palace was bombed by the RAF in 1943–1944 during World War II, and, after being partially damaged, it was subsequently restored in 1947. After the abolition of the monarchy, Vrana was taken by the communists and became a residence of Georgi Dimitrov. After the fall of the communist regime, Vrana was returned to the last tsar, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and his sister Princess Maria Luisa, by the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria in June 1998, and the park was donated by the royal family to the city of Sofia in October 1999, making it possible for the former royal park, arranged in 1903 by Ferdinand, to be opened to the public. Simeon moved with his wife Margarita into the renovated old hunting lodge in spring 2001. , the 0.968-square-kilometre park is opened to the public. The park is home to over 400 plant species and has been declared a national monument of landscape architecture. Among the landscape artists who have worked on the Vrana Park include V. Georgiev, K. Baykushev, Jules Locheau, Johann Kellerer, Anton Kraus, Alaricus Delmard and Wilhelm Schacht. The park includes a lake and several rock gardens. The palace, along with the other properties given back to Simeon II, has been the subject of much controversy in the Bulgarian media and society in the 2000s, as many argue they are in fact supposed to be public property. Since June 2013, the park has been opened to the public on weekends. The special public transport bus 505, which only runs on weekends during the park's opening hours, connects the palace with Eagles' Bridge. External links Google Earth view References General references Footnotes Palaces in Bulgaria Royal residences in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Sofia Art Nouveau architecture in Bulgaria Art Nouveau houses Houses completed in 1904 Houses completed in 1914