Georgi Dimitrov Fingov (; 1874–1944) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n architect who was particularly influenced by French

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

and is regarded as the first prominent representative of the Bulgarian

Secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

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 The last Bulgarian royal family () is a line of the Koháry branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which ruled Bulgaria from 1887 to 1946. The last tsar, Simeon II, became Prime Minister of Bulgaria in 2001 and remained in office until ...

. Fingov was born in

Kalofer Kalofer ( pronounced:) 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. It is best kno ...

(at the time part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, now in central

) to the family of Dimitar Fingov, a

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

-educated

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

teacher who was an acquaintance of Hristo Botev and

Ivan Vazov Ivan Minchov Vazov (; – 22 September 1921) 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 (then part of the Ottoman Em ...

. After the

Liberation of Bulgaria The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishme ...

in 1878, Georgi Fingov's father was briefly governor of

Targovishte Targovishte (, also transliteration, transliterated ''Tǎrgovište'', , ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, city in Bulgaria, the administrative and economic capital of Targovishte Province. It is situated at the northern foot of the l ...

Botevgrad Botevgrad ( ) is a town in western Bulgaria. It is located in Sofia Province and is close to Pravets. Botevgrad lies 47 km from Sofia. History and name The village was called Samundzhievo (Самунджиево) until it was elevated to ...

and

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. It is the biggest economic center in ...

. In 1892, Georgi Fingov graduated from the

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

high school and moved to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, 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

, 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 Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

Protestant church in the city and several residential buildings. Fingov moved to

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, the capital of the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria () was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed ...

, in 1902. He quickly became the head of the Sofia Municipality department of architecture, where he succeeded

Friedrich Grünanger Friedrich Grünanger (25 January 1856 – 14 December 1929) was a Transylvanian Austrian architect who worked primarily in Bulgaria. Born in Schäßburg in Austria-Hungary (today Sighişoara in Romania), Grünanger studied at the Academy of ...

. Fingov was also in charge of royal palaces as a Ministry of Public Works official. He designed the

Sitnyakovo Sitnyakovo () is a summer royal residence in Bulgaria. It is located on Rila, Rila mountain. The residence was built on commission by Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. Sitnyakovo is situated in close proximity to the Borovets resort and the Tsarska Bistr ...

mountain lodge and the

Tsarska Bistritsa Tsarska Bistritsa ("Tsar's 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. The hunting lodge was built between 1898 and 19 ...

royal hunting lodge, both in

Rila Rila (, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Mountains, Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an e ...

, and the smaller of the two palaces at Vrana near Sofia. Fingov also reconstructed the Saint Demetrius Monastery at Euxinograd by

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

. 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 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

to Bulgarian.

Works

File:ProtestantChurchPlovdiv (2).JPG, Protestant church in Plovdiv File:Sofia April 2009 TodorBozhinov (16).JPG, Fingov's House (self-designed) on Shipka Street in Sofia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fingov, Georgi 1874 births 1944 deaths People from Kalofer Bulgarian architects Art Nouveau architects TU Wien alumni Civilians killed in World War II Deaths by American airstrikes during World War II Deaths by British airstrikes during World War II Bulgarian expatriates Expatriates in Austria-Hungary