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Hadji Kalcho House

- Knyaginya Maria Luiza Boulevard 61 -
The residential and commercial building, which was built in 1894, was constructed for Hadji Kalcho Drenski and his family. He was born in 1808 in the small village of Baba Stana, close to the town of in the family of Stancho Dryanot, who was a fairly wealthy Bulgarian for his time. In 1820, he was sent by his father to to become an apprentice in the fur shop of master Hadji Gancho. After a few years, he became a master himself as a furrier trader, which was a lucrative business and made him very rich. One of his most successful commercial ventures was the importation of expensive sable skins. With his money, he gave loans with minimal interest that gave many rose oil producers and traders an opportunity to build successful businesses.
Hadji Kalcho Drenski
With his funds, two schools were built in his native Troyan and he also donated his first house in Plovdiv to use as a school, which later became a community center. He also donated money for the construction of a school in the lower neighborhood of Plovdiv. Before every Easter and Christmas, through the teacher , he gave two bags of money to the real poor, who could not beg out of pride.
Hadji Kalcho Drenski and his family
He was married twice, and from his first marriage to Teofana Hadjikalchova, he got two children, Konstantin and Stefan. And from his second marriage to Elena Hadjikalchova, he got three children, Bogdan, Svetoslav, and Boris. Hadji Kalcho Drenski died on Christmas Eve 1891, at the age of 82.
Elena, Svetoslav, and Boris
The building, which was built out of red bricks and white sandstone, is built in the Neo-Renaissance style. A strip of is placed underneath the roof , as well as the cornice that separates the first and second floor. The frieze features a fragment that contains the construction year 1894 and the initials Х.К. (H.K.), both surrounded by laurel twigs. The that are placed above the third floor windows are embellished with a . The fragments that are placed underneath these same windows are adorned with a . Some of the window frames are adorned with , while others are more simple in design. Above the first floor windows, you can see a straight , which is either supported by two or in one case with only one corbel. The building contains two different-sized balconies, which are both secured with a beautifully decorated curved wrought iron railing.
The building is shown on the right during a military parade in 1942