bg Sofia

Olga Futikova House

- Kniaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard 21 -
The first name of the owner of the residential building is the one of the philologist and publisher Zahari Popgeorgiev Futekov. He was born on November 25, 1871, in the town , in the family of and . He was born into a family of six children, one of which was his famous eldest sister . Zahari Futekov was married to Olga Avramova Futekova, whose name bears the name of the building to this day.

In 1911, together with his wife Olga, who comes from a family, he built the two-storey house on the corner of Benkovska Street. Zahari Futekov was a well-known linguist, German translator, and author of the first Bulgarian-German dictionary. He was also a participant in three of the wars that Bulgaria fought between 1912 and 1918 when he was promoted to the rank of captain. Futekov's publishing house and bookstore occupied the first floor with beautiful mosaics at both entrances. He died at an age of 77 on July 07, 1949, in Panagyurishte.
Zahari Popgeorgiev Futekov
The facade on the south side of the Art Nouveau building used to be symmetrical, but the symmetry was lost with the additional axis that was built later. Within the protruded segmental part of the facade, on top of the , you'll be able to see an eagle with in the background the rising sun. It is sitting on oak and laurel twigs and is holding a scroll with the Latin inscription 'vincit veritas' (the truth prevails). The oriel window is round shaped on the corners and ends with floral ornamentation. A is placed above each of the windows and in between them you'll be able to admire a .
An old photo from the 1930s showing the building on the left
On the corner of the building, you'll see a balcony on the second and third floor. The balconies are secured with a stone balustrade and are supported by two each. On top, within the laurel wreath, you'll see the initials О.З. (for the former owners, Olga and Zahari), and around it the construction year 1911.

The beautiful and richly decorated wooden main entrance door on the west side of the building is enclosed in a solid frame. On the fragment above the door frame, you can see a festoon, a keystone, and two corbels, which are holding up the straight above it. In the fragment above the pediment, you can see two more festoons around the oval window. In the protruded segmental part of the facade, you'll see a fragment containing a globe surrounded by a laurel and palm twig, which symbolizes victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life. Around the entire building, you can see different sized corbels, which are holding up the roof cornice. In between the two smaller corbels you can see a strip with floral decoration.
An old photo from the 1970s showing the building