bg Ruse

Bulgaria Insurance Company Building

- Alexandrovska Street 28 -
The construction of the administrative and commercial building started in 1898 and was completed in 1900. It was built according to the project of the Austrian architect Eduard Winter and the construction manager was Udo Ribau. The frescoes in the interior were created in 1901 by the Italian artist Medea Giovanni Pitor. It housed the Bulgarian Insurance Company, which was established in 1891. Before that, the Romanian insurance company called Dacia managed the insurance business in Ruse. On the Board of Directors of the newly established insurance company, the prominent residents , , , and were elected. The director is the famous Czech insurance specialist Franz Novak and his deputy is Georgi Teodorov, who in only one year opened 62 agencies in the country and representative offices abroad. From 1931, the insurance company became a joint-stock reinsurance company, and from 1946 it ceased its activities.
An old postcard showing the building
After the coup, when the Communist Party in Bulgaria established its one-party totalitarian rule, all insurance companies in the country moved to the State Insurance Institute. In 1991, shortly after the fall of the communist regime, the Bulgaria Insurance and Reinsurance Company was established. However, it is not recognized as the successor of the first insurance company in Bulgaria.
An old photo showing the building
On top of the Neo-Classical building, you'll be able to see a dome with in front of it a group of statues, as well as two dormers. The roof , as well as the cornice between the second and third floor, are embellished with . In a fragment on the west side of the building, you can see an stating БЪЛГАРИЯ (BULGARIA). Above the windows on the third floor, you can either see a straight, a segmental, or a pointed . Underneath these windows, you can see a , which contains . The same balusters can be seen within the balustrades of the two balconies that are located on the north and west side of the building. The balconies are supported by two , two of these corbels are even supported by an . The , which are located on the third and first floor, are crowned with Corinthian . The stone blocks on the first floor are decorated with the technique of .
The group of statues