Few stories in Sofia carry as many layers of history as that of the 61st Primary School of Sts Cyril and Methodius in Vrabnitsa. In the late 1940s, following 9 September, the new authorities decided to transform the appearance of the city centre. One of the first decisions was to remove the heavy metal fence around the Royal Palace. It was dismantled in 1946. And here comes the twist – part of this imposing fence with its gates (through which monarchs and their guests had passed) ended up in a completely different place: around a new school on the outskirts of the city.

The school opened for the 1949/50 academic year, thanks to local community leader Tsvetan Naydenov and headteacher Dimitar Hristov Dimitrov. Modelled on the agricultural school in Sadovo, the school was built building by building, room by room, through voluntary labour and enthusiasm.  It is a two-storey building with 12 classrooms on each floor, two workshops on the ground floor, a gym, a library, two activity rooms and a music room. Even then, it acquired its fence with a history linked to Sofia. Over time, the school expanded – in 1965 with another storey and eight new classrooms.

In 2022, the south façade of the building became a canvas for meaningful art. The 140 (One for all) Ideas Association painted a mural featuring animals and plants from Bulgaria’s Red List – depicting a Dalmatian pelican, classified as critically endangered, an eagle owl, a wolf and a brown bear, classified as endangered, a European ground squirrel, which is a vulnerable species, as well as the sand lily and edelweiss, which are endangered plant species.