bg Sofia

Vera Drenkova House & Greek Embassy

- San Stefano Street 31-33 -
The buildings are located at San Stefano Street 31 and 33. The building at number 31 was the home of the family of Stefan Drenkov and Vera Drenkova, a German with the original surname Levenhagen, which is now the residence of the Greek ambassador. The building at San Stefano Street 33 is the building of the embassy of the Hellenic Republic of Greece.

The building at number 31 was built in 1905 and was designed by the Bulgarian architects and . It was purchased in 1981 by the Greek state and renovated to emphasize its valuable Neo-Classical architectural elements. The building at number 33 was built in 1892 and was designed by the architect . It was originally built for a wealthy Bulgarian tobacco merchant and now is one of the few remaining 19th century buildings in Sofia. In 1929, then-Ambassador Vassilios Dendramis purchased the building, including all of the furniture, from the oriental tobacco company Nicotea for the needs of the Greek state.
The former house of the Denkov family
The on the main facade of the embassy building is a true eye-catcher. On top and on both sides of it you'll see a balcony, which is secured with a cast iron railing. The above one of the balcony doors is lavishly decorated with floral ornamentation. On top of each of the , you can see two that are decorated with foliage and a decorative shell. On top of the windows on the second floor, a pretty unusual is placed that's supported by two corbels. The bottom of the oriel window is adorned with a richly decorated . The decorations on the barred windows on the first floor are similar to that of the balcony railings. Each of the , which are located on the first floor are adorned with six . Above each of the windows, you can see a double , which in some cases is even adorned with a decorative shell. The richly decorated , which can be admired above the door is surrounded by laurel twigs.
An old photo of the current embassy building
The building of the Greek ambassador is built in the style of Art Nouveau. On the southeast side of the building, a stands tall with an alluring dome on top of it. Just above the upper window, a beautiful adorns the turret. The roof cornice is supported by many pairs of corbels. Five elegantly decorated brighten up the facade. Some geometric and floral ornamentation is placed above the circle top windows and even a mascaron can be seen above the bigger window.
An old photo of the former house of the Denkov family