Central Military Club – Sofia, Bulgaria

Opposite from the Russian Church, on the other side of Rakovski Street is the Central Military Club.  Before WWII, it was a venue for many grand balls, attended by Sofia’s elite and royalty.  As part of the city’s beautification project, the facade of this attractive, Renaissance-style building was refurbished a few years ago. 

Today, the Club is a popular venue once again.  The building is three storey high and the facilities inside include a coffeehouse, an art gallery, a number of halls of varying size, as well as a concert hall that seats 450 people.  We we very fortunate to have a very real Colonel Sergei Kanthev pose with us in front of the Club. 

Rakovski Street is also known as theatre street and Sofia has a high number of theatres given its small population.  We were on our way to have coffee with Sergei at his favorite and very posh cafe and didn’t have time to explore theatre street.  Sergei mentioned that in nearby Slavianska Street, is the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, which is supposed to be the most beautiful.

Helen