Memorial Tomb of Alexander I Battenberg

Overview

Alexander was the son of Alexander, Prince of Hesse, and a favourite nephew of Alexander II of Russia.

When, under the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Bulgaria became an autonomous principality under the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire,  Alexander II, Alexander's uncle, recommended his nephew to the Bulgarians as a candidate for the newly-created throne, and the Grand National Assembly elected Prince Alexander as Prince of Bulgaria on 29 April 1879. He became the first Knayz or Prince of modern Bulgaria reigning from 29 April 1879 to 7 September 1886, when he abdicated.

Alexander Battenberg died in Graz, Austria in1893, at the age of 36. The last will of the Prince was to be buried in Bulgaria and therefore his body was transferred to Sofia. Until the memorial tomb was completed in 1898, his body had been stored in St. George Rotunda in Sofia.

The tomb is single-domed, in neoclassical and late baroque style. It is shaped symmetrically with four marked niches.

A sarcophagus of pure Carrara marble is in the centre, and behind it a marble monument is attached to the wall, on the front side of which the face of the Prince is sculpted in bas-relief. The prince's relics are exhibited in the tomb: his battle overcoat, hat, sword and others, as well as many wreaths.