bg Ruse

Dina Bebis House

- Slavyanski Boulevard 2 -
The original residential and commercial building was built in 1888 by a design of the architect Spiros Valsamaki. An upgrade took place in 1896 according to the plan of the Armenian architect . It was built for the Greek grain merchant Dina Bebis. Before the , together with his brother Ziso, he settled in Ruse and started working as movers at the port of Ruse. They quickly became rich by trading grain on the Danube with their own ships. In 1906, as a result of anti-Greek sentiment, the Bebis brothers were expelled from the city. Dina left this home and emigrated from Bulgaria and his brother Ziso committed suicide.

Before the coup of , it housed multiple shipping companies, as well as the Austro-Hungarian Consulate. Later on, it housed the Soviet Danube Shipping Company, and later the Ruse Statistical Service. After a fire in the 1970s, the roof was completely destroyed, including the beautiful hip roofed dome.
The building before the fire
The red bricks and the white sandstone used in this Neo-Baroque building gives it a nice contrast. The scaly sheet metal mansard roof contains quite a lot of dormers, of which some of them are connected as pairs. Just underneath the roof , you'll be able to see a strip of . Above some of the windows, you can see two decorative vases, while some others are even adorned with a and a . If you look closely, you can see that the windows are flanked by parts of a with Corinthian , while on the north side, you can see some complete pilasters.

The windowsills are supported by two small that are embellished with foliage. On the north and west side of the building, there's a small balcony, which is secured by a beautiful convex shaped cast iron railing. One of the balconies is supported by two corbels, while the other one, with three corbels. Between the first and second floor, you can see some small pointed within the midst of it a , and underneath it an motif. Between those small pediments and above the two beautiful wood carved entrance doors, you'll be able to admire a richly decorated mascaron.
One of the richly decorated mascarons