Crypt of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

The Crypt of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral lies beneath the cathedral on Alexander Nevsky Square in central Sofia, Bulgaria, and houses the National Art Gallery's collection of Orthodox icons and church art. The cathedral was built between 1882 and 1912 as a memorial to the Russian soldiers who died in the war of Liberation of 1877-78, and the crypt was adapted to museum use in the 1960s, with the gallery opening in 1965. The collection is regarded as one of the richest of its kind in Europe, with several hundred icons, wood carvings, church plate, manuscripts and textiles brought from churches and monasteries across Bulgaria. It spans a long period, from the medieval centuries of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires through the Ottoman period to the National Revival of the 19th century. Among the highlights are 14th-century icons, works by schools of icon painters from Samokov, Tryavna and Bansko, and precious metal work. The crypt is a vaulted underground space of stone and brick, with low lighting and display cases in chambers arranged along corridors, which gives the visit a quiet, almost sacred atmosphere. The presentation is broadly chronological and also organised by artistic school, with explanatory texts that describe iconography, materials and techniques. Conservation of the icons is a priority, so conditions are controlled and photography may be restricted. The crypt is entered from outside the building on the side of the cathedral, separately from the main nave, and has its own ticket. A visit pairs naturally with the cathedral above, and together they show the artistic and religious traditions of Bulgarian Orthodoxy.