Tsar Ferdinand I bought the lot for Vrana Palace in 1898 and arranged the royal park in 1903. A two-story hunting lodge went up in 1904. Nikola Lazarov designed the three-story palace, built mainly between 1909 and 1914. It combines Byzantine influences, Bulgarian National Revival traditions, Art Nouveau and French classicism. Interiors include Carrara marble columns and the Karelian Hall, a gift from Alexander III of Russia.
Boris III took over in 1918. The RAF bombed the main palace in 1943 and 1944, and it was restored in 1947. After communist rule it became a residence of Georgi Dimitrov. In 1998 the Constitutional Court returned it to Simeon and his sister, and Simeon donated the park to Sofia in 1999.
The park covers 239 acres (0.968 square kilometers), with over 400 plant species, and opens to the public on weekends.
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