bg Varna

Villa Atanas Burov

- Sea Garden -
The two-story villa, which was built in 1914 according to the project of French architects, was solely built for residential purposes but was later used for commercial purposes. The villa was built as a summer residence of the Bulgarian banker, philanthropist, and politician, Atanas Dimitrov Burov, who was born on January 30, 1875, in . Members of his family played an active role in the national liberation movement, the educational and cultural reforms, and the setting up of the national financial system and industry. His father , was an entrepreneur, banker, insurer, and representative of the people from , and his brother , was a prominent banker and one of the first archaeologists in Bulgaria. After his studies in and , Atanas Burov started working in the family business.
Dimitar and his wife Kinka and Ivan and Atanas in 1883
The prosperity of his business activity provided him with stability, independent civil opinion, and freedom to act as a politician. He joined politics as an active member of the People's Party and very soon became the ideologist of the Bulgarian bourgeoisie. He soon became one of the leaders of the party, who always had the national and people's interests as a priority. He never allowed compromises with and breaches of the principles of democracy and always opposed totalitarian and dictatorship regimes. After the communist coup of , 1944, the People's Court sentenced him to one year of imprisonment. After being released, he joined the opposition in their fight against the establishment of communism but was exiled to the town of in 1948, then arrested in 1950 and sentenced again, this time to a 20-year term. He died in the prison on May 15, 1954, at the age of 79.
Atanas Burov in the late 1920s
The , which is located on the southeastern corner of the Eclectic building, is covered with a bell-shaped dome, which is supported by wooden . The same counts for all the eaves that can be seen around the entire building. The iron railings of the and balcony, which are placed on top of a bay window, are lavishly decorated with . The stone balustrade that secures one of the other balconies, is incorporated with . The same counts for the two large , which can be seen on the southern side of the building, although this time the balusters are made out of wood.
The villa shown in an old photo