Museums in Bulgaria
Cars of Socialism Museum, Peshtera
This museum is part of the Heat Hotel Complex and it is housed in an authentically preserved cinema, "which further contributes to the realistic feeling of being transported back to the time of Georgi Dimitrov and Todor Zhivkov.... Here you can see numerous retro cars from the socialist era and also many objects from the life of the people of that time, their toys, radios, TVs, numerous signs with slogans etc."
Euratek Showroom
Euratek, the local distributor of Škoda opened its new showroom in early 2019 which also includes a collection of Socialist cars.
Photo: https://hidrive.bg/
Markovo Automobile Museum
In late 2024 a new museum has been opened in Markovo near Plovdiv where 60 classic cars and 22 motorcycles are being shown, including those from the vintage era, COMECON times and even a few which were made in Bulgaria.
Moto-Pfohe Museum
A small exhibition depicting the story of Ford, which includes displays and three Ford cars: two fully restored Ford Model A vehicles MY1928 and 1930, as well as the first car sold in Bulgaria by Mr. Karl-Heinz Pfohe in 1989, a Ford Scorpio MY1988.
Photo: Nikolay Koruderliev
Museum of Armaments and Equipment
This museum is inside Military Base 24480 in Lovech. It was originally opened in 1989 and in the last three decades its collection was expanded several times. Today it shows around 60 vehicles, trucks and motorcycles from the 2nd World War, post-war military vehicles etc.
National Museum of Military History
The National Museum of Military History has preserved over a million cultural artifacts, witnesses of the Bulgarian and European military history. It is the only museum in Bulgaria which presents three expositions, displaying about 28 thousand items.
Among others it shows ex-Soviet military vehicles and tanks.
Photo: Nikolay Koruderliev
National Polytechnic Museum
Established in 1957 this museum preserves over 22 000 exhibits distributed in separate collections: time-measurement, transport, photo and cinema technique, optics, sound-tracking and sound-reproduction, radio and TV, calculation technique, musical mechanisms, geodesic instruments, measurement technique, household technique, sewing machines, type-writers, physical appliances, communication technique.
Retro Car Museum Zlaten Rozhen
In October, 2022 a new attraction has been added to the elegant Zlaten Rozhen winery: a classic car museum!
On 600 sqm 33 cars and 21 motorcycles are displayed, including a Messerschmitt KR-200 1961, Steyr 50 1937, Ford T 1912, Mercedes-Benz 280 SEL 4.5 1972 W108, Packard Custom Super Clipper 1947, Pierce-Arrow 4-dr sedan 1929, Renault Monastella 1930, ZIS 110, Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine 1958, Chrysler Windsor 4-Door Sedan 1947, Mercedes-Benz 300D Adenauer Cabriolet 1960..
Photo is courtesy of Nikolay Koruderliev.
Retro Museum
Located in the parking house of this biggest shopping mall in Varna, this exhibition includes exhibits from the period 1944-1989, which shows artifacts related to how Bulgarians lived under socialism. Bulgarian unfiltered cigarettes, Russian vacuum cleaners, Gedera household goods, Polish cosmetics and the most coveted cars, produced in the former COMECON are being displayed.