Construction of the Sofia Ecclesiastical Seminary "St. Ivan Rilski" began in 1902 at the bestowed by the Municipality of Sofia in 1897 place of 50 acres in the area Kuru baglar - south of Sofia. The foundation stone was laid by King Ferdinand I, in the presence of a large crowd. The design was by the Austrian architect Friedrich Grunanger who uses National Revival elements from the Bulgarian church building, the funds were provided by the Holy Synod, religious and national contributions. King Ferdinand personally donated 25,000 golden leva. The construction was completed in only six months. The yard was set on 88 acres of green space. In it were planted extremely rare plant species. For the needs of the seminary on July 21, 1923 began the construction of a new building on a plot of 800 m2. By the recommendation of the State Architect, This building was built on the empty space behind seminary course.
In 1950 the premises of Sofia Ecclesiastical Seminary were provided by the communist government for 'Palace of Pioneers' and were used like such until 1990. In the spring of 1990 by ministerial order were returned to the seminary.