It has been declared a cultural monument of national importance. It is a model of  European industrial architecture from the end of the 19th century, but for years this precious 120-year-old industrial building has been left to fall into disrepair.

All that remains of the main building is its skeleton, as well as walls that are subject to restoration. The other industrial buildings of the complex are irretrievably lost.

The Sugar factory is the first large industrial enterprise in Bulgaria. It was opened on November 28, 1898 in the presence of King Ferdinand. The complex is built on an area of 14,000 sq.m. from the Belgian company “Bulgarian Sugar Factories and Refineries”, with the Belgian company “Solvay” as the main shareholder.

The “Sucreries Raffineries Bulgares” joint-stock company was established in Brussels in May 1897; it took over the concessioners’ rights and assets immediately. The main shareholder in the company was the Solvay group under Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay.

For its time it was the largest industrial enterprise in the country.

The factory had a very large share in the country’s industry. Belgian investors have received from the Bulgarian government a 10-year concession for growing sugar beets, as well as other preferences such as exemption from certain taxes and duties on imported equipment, discounts for transportation with BDZ ( Bulgarian railways) and others.

The factory had a seasonal workload and during the active period it employed up to 1,200 people. Its capacity was 7,000 tons of refined sugar per year, and its market share reached 20%.

The Belgians sold their business around 1916 and left the country – after Bulgaria entered the First World War. In 1925  the factory closed, despite the  modernisation in 1921.

The buildings were then used for warehouses. When privatization started after the 90’s of the 20th century, the property changed hands many times, and the Sofia Municipality sporadically tried to get another of them to restore at least the main building.