Georgi Fingov
Encyclopedia
Georgi Dimitrov Fingov was a Bulgaria
n architect who was particularly influenced by French
Art Nouveau
and is regarded as the first prominent representative of the Bulgarian Secession in architecture. Fingov's works range from private houses though schools and public buildings to royal palaces and hunting lodges for the Bulgarian Royal Family.
Fingov was born in Kalofer
(at the time part of the Ottoman Empire
, now in central Bulgaria
) to the family of Dimitar Fingov, a Kiev
and Moscow
-educated polyglot
teacher who was an acquaintance of Hristo Botev
and Ivan Vazov
. After the Liberation of Bulgaria
in 1878, Georgi Fingov's father was briefly governor of Targovishte
, Botevgrad
and Pleven
.
In 1892, Georgi Fingov graduated from the Plovdiv
high school and moved to Vienna
, Austria–Hungary, to study architecture at what is today the Vienna University of Technology
. As a student, Fingov was an assistant of Karl Mayreder
at the university and worked in the prominent Austrian architect's studio. Leaving behind prospects of a successful career in Vienna, in 1898 Fingov returned to Bulgaria. In Plovdiv
, he established a studio together with the local architect Valkovich. Together, the two designed the building of the Plovdiv French College for Girls. Fingov's separate works in Plovdiv include the Neo-Gothic Protestant church in the city and several residential buildings.
Fingov moved to Sofia
, the capital of the Principality of Bulgaria
, in 1902. He quickly became the head of the Sofia Municipality department of architecture, where he succeeded Friedrich Grünanger
. Fingov was also in charge of royal palaces as a Ministry of Public Works official. He designed the Sitnyakovo mountain lodge and the Tsarska Bistritsa
royal hunting lodge, both in Rila
, and the smaller of the two palaces at Vrana
near Sofia. Fingov also reconstructed the Saint Demetrius Monastery at Euxinograd
by Varna
. In 1905, Fingov left the Ministry of Public Works to start a private career, which lasted until 1936. As a private architect, Fingov collaborated with several other Bulgarian architects, including Kiro Marichkov, Dimo Nichev, Nikola Yurukov and Georgi Apostolov.
Georgi Fingov was killed in 1944 during the bombing of Sofia in World War II
. Fingov's son, Dimitar Fingov, was also an architect. His granddaughter (daughter of his daughter Milka Müller née Fingova), Barbara Müller, is an actress and translator from German
to Bulgarian.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n architect who was particularly influenced by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
and is regarded as the first prominent representative of the Bulgarian Secession in architecture. Fingov's works range from private houses though schools and public buildings to royal palaces and hunting lodges for the Bulgarian Royal Family.
Fingov was born in Kalofer
Kalofer
Kalofer is a town in central Bulgaria, located on the banks of the Tundzha between the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Sredna Gora to the south. Kalofer is part of Plovdiv Province and the Karlovo municipality...
(at the time part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, now in central Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
) to the family of Dimitar Fingov, a Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
-educated polyglot
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
teacher who was an acquaintance of Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev , born Hristo Botyov Petkov , was a Bulgarian poet and national revolutionary. Botev is widely considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and national hero.-Early years:...
and Ivan Vazov
Ivan Vazov
Ivan Minchov Vazov was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley of Bulgaria ....
. After the Liberation of Bulgaria
Liberation of Bulgaria
In Bulgarian historiography, the term Liberation of Bulgaria is used to denote the events of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 that led to the re-establishment of Bulgarian state with the Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878, after the complete conquest of the Second Bulgarian Empire, which...
in 1878, Georgi Fingov's father was briefly governor of Targovishte
Targovishte
Targovishte is a city in Bulgaria, capital of Targovishte Province. It is situated at the northern foot of the low mountain of Preslav on both banks of the Vrana River. The town is 335 km away to the north-east from the capital Sofia and about 125 km to the west from the city of Varna...
, Botevgrad
Botevgrad
Botevgrad ; pre-1866: Samundzhievo ), is a town in western Bulgaria. It is located in Sofia Province and is close to Pravets. Botevgrad is situated at a 47-km-distance from Sofia.-Geography:...
and Pleven
Pleven
Pleven is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality...
.
In 1892, Georgi Fingov graduated from the Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
high school and moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria–Hungary, to study architecture at what is today the Vienna University of Technology
Vienna University of Technology
Vienna University of Technology is one of the major universities in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Founded in 1815 as the "Imperial-Royal Polytechnic Institute" , it currently has about 26,200 students , 8 faculties and about 4,000 staff members...
. As a student, Fingov was an assistant of Karl Mayreder
Karl Mayreder
Karl Mayreder was an Austrian architect.- Life and work :Karl Mayreder was born the son of hotelier Leopold Mayreder and his wife Henriette Mayreder...
at the university and worked in the prominent Austrian architect's studio. Leaving behind prospects of a successful career in Vienna, in 1898 Fingov returned to Bulgaria. In Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
, he established a studio together with the local architect Valkovich. Together, the two designed the building of the Plovdiv French College for Girls. Fingov's separate works in Plovdiv include the Neo-Gothic Protestant church in the city and several residential buildings.
Fingov moved to Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, the capital of the Principality of Bulgaria
Principality of Bulgaria
The Principality of Bulgaria was a self-governing entity created as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. The preliminary treaty of San Stefano between the Russian Empire and the Porte , on March 3, had originally proposed a significantly larger Bulgarian territory: its...
, in 1902. He quickly became the head of the Sofia Municipality department of architecture, where he succeeded Friedrich Grünanger
Friedrich Grünanger
Friedrich Grünanger was an Austro-Hungarian architect who worked primarily in Bulgaria.Born in Schäßburg in Austria-Hungary , Grünanger studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna architecture school between 1877 and 1879, under Friedrich von Schmidt...
. Fingov was also in charge of royal palaces as a Ministry of Public Works official. He designed the Sitnyakovo mountain lodge and the Tsarska Bistritsa
Tsarska Bistritsa
Tsarska Bistritsa is a former royal palace in southwestern Bulgaria, high in the Rila Mountains, just above the resort of Borovets and near the banks of the Bistritsa River...
royal hunting lodge, both in Rila
Rila
Rila is a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria and the highest mountain range of Bulgaria and the Balkans, with its highest peak being Musala at 2,925 m...
, and the smaller of the two palaces at Vrana
Vrana Palace
Vrana Palace is a former royal palace, located on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is today the official residence of the deposed Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria and his wife Tsaritsa Margarita...
near Sofia. Fingov also reconstructed the Saint Demetrius Monastery at Euxinograd
Euxinograd
Euxinograd is a former late 19th-century Bulgarian royal summer palace and park on the Black Sea coast, north of downtown Varna. It is currently a governmental and presidential retreat hosting cabinet meetings in the summer and offering access for tourists to several villas and hotels...
by Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
. In 1905, Fingov left the Ministry of Public Works to start a private career, which lasted until 1936. As a private architect, Fingov collaborated with several other Bulgarian architects, including Kiro Marichkov, Dimo Nichev, Nikola Yurukov and Georgi Apostolov.
Georgi Fingov was killed in 1944 during the bombing of Sofia in World War II
Bombing of Sofia in World War II
The Bulgarian capital of Sofia suffered a series of Allied bombing raids during World War II, from late 1943 to early 1944. Bulgaria declared a token war on the United Kingdom and the United States on 13 December 1941...
. Fingov's son, Dimitar Fingov, was also an architect. His granddaughter (daughter of his daughter Milka Müller née Fingova), Barbara Müller, is an actress and translator from German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
to Bulgarian.