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National Museum of Military History, Sofia

	Battle tanks, fighter jets, Bulgarian military history Don't be put off by the rusting army trucks in the overgrown front yard - the National Museum of Military History is among the most interesting and best presented in Sofia. Displays over three floors tell the story of warfare in Bulgaria from the time of the Thracians onwards, with extensive labelling and information boards in English. Most space goes to the period from the 1876 April Uprising through to WWI, with cases filled with weaponry, rebel flags and a seemingly endless parade of uniforms and personal belongings of soldiers. Among the more striking are the shaggy-fur flying costume, resembling a traditional Kuker outfit, worn by a Lt Simeon Petrov during the First Balkan War, and the pint-sized tunic of Nikola Kostov, a 10-year old WWI 'volunteer'. Exhibits from WWII and the communist period follow, with the final gallery concentrating on the Bulgarian army's current peace-keeping role within NATO. An additional ticket is required for the 4th-floor galleries, which hold a collection of foreign decorations awarded to Bulgarian leaders and, if you haven't had your fill, yet moreuniforms and guns. The rear yard is home to an impressive assemblage of defunct, Soviet-made military hardware including Scud missile launchers, tanks and MiG fighters. Everything is labelled in English. The National Museum of Military History is a museum dedicated to military history. A structure of the Ministry of Defence, it has existed under various names and subordinate to various institutions since 1 August 1914 The museum is divided in 2 parts: in the halls of exhibits, you can check out weaponry and uniforms from the Bulgarian army. This part of the museum brings you also an interesting overview of the Bulgarian military history and the different wars the country participated to. The second part of the museum is the park where dozens of military hardware are stored like battle tanks and jets! From T34s, T72s, Scud throwers, to Mil Mi 24 helicopter, Sukoïs and Migs...

For those interested in WW2, the collection also host a variety of German battle tanks, including PzIII and Stugs...

After dividing in 1906 of the first Bulgarian Peoples Museum into two museums - Archaeological and Ethnographical, the Military Museum became the 3 rd
national museum structure. It united the established after 1879 military historical houses - museums. The first exhibition of the Main Military Museum
was opened on 12. May 1937 in a building which was bestowed by the officers' corps of Sofia. In 1949 the Museum was renamed as a Central Museum
of Peoples Army, and since 1952 it has been located at its contemporary address - 23 Gen. Skobelev Blvd.

Since 1956 in the museum has been working the first restoration workshop. After an agreement between the governments of Bulgaria and Hungary in
1967 a collective of museum workers established the only in a foreign country Museum of the First Bulgarian Army.
In 1968 the Museum was given a status of a national institution and it changed its name - became a National Museum of Military History. The Naval Museum and Park - Museum "Wladislaw Warnencek" in Varna and the aviation museum in Kromovo became its branches.

For its almost centennial presence in the cultural life in the museum store are preserved and investigated more than 1 000 000 artefacts - witnesses of Bulgarian and European military history.