bg Sofia

Hotel Imperial

- Saborna Street 2 -
The former hotel is the work of the Bulgarian architect and was built between 1917 and 1920. It was commissioned by the industrialist Todor Balabanov and his son Ivan and was built with skeletal reinforced concrete, a revolutionary way of building for its time. The Imperial Hotel was considered one of the most modern buildings of its time, with its elegantly furnished rooms, luxurious apartments, central heating, running hot water, and a telephone. An overnight stay in the hotel was not affordable for everyone, as it cost 180 leva per night, which was a lot of money at that time.

It housed the Imperial Hotel until 1944, after which it was nationalized. After the , the building was restored under the direction of the Bulgarian architect . Over the years, it has housed the Sredets Hotel and the Orient Bar, the Central Committee of the Dimitrov Communist Youth Union, and in 1990 one of the first private banks in Bulgaria opened its central office here. Later it became an office building and was given back to the heirs of Ivan Balabanov.
The building during its construction
The former hotel combines Neo-Baroque elements, as well as those of the modern Art Nouveau style. The on the corner is the accentuating element, which is crowned by a majestic dome. The dome is embraced with a fragment that is beautifully decorated. On it, you can see decorative vases, a , , and all surrounded by floral ornaments. One floor down you can admire a garland and two round shaped with an Ionic . One floor down, in the middle of the segmental that are located above each of the windows, a cartouche can be seen. Two supportive are holding up the segmental pediment. On the same floor, a can be seen that runs along the entire southern and eastern sides of the building. The balustrade is embellished with , cartouches, and decorative vases.
The building on the left not long after the completion of the building
Underneath the balconet, a lot of beautiful floral and geometric decorations can be seen, which are interrupted by two and a lot more cartouches. Under each balcony and balconet on the second, third, and fourth floor you can see different kinds of strips, one of which with an motif. The balconies and balconets either have a wrought iron or stone railing with different kinds of balusters. Don't forget to have a look underneath the first floor balconies, as they're richly decorated with cartouches and floral ornamentation. In between the balconies you can see even more cartouches, in this case, they're crowned with an actual crown.

The main entrance door is a feature of the building that should definitely not be missed. It has a lavishly decorated wrought iron door and windows. The door is surrounded by egg-and-dart and motifs, a cartouche with the initials Т.Б., floral ornamentation and two round shaped pilasters with an Ionic capital.
An old postcard showing the building