"The building of the Ministry of Agriculture is the finest in Sofia, and that's where the city's mayor should be sitting," commented Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Miroslav Naydenov said that the maintainance cost of the building is pretty severe, so Sofia municipality would probably be a better manager and municipal authority must be stronger than the state.
The formal decision will be taken by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, and will involve the two institutions swapping their buildings, with the Ministry of Agriculture moving in the old town offices on Moskovska Street in downtown Sofia.
The intention is also to move some of the Ministry's agencies away from the city center, as well as to other cities different from Sofia, as follows: the Executive Forestry Agency in Plovdiv and the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Varna
The Sofia Municipality will move into the building that has been occupied by the Ministry of Agriculture for almost seven decades.
The building of the Ministry of Agriculture is among the most beautiful and stately in Bulgaria's capital.The idea for it was launched in 1912, when the Sofia Regional Court commissioned a new building on land granted to it by Sofia Municipality.
The land, now located on Hristo Botev Blvd near Makedonia Sq., had been previously occupied by old Christian and Jewish graveyards.Due to the First World War, work on the project did not start until 1920 however, with the building being finished in 1927.
The building was designed by Bulgarian architect Nikola Lazarov. The architecture of the ministry is a baroque ¬ curved facade, two pointed towers and a dome in the central part and two rizalita the edges of the building. The main facade is decorated with trim ¬ stone pillars, balconies, balustrades, garlands of flowers and fruit, medallions, cartridges and more. Are remarkable and beautifully shaped windows. The foundations of the building are stone and clock towers are kept in Secession style. The interior is also impressive and creates a solemn mood with its oval Lounge after the main entrance, followed by marble columns and staircases, railings, wrought iron, plaster ornaments, gold, colorful mosaics, carvings and and lavish decorations.
After housing the Sofia Regional Court, the building was also home to the National Audit Office. Ever since the regime turnover in 1944, it was home to the various incarnations of the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture.
Dr. Miroslav Naydenov is 74 th agriculture minister in the 115-year history of the Ministry. His ancestors were among the most prominent Bulgarian politicians - Dragan Tsankov, Petko Karavelov, Grigor Nachovich, Ivan Evstatiev Geshov, Andrew Lyapchev, Raiko Daskalov, Konstantin Velichkov and others.