Bulgaria Wants Back 'Unlawfully Returned' Estates of Ex Tsar

Photo of Simeon Saxe-Coburg as a heir to the throne, together with his father, Tsar Boris III, at the royal family's estate at Tsarska Bistritsa. Image provided by BGNES

The Bulgarian state has asked to take back three royal residences – Tsarska Bistrirsa, Sitnyakovo and Vrana – and has claimed for compensation of BGN 110 000 for their use throughout the years.

Three separate claims for the three properties were submitted on Thursday by a law firm, authorized by the Bulgarian Ministry for Regional Development, the Bulgarian News Agency reported.

According to lawyer Iren Savova, the three royal residences have been unlawfully returned to the heirs of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.

The claims are towards seven of the heirs, including Bulgaria's former Tsar and PM Simeon Saxe-Coburg and his sister Maria-Louisa. Besides them, defendant on the case for the Vrana Palace is also the Sofia Municipality.

The return of the three palaces and their lands happened years ago. The restoration of heris' ownership of Tsarska Bistritsa and Sitnyakovo has been approved by the governor of Sofia, while the mayor of Sofia at the time, Stefan Sofianski, has signed the documents for the return of Vrana Palace.

According to the lawyers, Tsarska Bistritsa has a land of approximately 200 decares, while the Vrana Palace has more than 990 decares.

The claim for the Sitnyakovo residence is only for the building, since the surrounding land is owned by the municipality.

The claims ask the Sofia District Court and Sofia City Court to declare as invalid the documents by which the heirs of Tsar Ferdinand entered into possession of the properties.

The materials on the three cases consist of 25 volumes. The cases will be schedules after each of the defendants, most of whom live abroad, is notified and receives the materials.

On March 11, the Plovdiv Appellate Court rejected the claim of the ex-Tsar and his sister in the dispute over the former royal palace Krichim.

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