bg Sofia

Petar Minev House

- Oborishte Street 63 -
The residential building of Petar Minev was built in 1911. The first owners were Zoitsa and Petar Minev, the parents of Miroslav Minev. Petar was born in 1872, in the village of Sarbe. He went to Germany and graduated in at the local higher pedagogical school, majoring in Pedagogy and Philosophy. When he returned, he became a teacher and then the director of a school in and married his colleague Zoitsa. Together they had three children, Miroslav, Pavel, and Elenka. In 1910 the family left the city of roses, as the highly educated intellectual and public figure Petar Minev was invited to be the director of the Third Girls' High School in Sofia. He took part in the Balkan Wars as well as the . He died on July 30, 1946.
Petar Minevi's son Miroslav Minev, in 1928
Petar Minevi's son, the Bulgarian writer Miroslav Minev, born May 20, 1898, was 13 when they moved into the new house. In his youth, he worked as a clerk, film dealer, and for one year as a trainee director at the National Theater. He made his writing debut with short stories in the Hyperion magazine. He was an author of short stories, articles, reviews, reviews of books, theater productions, exhibitions, and others. He was married to the poet Magda Mineva, which later was married with the writer Konstantin Petkanov. In 1924 he moved to , where he was sent to the diplomatic service. After his return from Vienna, he published for some newspapers and magazines. In 1932 he married for the second time, this time with his fellow student, Tsvetana Manolova. He died on December 1, 1983, in Sofia.
A memorial plaque on the building stating that Miroslav Minev lived in the building
The most eye-catching feature of this Art Nouveau building is the on the southern side of the building. The small balcony on top of the oriel window is secured with a wrought iron railing. Just above the oriel window, you can see a Dutch gable, which can be seen on the eastern side of the building as well. The gable has an placed on top of it that covers the balcony. A is placed on the front side of the oriel window, as well as in de on the first floor. The two other aprons in the oriel window are decorated with a floral ornament. At some places, the on the southern and eastern side of the building is decorated with a . On the eastern side of the building, there's another balcony with the same railings as the one above the oriel window. This balcony is also covered with a nice awning.
An old photo showing the building just after its completion