bg Sofia

Pencho Dimitrov House

- Hristo Botev Street 82 -
The residential building was built in 1912, according to a project of the Austrian architect Karl Heinrich, for the family of Pencho Dimitrov. Soon after, it became the property of the Kanazirevi family. The building became the home of the three brothers Ivan, Petar and Vladimir, the sons of the wealthy merchant and revolutionary . All of them were born in the town Mehomiya, nowadays .

Petar Nikolov Kanazirev, also know as Karata, was a Bulgarian entrepreneur and donor and was born in 1870. In 1885 he graduated from the Bulgarian Boys' High School in and engaged in trade. In 1901, together with his brother Ivan, they founded a soap company. Part of the money earned is donated for the prosperity of their hometown. Petar Kanazirev died in 1931 in Sofia.

Ivan Nikolov Kanazirev was a Bulgarian entrepreneur and revolutionary, chairman of the Razlog Committee of the , and was born in 1872. He received his junior high school education and at the end of 1896, in the house of his father, Gotse Delchev founded the Mehomi Revolutionary Committee, which included his brothers Vladimir and . And from 1897 he was chairman of the Revolutionary Committee, until 1901 when he was expelled by the Turkish authorities to Sofia. Ivan Kanazirev died on October 16, 1920, in Sofia.

Vladimir Kanazirev was born on October 14, 1879, and graduated from the class school in Mehomiya and in 1897 entered the Military School in Sofia. In 1900 he graduated with the rank of Lieutenant and began service in the 14th Infantry Regiment of the Bulgarian Army in . He took part in the as the leader of a detachment, which took place in Razlog and gave a great battle near the village of Nedobarsko, nowadays . In 1909 he left military service and entered diplomatic work. He was appointed to the Bulgarian Legation in as a consul and then worked in the Legation in as a secretary. While visiting his sister Elena in the United States, who is married to an American, he met Lillian Rich from , with whom he married in 1911 in Paris. He died in December 1962 in .
The three brother Ivan, Petar, and Vladimir
What immediately struck the eye, about this Neo-Baroque building, are the circular forms of the protruded roof . Underneath it, you can see a , which is surrounded by floral ornamentation. If you look a bit further down you'll be able to see a semi-hexagonal that stretches from the second floor all the way up to the third floor. On both sides of the oriel window, you can see two balconies and another one on top of it. They are all secured with a beautifully decorated cast iron railing.

Underneath the roof cornice, you'll see a garland that you'll also see in some of the strips on the oriel window. The other strips, which are located on the third floor, are adorned with an motif. The small above the window on the third floor is embellished with foliage.

Underneath and above many of the other windows, as well as on top of every corner, you'll be able to see a cartouche. Below the oriel window, there's another cartouche, which is bigger than all the other ones. Above the wood carved entrance door, you're able to see a lavishly decorated spectacle, which is embellished with a swan-neck and a . This spectacle is flanked by two beautiful ornamental sunflowers.
The building in poor condition before the renovation