Balkan Bank
Location / GPS: 42.694318516966206, 23.32545872656668
Objects nearby: National theater "Ivan Vazov"
Public object / Private object: External
Balkan Bank (now Ministry of Transport)The building of the Balkan Bank (later the Bulgarian Credit Bank) was built in 1906 by the Ruse architect Spiros Valsamaki by order of the Bebis brothers. Initially, it was a one-storey building intended for warehouses and offices of the grain company of the brothers, and in 1924 it acquired the appearance of a three-storey building.
Initially, the building was a one-storey building intended for warehouses and offices of the grain company of the brothers. However, after the great pogroms in their native Greece, the brothers left Ruse and the property was bought by Balkan Bank. Founded in 1906 with mainly French and Belgian capital, the bank financed the construction of the two largest factories in Ruse - the leather and sugar. In 1911 the building was upgraded with another floor, and in 1924 it acquired the appearance of a three-storey building, as it is to this day.
After the tobacco crisis, the bank liquidated its foreign deposits and merged with the Franco-Belgian Bank and left the building. Then it housed the Bulgarian Credit Bank. After the Second World War, the building was occupied by the Russians and a Russian club with a restaurant and a summer garden was opened in it. The building was also home to the famous Buzludja restaurant. After 1964, it housed the Teachers' House and the Film Club, and a summer cinema was opened in the former garden. In 2018, the building became municipal property.
Sources:
Source 1
Initially, the building was a one-storey building intended for warehouses and offices of the grain company of the brothers. However, after the great pogroms in their native Greece, the brothers left Ruse and the property was bought by Balkan Bank. Founded in 1906 with mainly French and Belgian capital, the bank financed the construction of the two largest factories in Ruse - the leather and sugar. In 1911 the building was upgraded with another floor, and in 1924 it acquired the appearance of a three-storey building, as it is to this day.
After the tobacco crisis, the bank liquidated its foreign deposits and merged with the Franco-Belgian Bank and left the building. Then it housed the Bulgarian Credit Bank. After the Second World War, the building was occupied by the Russians and a Russian club with a restaurant and a summer garden was opened in it. The building was also home to the famous Buzludja restaurant. After 1964, it housed the Teachers' House and the Film Club, and a summer cinema was opened in the former garden. In 2018, the building became municipal property.
Sources:
Source 1
