The National Military History Museum in Sofia, Bulgaria, has existed under various names and subordinate to various institutions since 1914. It consists of 5,000 m2 of indoor and 40,000 m2 outdoor (of which 500 m2 covered) exhibition area. Its current structure and name date from 1968.
The museum exhibitions are organized based on topics, chronology, and collections. Of the one million valuables in our collections, 28 000 exhibits are on display. In the thematic chronological galleries, recounting the development of the Bulgarian Army, the emphasis is on the participation of the armed forces in the wars for national unification. The collection halls present weapons, decorations, and uniforms – the museum’s oldest and richest collections.
The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.