Euxinograd - History

History

The construction of the palace began soon after the land which it occupies was given to Knyaz Alexander Battenberg as a present by the Greek bishopric on 16 March 1882. There had previously been small monasteries called St. Demetrius and St. Constantine at that place, the buildings of which were subsequently converted into another small residence.

Viennese architect Viktor Rumpelmayer provided the original design for the palace. The palace was initially named Sandrovo in 1885 after the Italian diminutive of Alexander's name — Sandro. Later the knyaz extended the estate to its contemporary area of 80 hectares (200 acres). However, no buildings were constructed at the time.

The palace was built during the rule of Knyaz (later Tsar) Ferdinand. The pediment and other materials from the right wing of Château de Saint-Cloud in France, a former royal residence, were brought to Bulgaria by Ferdinand and integrated in the Euxinograd palace. Ferdinand invited the Swiss architect Hermann Mayer and Bulgarian architect Nikola Lazarov to finish the design of the palace. It was renamed Euxinograd in 1893 on the insistence of Princess Marie Louise, Ferdinand's first wife. The name comes from the Ancient Greek term for the Black Sea, Εὔξεινος Πόντος (Euxeinos Pontos, "hospitable sea") and the South Slavic suffix –grad, meaning "town" or, historically, "fortress".

Tsar Ferdinand's second wife, Tsaritsa Eleonore, died in Euxinograd on 12 September 1917.

After the abolition of the monarchy in Bulgaria, following a referendum held under the auspices of the Communists in 1946, Euxinograd became a summer residence of the then-Communist authorities. The democratic changes in 1989 made the former royal palace a presidential and governmental residence and opened it for the public.