More than 120 000 museum exhibits remain hidden from the public eye in Sofia for one simple and prosaic reason: lack of funds. Sofia is one of Europe’s oldest cities, dating back to the years of the Roman Empire, and has accumulated a vast cultural and historical heritage in that time. Sadly, this heritage has no display venue.

The first attempt to find a place for Sofia Museum, as this attraction will be dubbed, was in 1998 when city councillors decided to use part of the premises of Sofia central baths. It is indeed a great site for such an exhibition. The beautiful and atmospheric buildings boast an accessible location in the city centre just behind the Sheraton Hotel. Such a museum would undoubtedly resolve the problem of the Sofia baths building which, despite its historical value, has been closed for a number of years,  depriving the area of its aesthetic appeal.  

Unfortunately, little has changed since the idea first appeared in 1998, if you discount the accumulation of the future museum’s exhibits in the bath halls. According to city hall estimates, the museum would need about nine million leva for renovations to become functional.

Ideally, the city hall hopes to attract a private investor. They would be lured with the prospect of securing the entire Sofia baths complex on a concession for developing spa and wellness activity, while another part of the building would be reserved for the museum. Unfortunately, the city hall has failed to find such an investor. Two attempts have been made over the years to do so. One was in 2007, when the city hall failed to agree on the concession’s terms. The second was in 2008,  when the city hall held a tender for the first time but failed to entice a single investor. On September 16, the city hall decided to make a third attempt to find investors for the Sofia baths project by changing the concession terms, Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily said.

According to the new terms, the concessionaire would get the building for 20 years  against an annual concession fee of a minimum 12 per cent of the future spa and wellness centre’s income, but no less than 200 000 leva.

If this attempt fails to reap results, another tender will be made but this time without asking the concessionaire to pay the minimum annual fee, Dnevnik quoted Orlin Alexiev from the city hall budget and finance committee.

This decision more or less means that the third attempt will also fail because no investor  would like to pay 12 per cent when they could get the building without paying the fee.
Investors could also be deterred by the absence of a major parking facility and suitable premises to be turned into a hotel. This is an essential prerequisite for a spa and wellness centre. This means that the future investor will have to invest considerable funds in the project. Given the economic downturn, this is highly unlikely. In addition, visitors to spa and wellness centres tend to prefer the countryside to Sofia’s city centre. 

Although the spa and wellness centre has no direct link to the museum, the two are related if only for the fact that they occupy one building that would then have to be partitioned. The city hall’s failure to find the money for the museum on its own is a sign that, unless  a concessionaire is found, the museum will continue to be a flight of fancy rather than a reality. Consequently, the Sofia museum idea is on stand-by with little hope of a solution soon. 

On August 10, deputy Sofia mayor Irina Savina said that the Sofia Museum project had been put on hold for lack of funds. The 2.5 million leva provided in the city budget for renovations of the building has been reallocated. "I hope that the 2010 budget will have enough funds so that the museum can become a reality," she said.