bg Sofia

Former Hotel Roza

- Knyaz Aleksandar I Street 4 -
The residential and commercial building was built in 1905, initially as a three-story building, for the family hotel with the name Roza. The rooms of the hotel were housed on the upper floors, while the haberdashery shop of Angel Tsvetkov was housed on the first floor. He owned shops in Sofia, , and , and the one which was located in this building was located there until the 1930s. In the 1930s, the building underwent its first reconstruction, to which a new floor was added. During the second reconstruction, which took place in the late 1940s, another floor was added on top of the existing building.
An old postcard from the 1930s on which the advertisements of Angel Tsvetkov's shop can still be seen
In the 1930s the premises of Angel Tsvetkov was taken over by a shopowner that named it the English Shop, and later, when it left, there was a confectionery called Roza. The owner and name bearer, the Austrian Roza Holzschu, was the first owner of a modern confectionery, which was first located elsewhere in the city. Her son was the first to bring a German opera troupe to Bulgaria and introduce the Sofia audience to . During the communist time, which started after the , the Roza confectionery was located on the first floor of this building, and the American embassy was located next door, which creates interest in the confectionery by the communist authorities.
An old postcard showing the building on the right
When the confectionery was closed for repairs, it was then that special horizontal and vertical tunnels were dug under the embassy building, where sensitive microphones were installed. A few years before the collapse of communism in Bulgaria, one of the employees of the Second Main Directorate of the State Security Committee informed the American services that the embassy in Sofia was being tapped, but he did not know where and how exactly the listening devices were installed. At the request of the American representatives, President ordered the equipment in question to be removed.

At the beginning of 2006, by the order of the new owner, a complete reconstruction project was drawn up. It was proposed to transform the facade walls of the upper three levels in such a way that they correspond to the original facade. At the same time, a seventh floor was added, in place of the previously existing roof, and structural glazing is used on the last two floors, which also adds some modern touches to the overall image of the building.
An old photo showing the advertisements of the Roza confectionery
The building was erected in the styles of Neo-Classical and Eclectic but it also features some Art Nouveau ornamentation. An is placed on the northeastern corner, which is supported by two small , and topped with a balcony that's secured with a stone balustrade that contains , of which one differs from the rest. Above the second floor windows, you can see a protruded part of a , which functions as a straight . These parts are supported by two corbels that feature a fragment in their midst, which is lavishly decorated with floral ornamentation. These same fragments are used between the fifth floor windows. Above the second floor windows, you'll be able to see a pointed pediment, which is supported by smaller corbels. Between the sixth floor windows, you can see a corbel, which is adorned with and holds up a decorative vase.
An old photo showing how the building looked like before the reconstruction project