The Unknown Sofia: Paleontological Museum at Sofia University
The topic of dinosaurs and extinct species is among the most interesting for the children and for the adults too. When it comes to paleontology, however, it seems that we are not familiar enough and many people do not even know that there are such museums so close to them. One of them is the paleontological museum at Sofia University, which we have chosen to present in the “Unknown Sofia” section.
History of the Museum
Under the dome of the North Wing of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski ”the secrets of the distant geological epochs have been hidden for almost 70 years. The place was established in 1956, but is not among the popular places to visit by tourists. The reason for this is not the fact that there is nothing to show, but the unusual location.
The idea for the museum came from the famous Bulgarian geologist Prof. Georgi Zlatarski, who formed the first paleontological collection in the late 19th century. At the beginning of the next century, extremely valuable and rich collections were purchased and so gradually this temple of knowledge began to develop and enrich. In its current form, it was arranged in 1965 and now the collection of materials collected in the course of research activities exceeds 15,000 samples. Among them are a huge number of fossils, rock samples and maps from Bulgaria and neighboring territories.
What Can We See There?
The central place in the collection is for the pride of paleontologists – a restored skeleton of the genus Deinoterium* with impressive dimensions of 7 meters in length and 4.20 meters in height. It is made of authentically preserved bones (more than 90%). Other impressive finds include the remains of a saber-toothed tiger, porcupine, giraffe, tapir and monkey, as well as a fossilized dolphin skeleton found near Balchik.
Where is the Museum?
Address: 15 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., Sofia University, North Wing, 5th floor
Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 10:00 until 12:00 am and from 01:00 until 04:00pm.
*Dinoterii (deinoteriums) – an extinct genus of giant mammals related to modern elephants. They disappeared at the end of the last ice age, around 11,000 BC. A well-preserved skeleton was discovered in Bulgaria in 1963 in the region of Haskovo.
