Walk Through Nature and History at Vrana Park

"Vrana" park-museum is one of the most interesting parks in Sofia and is located 11 km from the centre of the city. It is located on an area of approximately 1000 decares. Since 2013, the place that brings together history and nature has been opened to the public.

Vrana Park has over 100 years of history and does not give way to the picturesque European landscape parks created in the 19th century. A curious fact about the park is that it has always been the property of the local governemtn. At the end of the 19th century, King Ferdinand I started buying the land on which the work of the park designing art is located.

Milena Vasseva explains that King Ferdinand was a well-known botanist and ornithologist. The story tells that when the park was built, he said that it would be named after the first bird that landed in it. So it was vrana (crow). This is where the name of the park comes from. There are 821 tree, shrub and grass species described on the territory of the park. They were imported from all over the world at the time,”she said.

The paths of the park lead to different parts of the Bulgarian history: Vrana Palace, the farm buildings and many more.

Milena Vaseva: "Next to the lake with the lilies is the Dalem rock garden and the second tomb of Tsar Boris. There is a house built for the monks to serve the chapel. During the communist regime, Vrana park and the palace were used as the residence of the then rulers, but Georgi Dimitrov (the first communist leader of Bulgaria, from 1946 to 1949) refused to sleep in the palace and when he came, he usually stayed in the house for the monks, so it is remembered as the house of Georgi Dimitrov.

There are wild animals on the territory of the park - badgers, foxes, martens, so access for citizens is not completely free. The place is suitable for recreation activities, that does not involve cycling, picnics or walks of pets. Smoking is not allowed. The park is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 until 16:00. Visitors can get there by car or bicycle, as well as by public transport.