bg Shumen

Georgi Ivanov House

- Tzar Osvoboditel Street 144 -
On this place, once stood a building that housed the Kavrakovo cafe, where in 1857 the Archangel Michael Community Center moved in. The first floor was used as a reading room, and theatrical performances were given in the salon of the cafe. After the demolition of this building, a new residential and commercial building was built for the Bulgarian merchant and manufacturer Georgi Ivanov somewhere at the beginning of the 20th century. This building is also known by the name Eleonora, which is named after Tsaritsa Reuss of Köstritz of Bulgaria, the second wife of Tsar of Bulgaria.
A drawing of the building that stood here before the current building
The name was given to the building by Georgi Ivanov, who had a haberdashery shop on the first floor that was named after Eleonora. He was born in the city of Shumen in the family of Manolaki Ivanov, who didn't originate from Shumen. He was a manufacturer and supplied his goods from , a supplier to the Turkish garrison. His shop is on the lower floor of his grandfather Stoyan Kavrakov's house, which was located on the site of the current house. Georgi's son Doncho Georgiev graduated in dentistry in and continues to live there.
Georgi Marinov with his first wife Stoyanka
The building, which is built in the style of Art Nouveau, features two , both with a pretty unusually shaped top gable on top of them. The one on the southern side of the building is semi-hexagonal in shape and is placed above a that leads to the entrance of the residential part. The one that's placed on the corner is circular in shape and is placed above the commercial entrance. The last mentioned oriel window is supported by two , which are adorned with , foliage, and a lot of . Above the corbels, you'll be able to see a lavishly decorated that's inscribed with the Cyrillic letters Г.Т.И. (G.T.I.), the initials of the former owner. The oriel window also features three oval windows that contain a frame that on top ends into two volutes. In between these windows, you can see some geometric ornamentation, and underneath it, you can see a that's crowned with an Ionic .
An old photo showing the building in the distance