Sarmadjievata House

Sarmadzhiev House is an imposing Neo-Baroque building at the corner of Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard and Krakra Street in the center of Sofia. The Austrian-Bulgarian architect Friedrich Grünanger designed the property in 1903 for the lawyer and diplomat Haralampi Sarmadzhiev. The architecture combines elegant elements of Viennese Imperial Baroque with influences from the Vienna Secession, Rococo, and Mediterranean Renaissance. Highlights include the monumental, richly ornamented facade and a flat-roofed tower. The house has a wooden mansard roof structure and original wooden beams supporting the brick walls.

The building has close historical ties to Turkish diplomacy. After the builder's death in 1908, the Ottoman imperial government purchased the house in 1916, and it has served as the residence of the Turkish ambassador to Bulgaria ever since. Of particular note is that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the future founder of modern Turkey, worked here during his time as military attaché. His former office has been preserved as a small museum today, but it remains closed to the public. The entrance hall, with a French fireplace and a bust of Atatürk, leads to the salons and a conservatory. Since 1998, the house has been protected as a national cultural monument.