bg Ruse

Albert Iskovich Trade House

- Slavyanski Boulevard 22 -
The first stage of the construction of the trade house began in 1892 and was designed by a project of the architect Boris Handjiev. The second stage was finished in 1898 and came from the hand of the Greek architect Spiros Valsamaki. It was built for the famous industrialist Albert Iskovich, who was born in 1881 in Ruse. In 1909, together with Israel Levi he owned the large chemical factory called Iskovich and Levi, a company for the production of inks, shoe polish, varnish, and candy. In 1920, the company bought another neighboring place in the department near the road between Ruse and Tarnovo, nowadays . After the , the activity grew excessively and the production was concentrated on the production of paints, varnishes, and shoe polishes. Due to the persecution of Jews after the outbreak of the , the Iskovich family decided to abandon the factory and move to the United States.

For some time the building housed the Bulgarian Danube Bank, which was established mainly with local capital. Later on, the state bookbindery called Eduard Josef Riegler was housed in the building, which after the nationalization became the state bookbindery called the Danube.
The Iskovich family, Albert is sitting to the right, 1934
On the corner top of the Neo-Baroque building, you'll be able to see a dome like structure with a on top of it, which is located in a huge open broken . Underneath the roof , you'll see a strip of , an motif, as well as an motif. A bit further down you'll see a lavishly decorated fragment and a , which both are embellished with foliage.

The windows on both sides of the building are topped with segmental pediments. The windows are flanked with round shaped that are crowned with Ionic . A is placed underneath the windows, which contain a total of six . The fragment, which can be admired between the windows, is adorned with a .

The main entrance, which is located on the northeastern corner, is flanked by two round shaped pilasters that are crowned with Corinthian capitals. Above it, you'll see a balcony, which is secured with a lavishly decorated wrought iron railing.
Close up of the corner top