The building was built in 1873 as a Turkish administrative building.
Immediately after the liberation in 1878, began its reconstruction where the extensions of the building aimed at establishing a representative official palace built by the best examples of European architecture.

In 1879, the building became the residence of Prince Batenberg. In 1880-1882, it was rebuilt on his order by the architects Meyerberg, Rumpelmeyer and Collar. In 1893-1895, the palace was enlarged with the Eastern Wing according to the design of the Austrian architect Friedrich Grunanger.

The building contains elements of the Renaissance and Viennese Baroque. The interior is extremely rich in architectural-artistic synthesis. The plaster decorations and ornaments of the palace were made by the Austrian sculptor Andreas Greiss based on specimens from the Palace of Versailles.

The handrails and metal decorations were made by the Viennese company “Valerian Gillar”.

In the 1950s, the building of the palace was used jointly by the National Gallery of Art and the BAS National Institute of Ethnography with Museum. In 1978, the building was proclaimed a monument of culture of national importance.