Sofia is built on mineral springs, yet none of the city's old neighbourhood baths work today. Bankya, Pancharevo and Zheleznitsa are still open, while the Central Bath, Ovcha Kupel, Gorna Banya and Knyazhevo have been closed for decades. In recent years each of them has had decisions, designs and promises. Here is what has been announced in public and how far it had got by November 2026.

The Central Mineral Bath

The bath opened in 1913 and worked as a bath until 1986, when it closed for repairs. Since 2015 part of the building has housed the Museum of Sofia History, while the north wing, where the bathing halls were, stands unused. According to the Bulgarian Association for Thermal Heritage, the spring beneath it gives about a million litres a day, which flows away unused.

  • 13 May 2025 — on the building's 112th birthday, Mayor Vasil Terziev and the association signed a memorandum to make the bath a municipal thermal centre open to the public again. The chair of the Sofia City Council signed it too.
  • Since then — the municipality has paid for a survey of the building. No other step under the memorandum has been announced.
  • June 2026 — a civic initiative started a petition to restore the whole building as a thermal centre with a mineral bath open to everyone.

Where it stands: there is a signed document and a survey, but no design, deadline or budget for the bath itself.

Ovcha Kupel

The bath was built in the 1920s and worked until the late 1980s, after which it was abandoned and fell into ruin. In 2017 the state gave it to Sofia Municipality free of charge.

  • March 2023 — restoration began. The project costs about 8 million leva: about 3.3 million from an EU programme and about 4.5 million from the municipal budget. The work was disputed: residents and associations wanted the building to remain only a bath, while the plan puts a research centre on the upper floors.
  • August 2026 — the municipality said construction was finished and the outside networks and connections were being built. The two lower levels will be a recreation centre using mineral water: two restored large pools, two new hot pools, saunas, a salt room, and relaxation and therapy rooms.
  • October 2026 — opening is expected in 2027, with the municipality as the operator.

Where it stands: the building is restored but not yet open, and prices and visiting rules have not been announced.

Gorna Banya

The bath is a listed monument and has been closed since 2006. The building belongs to the state.

  • 2019 — the municipality announced a tender for a reconstruction with pools, a steam bath and a sauna. That procedure did not lead to repairs.
  • December 2025 — the state handed the building to the municipality to manage for five years. The municipality has also asked for ownership, but there is no decision yet.
  • April 2026 — the site was cleared and there is an outline design for repairing the roof and the facade. Next come a bill of quantities, approval by the National Institute for Immovable Cultural Heritage and the choice of a contractor.
  • What has been promised — the building is to remain a bath, and a concept for its interior will be put to public discussion. Work is expected to begin in 2027.

Where it stands: there is a design for the roof and facade only, and none yet for the bath itself.

Knyazhevo

The bath belongs to the state. On 13 June 2024 the Sofia City Council instructed the mayor to acquire its buildings and land free of charge.

Where it stands: we found no public information that the property has become municipal, nor any repair plan.

Kumaritsa, Gnilyane, Dobroslavtsi and Trebich

The village baths on the edges of Sofia are closed too. For Kumaritsa a repair has been announced as upcoming. For the others the municipality is still looking at how they could be used.

What comes next

In Sofia, Ovcha Kupel is the closest to opening. For the Central Bath and Gorna Banya there are decisions and documents but no repairs yet, and for Knyazhevo it is not even clear who will run it. We will update this article and the baths' pages when there is news. If you know something missing here, write to us.

Until then, you can bathe in one of the working baths near Sofia.

Sources (in Bulgarian): BTA – the Central Bath memorandum (2025), BTA – the petition (2026), Sega – the Ovcha Kupel repairs (2023), Focus – Ovcha Kupel (2026), Petel.bg – Gorna Banya (2026), Telegraf via PB Novini (2026), Sofia City Council decision on Knyazhevo (2024).