The Sofia Court House, Literally Palace Of Justice, Bulgaria Editorial Image

The Sofia Court House,literally Palace of Justice is a building in Sofia,the capital of Bulgaria,accommodating several courts in the city. Stylistically a simplistic yet monumental structure,it is located on 2 Vitosha Boulevard,surrounded by Alabin Street,Laveleye Street and Positano Street.The need for a common building to house all the courts in Sofia was raised in 1926 with the foundation of the Judicial Buildings fund. Construction began in 1929 and finished in 1940. While it was the first structure in this strict monumental style in the city,it was followed by the Bulgarian National Bank in the 1930s and the Largo in the 1950s. The initial architectural plan was the work of Nikola Lazarov,later redesigned by Pencho Koychev. The Court House has a syenite plinth,a facing of white limestone and a noticeable cornice below the top floor. The four-storey building (with two additional underground floors) spreads over a ground area of 8,500 square metres and has 430 premises,of which 24 courtrooms,a library and a bank hall,totalling 48,000 square metres of used area.