and even the Dalai Lama, it remains a symbol of period prestige.
Beyond public bookings, House 2 still hosts high profile guests, national sports teams and corporate forums. Though visiting foreign delegations have become rare since 2000, the atmosphere of muted state splendor remains tangible, especially in the lobby with its classic styling and warm marble-and-wood tones. You can book at the official website https://travel.government.bg/kompleks-boiana.
Home for High-Profile Politicians
The Boyana Residence complex is a fully functioning home of the Bulgarian government. Within the complex sits Villa “Kalina,” the official presidential residence. Prime Ministers and other heads of Bulgarian institutions also can reside here. While some choose their own private homes, “Kalina” remains a central, secure locus of presidency life, complete with 24/7 National Security Service protection, staff chefs, cleaning teams, and dedicated groundskeepers.
Interestingly, former Prime Minister Ivan Kostov chose to remain in his home in Dragalevtsi, adding a wooden observation tower for his security detail. And during his tenure, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha continued living in Vrana Palace, his family estate just outside Sofia’s center.
The Legend of the Tunnel
City rumors persist of a secret underground passage linking Parliament at Largo to Boyana Residence. Though ambitious “tunnels of power” were built during Zhivkov’s rule, the specific passage under Parliament never fully materialized, it was apparently buried during metro construction.
Sofia boasts over 200 km of catacombs beneath it, but most are Metro-era utilities, with only a few traceable emergency or escape tunnels tied to state security operations.
Sculpted Nature: Park, Garden, and Green Legacy
The surrounding park was masterfully designed and supervised by engineer-architect Valentina Atanasova, whose resume includes Sofia’s National Palace of Culture gardens, Sunny Beach resort, Tunis’ Olympic Sports Park, Algeria’s government compound landscape, and more. The result is a thoughtfully tiered landscape of pines, broadleaf trees, lawns, botanical corners, rose gardens, even aviary and model airplane fields, and tennis courts.
Just before Bulgaria’s rotating EU presidency began in 2017, over 500 diseased trees were removed to prevent bark-borer infestation, an insect threatening the trees. They were replaced with a mix of coniferous and broadleaf saplings, restoring the park’s vitality in time for high-level summits and diplomatic receptions.
Boyana is, above all, a green refuge: a place where nature and architecture converse in pine-cone rustles and sunlight-patterned marble floors.
Beyond Power: Culture, Faith, and Nature
Boyana’s appeal extends far beyond bricks and bureaucracy:
- Boyana Church: The 10th-century “St. Nicholas and St. Pantaleon” Church, UNESCO-listed, was expanded in 1259 under Sevastocrator Kaloyan’s patronage. With its stunning medieval frescoes, it miraculously survived Ottoman rule and only narrowly escaped demolition in 1912—thanks to Queen Eleonore’s intervention. Her memory lives on by the church, where she was laid to rest.
- Boyana Waterfall: A short hike higher up the mountain unfolds into a natural spectacle—epic in spring with melting snow from Cherni Vrah feeding the cascade. It’s one of Vitosha’s most photogenic and invigorating spots.
- Boyana Lake & Hydropower Station: Constructed in 1908, and operational by 1923, this artificial lake and its hydroelectric facility supported Sofia’s early electrification—making it one of the city’s pioneering renewable energy sites.
- Boyana Film Center: A cinematic epicenter on par with Burbank, it’s hosted Bulgarian classics and global blockbusters—Den of Thieves, The Expendables 2, even Conan the Barbarian. Year-round it opens to film crews, festivals, Christmas bazaars, and parties.
How to Get to the Boyana Residence
Probably the easiest way to reach the Boyana Residence is by taxi or rent-a-car.
If you feel like exploring the city and its public transport system to the uncharted territories of the governmental residence, rest assured that you can do it!
- Bus 304:
- My personally favourite. It has stops at all major transport hubs such as Pliska on Tsarigradsko shose, Orlov Most (Eagle’s Bridge), the bus stop neat the Vasil Levski Metro Stration on Evlogi Georgiev boulevard, National Palace of Culture NDK – the bus stop under the Lover’s Bridge.
- Buses run every 20 minutes on weekdays but once per hour on the weekends
- Bus 63:
- The bus line runs along Tsar Boris III boulevard which is its closest stop to the city center. The line serves the Zlatnite mostove (translated to Golden Bridges) on Vitosha mountain. The picturesque area is popular weekend hiking destination. On the weekend buses run every 20 minutes and on the weekdays – once per hour
- Bus 111:
- The runs line runs every 10 minutes and will give you unforgettable urban decay views of the capital’s Ring Road. Unfortunately its stops are far from the city center. You can catch metro to Mladost 1 station or if you feel like more adveturious – to Lyulin matro station in the same name district.
While you’re at it, you might enjoy diving into one of the tours focused on Bulgaria’s Communist-era heritage.