The New Heart of Culture
For more than 40 years the National Palace of Culture has been the center of the artistic life of the capital. Today the biggest concerts of Bulgarian and foreign musicians take place on the territory of the Palace and several cultural spaces can be visited.
In the autumn of 2015, on the Feast of Sofia – 17 September, the city got its first non-stop literature club. The “Pen” was conceived as a space that would be a “true home of the book”. Like the Viennese cafés of the past, the “Pen” offers its visitors pleasant refreshments to contribute to their productivity and comfort. Today, the literary club is no longer open around the clock, yet it continues to be an event venue for book readings and home of many established and emerging writers and poets.
Each year, the Pen Club hosts the eponymous awards established in 2015. The Pen Literary Awards are presented to artists – writers, translators, literary professionals and researchers – with significant achievements in the field of literature. The plaques awarded to the winners of the Pen Prize are designed by Prof. Emil Popov – author of the sculpture “The Horseman”, which is placed in front of the entrance A3, and co-author of the work “Bulgaria – a land of ancient cultures”, located on the western half-floor in the National Palace of Culture.
In 1995, for the first time, the International Book Fair in Bulgaria was held on the territory of the National Palace of Culture. In the following years, the National Palace of Culture has repeatedly been a partner of the Bulgarian Book Association in holding Sofia’s favorite book fair. Today it is hard to imagine the first days of December without visiting the National Palace of Culture and immersing ourselves in the Christmas spirit of the capital.
heater lovers can attend performances in one of the two theater salons on the territory of the National Palace of Culture. The first theater space in the Palace is Hall 2, which functions as the Azaryan Theatre. The hall has 600 seats and is located below Hall 1. Designed for chamber vocal and instrumental concerts, recitals, plays and film screenings. The planning scheme of the Azaryan Theatre is similar to that of the Ancient Theatre in Plovdiv. To date, Hall 2 of the National Palace of Culture is the most modernized theater hall in Bulgaria.
The New Theatre, established in March 2015, is located near the A3 entrance. The theater has 191 seats and modern lighting and sound systems. The New Theatre also has its own library and bookshop, where anyone wishing can acquire specialized literature in theater, cinema and other arts.
Speaking of cinema, we cannot miss one of the oldest Sofia cinemas – Lumiere, which is located in Hall 11 of the so-called “Little NDK”. Lumiere Cinema is part of the Europa Cinemas network and prioritises the screening of contemporary Bulgarian and European films.
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The articles for the project “NDK is #soSofia” were developed by Viktor Topalov, author at “Bohemian Sofia” in collaboration with the #soSofia team.
The project uses visual archives from the National Film Centre, the State Agency “Archives”, the Bulgarian Visual Archive and information from the following sources:
Miloshev, Yordan, NDK – memories of builders | Sp. 1 – 1982, 6 – 1984, 3-4 – 1986 | Mircheva, Simona, Palace in the Life of the City | Tromkov, Ilia. National Palace of Culture “Lyudmila Zhivkova” | Milev, Ivo. “The Life and Death of Lyudmila Zhivkova | BNT. Aleksandrova, Albena. Kovachev, Oleg. Study of beauty from within | omda.bg. Interview – Gyurov, Vasil. Gyurov, Konstantin. Places of everyday life. Cravaai. | Langova, Sonya. Shofelinov, Ivan. Cohen, Emil. Film – We from Kravay. | Trifonova, Teodora. BTV News. 18.07.2017 Ready project for the soldiers’ memorial has been there for years. | Veselinov, Veselin. Liternet. Memorial to the fallen of the 1st and 6th infantry regiments. | NDK Press Center | ndk.bg | newtheatre.bg | Thank you for talking to the NDK teams. | All Day NDK. | DJ GIORGIO. | Sofia Graffiti Tour.
The NDK is #soSofia project is realized with the support of the Cultural Heritage Entrepreneurship Programme of the National Culture Fund and the help of our loyal friends from Storytel, Fashion Days, Beefeater and DEVIN.
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