bg Burgas

Dimitar Velchev House

- Ulitsa Aleksandrovska 25 -
The construction of the building, which was built according to a design that came from the hand of the Italian architect , was completed in 1900. The third floor, which was added later, was built according to the design of the Bulgarian architect Svetoslav Slavov. The construction was commissioned by the Bulgarian industrialist Dimitar Velchev for his commercial and residential needs. He was born in 1872 and graduated from a high school in , and later received his teacher's diploma. In 1890 he settled in Burgas, where he mastered the art of printing, and between 1897 and 1899 he became the editor of two different magazines. In 1900, as an elected member of the Union of Journalists, he opened the first bookshop in Burgas on the main street. Here he sold a huge variety of goods, from pencils and crayons to pianos and furniture, books, magazines, children's toys, sporting goods, jewelry, and school supplies. There was also a stand for glasses and an ophthalmological apparatus, for which the expert in optics, Stefan Kupenov, was appointed.
Dimitar Velchev and his wife Stefka Velcheva
Dimitar participated in the , the , as well as the , where he served in the Balkan Division, for which he was awarded a medal for bravery. During this time, his wife took over the business and was taking care of the children. After the wars, he set out to expand trade by connecting with companies from Europe and especially from Germany. In 1924, he created a company together with the merchant Valko Valkov with the aim of opening a factory for the production of pencils. In 1925 it begins its activity and opened the first pencil factory in Bulgaria and the Balkans, bearing the name Deveko, which was equipped with 22 machines. The products are produced with high-quality materials, including cedar wood imported all the way from , which was used to make the pencils. Their products were exported to a lot of countries, and in 1937, the company became the court supplier of the Bulgarian royal court.
The Deveko factory
In 1889, he got married to the wealthy and gifted woman, Stefka Velcheva with whom he got three sons, Velcho, Petar, and Ivan. Their son Velcho graduated in economics in , Peter graduated in mechanical engineering in , and Ivan in optics in , where he specialized in the Zeiss factories. All of their sons started working in the company after their graduation. After the coup of , 1944, the regime changed in Bulgaria, and the new government nationalized the company of the Velchev family. Dimitar Velchev died on November 20, 1957, at the age of 85 years, and was buried in Burgas. The building was eventually demolished for the construction of the Bulgaria Hotel in 1975.
Production inside the Deveko factory
The asymmetrical building, which was built in the styles of Eclectic and Neo-Renaissance, contained a in the central part. The supportive pillars, as well as some of the , were crowned with an Ionic , while some of the other pilasters were crowned with a Corinthian capital. The building also contained a lot of in all shapes and sizes, and also with all sorts of decorations. There were also some , which contained different-sized .
An old photo showing the building including the third floor