The establishment of official diplomatic relations between Poland and Bulgaria took place in 1921. At a time when the majority of foreign missions had to work, out of necessity, in rented premises, an opportunity arose in Sofia to build its own representative edifice. The land for its construction, in a new district of the capital, was donated free of charge by the Bulgarian side. A modernist building designed by the Warsaw architect Bohdan Pniewski was erected on the site, representing an important example of architecture of the interwar period.

In the reborn Poland, native art became an important element in the creation of foreign policy. All thanks to Poland's undoubted success at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts and Design in Paris in 1925. A year later, the Society for the Propagation of Polish Art Among Foreigners was established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its most important achievement was the organisation of exhibitions of Polish painting, graphic and applied arts in European cities and the USA. Although such an exhibition never took place in Bulgaria, Polish art and crafts had the opportunity to make their mark there with the construction of the building of the country's own post.

Architectural competition
For architect Bohdan Pniewski (1897-1965), the design of the Polish embassy in Sofia was the first architectural competition won. Its result was announced on 30 August 1928, awarding three equal prizes. In addition to Pniewski, the projects of Stanisław Ginwiłł-Piotrowski and the team were also honoured: Jan Graefe, Stanisław Płoski and Juliusz Żórawski.

The competition did not envisage a specific model for the seat of the Polish diplomatic representation. At the end of the 1920s, most such establishments were housed in older (rented) buildings, and the few that had just been built referred, for example, to the manor style, such as the Polish Embassy in Ankara. Meanwhile, the avant-garde had already entered Polish architecture for good, and it was its elements that Pniewski decided to use in his design.

Originally, the architect proposed a complex of cubic, simplified buildings organised around a closed courtyard. He adopted the division into three spaces with different purposes: the office and business courtyard, the representative courtyard and the MP's garden. The overall design showed inspiration from the architecture of historic Italian villas. The design also did not fail to highlight elements indicating the representative function of the building: the monumental external staircase and the square pillar-supported arcades in the garden façade and the courtyard.

Construction and first years of operation
The contract with the architect was signed on 26 February 1930. Over the next few years, he refined successive versions of the design, gradually reducing the references to Mediterranean architecture in favour of avant-garde elements. The result of the alterations was a building that differed significantly from the one selected in the competition. Pniewski reduced some of the rooms, and based the entire design on an L-shaped projection. Instead of the originally designed colonnades, representative stairs and arcades, he proposed ribbon windows, streamline styling - visible in the rounded corner of the building - and luxurious stone cladding.

The laying of the foundation stone for the MP's office took place after June 1930, as indicated by the date of the appointment of Adam Tarnowski, the MP visible in the photographs of the ceremony. However, there are no archival documents recording the progress of the construction and its completion. It probably happened around 1938, as - according to the condition of the donation from the Bulgarian authorities - the building had to be completed within 10 years of the transfer of the land.

The Polish Embassy in Sofia continued its activities after 1939, representing the Polish government in exile. Diplomatic relations broke down in March 1941 after Bulgaria officially joined the Tripartite Pact as an ally of Nazi Germany. Relations were re-established at the level of postal missions in July 1945, and were upgraded to embassies in 1948.

Furnishing foreign missions
When considering the role of domestic art in fulfilling the representational function of foreign missions, mention must also be made of their furnishings. In this respect, too, the Sofia embassy stood out from the others. While those in rented premises usually already had rich historical furnishings, supplemented only by elements of old art, in the Bulgarian mission it was possible to reach for designs considered to be contemporary. Leading Polish artists responded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' demand by presenting their designs in 1929 in the showroom of the Szczerbiński furniture factory in Warsaw. Participants in the exhibition included Karol Tichy, Karol Stryjeński and Wojciech Jastrzębowski. A set of dining room furniture designed by the latter had just made its way to the embassy building in Sofia. Jastrzębowski is also likely to have been the author of a set of art déco style furniture for the Ankara post.

The furnishings of the outpost were complemented by appropriate paintings, prints and decorative fabrics. An artist particularly valued by the ministry was Zofia Stryjeńska. For the mission in Sofia, she created two paintings from the series Elements - Fire and Water (now in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw).

Architect of villas and public buildings
. Alongside the theme of the luxury villa, the other key theme in Bohdan Pniewski's work was the public edifice. One could say that the task of realising the Polish embassy in Sofia combines these two elements, but it is not thanks to him that Pniewski made his mark in the history of architecture.

The Warsaw Polytechnic-educated architect became famous for his design of the Temple of Divine Providence, which was selected for realisation after the first competition in 1931. The next important task in his career was the reconstruction of the Brühl Palace in Warsaw for the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pniewski's successes undoubtedly included winning competitions for prestigious commissions from the state and the church. Unfortunately, some of them were not realised (e.g. the Maritime Basilica in Gdynia, the Piłsudski Square or the Piłsudski Marshall's Quarter). However, the monumental edifice of the Grodzki Courts in Leszno (now Solidarności Avenue) or the complex of buildings of the Ministry of Communications were successfully realised. On the other hand, his own house, designed in 1936 on Aleja Na Skarpie in Warsaw (currently the Museum of the Earth of the Polish Academy of Sciences), can be regarded as the architect's showpiece.