National School of Music and Dance Art

Before you rises one of the most recognizable schools in Bulgaria- the National School of Music and Dance Art. The school was originally built in 1905 and designed in Neo-Renaissance style, with its pale yellow façade, large arched windows, and grand proportions reflecting the early 20th-century optimism of a modernizing Bulgaria.

It first served as the Plovdiv Men’s High School, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in southern Bulgaria. Over the years, the building has nurtured generations of intellectuals, artists, and public figures — a true cradle of culture.

In the second half of the 20th century, the building found a new soul — it became home to the Music School of Plovdiv, which was later named after the renowned Bulgarian conductor Dobrin Petkov. Today, it trains some of the country’s finest young musicians, composers, and dancers.

Step closer, and you might just hear the echo of a violin sonata or the rhythm of ballet shoes in rehearsal. Every hallway, every classroom here is alive with sound — from classical symphonies to Bulgarian folk melodies, from piano etudes to tambura rehearsals.