site.btaDecember 16, 1953: New Building of National Library Inaugurated in Sofia

On December 16, 1953 the new building of the Vasil Kolarov National Library (present-day Sts Cyril and Methodius National Library) was officially opened in Sofia. 

The idea of establishing "a public library, necessary for the development of Sofia in cultural and educational terms" came from Sofia teacher and secretary of the City Council Mikhail Bobotinov on April 4, 1878. Later that year, on November 28, a temporary library committee was elected to prepare and open the library. This date (December 10, 1878 according to the Gregorian calendar), was taken as the birth date of the library, which, on the proposal of Marin Drinov (chairman of the library commission and head of the Department of National Enlightenment and Spiritual Affairs) from June 5, 1879 acquired the status of a state institution under the name Bulgarian National Library.

In 1900 the Bulgarian National Library was provided with its own building, bought for the purpose - the Civic Club on 131 Rakovski St. In 1939, the construction of a new library building began on the site of the Tsar's Manege. During the Anglo-American bombings of Sofia in 1944, the old and new library buildings were destroyed, which necessitated that the construction be accelerated. The new building was designed by the architects Ivan Vasilyov and Dimitar Tsolov. It was built with a special-purpose state loan concluded in 1946.

In 1963, the Vasil Kolarov National Library was renamed to Cyril and Methodius People's Library, and on August 11, 1994 it was declared a cultural institute of national importance. Since 2009, in accordance with the Public Libraries Act, it has been named Sts Cyril and Methodius National Library.