Central Military Club

The Central Military Club ( Bulg: Централен военен клуб / Central woenen club ) is a three-storey building in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The building is decorated in neo-renaissance style.

Location

The Central Military Club is located at Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard # 7, opposite the Russian church on the other side of the Rakovsky Street, and is located near the Ivan Vazov National Theatre.

History

Construction was started in 1883 by Adolf Kolar and 1903, completed by Friedrich Grünanger.

The foundation stone for the building was laid in 1895. The Military Club was designed by the Czech architect Antonín Kolář and completed by his Bulgarian colleague Nikola Lazarov in 1907. In memory of the Serbian -Bulgarian War (1885-1886) was a stone that comes from the battlefield of Sliwniza, placed in the foundation.

Use

This building was used before the Second World War as a ballroom for the Bulgarian elite and royal family. The concert hall has seating for 450 spectators today. After a renovation as part of a city beautification project, the building is used as a cultural center and theater. The former ballroom, now a concert hall, is often booked by private operators.

The building also houses the Central Military Library, which has more than 120,000 volumes.

Here in 2008 was a major chess tournament M- Tel Masters instead. In the building art exhibitions also take place. In April and May 2010, the Central Military Club hosted the world chess championship between champion Viswanathan Anand and his challenger Veselin Topalov.