Nikola Ivanov Lazarov () (1 April 1870 – 14 June 1942) 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. Lazarov was born in the sub-Balkan town of

Karlovo Karlovo ( ) is a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains. It is administratively part of Plovdiv Province and has a population of about 1 ...

, then 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 ...

(today in central Bulgaria). His father, a

rose oil Rose oil (rose otto, attar of rose, attar of roses, or rose essence) is an essential oil that is extracted from the petals of various types of rose. ''Rose ottos'' are extracted through steam distillation, while ''rose absolutes'' are obtained t ...

and woolen braid dealer and manufacturer, was killed by the Ottomans during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 which led to 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 ...

. Left an orphan, Lazarov moved to the capital

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 ...

, where he worked as a draftsman at the Capital Direction of Public Buildings under

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 ...

, Aleksi Nachev, Mihail Hashnov and Karl Heinrich. Lazarov received a Bulgarian state scholarship to study at the

École Spéciale d'Architecture The École spéciale d'architecture (ÉSA; formerly École centrale d'architecture) is a private school for architecture at 254, boulevard Raspail in Paris, France. The diploma from the École spéciale d'architecture (DESA), recognized by the St ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He finished two years at the school only to return to Bulgaria due to a lack of funds. However, on the recommendation of several noted architects he was granted another scholarship, this time by the Prince of Bulgaria himself, and returned to Paris. He graduated from the École Spéciale d'Architecture in 1893 with a thesis on the main church of the

Rila Monastery The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery ("Sveti Ivan Rilski" (), is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, south of the capital Sofia in th ...

. Upon his graduation Nikola Lazarov returned to Sofia. As a royal scholarship student, he was obliged to work for three years as a royal architect. During that period he participated in the construction of the northeast wing of the Sofia Royal Palace and the final interior works on the

Euxinograd Euxinograd ( , also transliterated as ''Evksinograd'') is a late 19th-century Bulgarian former royal summer palace and park on the Black Sea coast, north of downtown Varna, Bulgaria, Varna. The palace is currently a governmental and presidentia ...

palace in

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 ...

. He also finished the exterior and interior design of the Central Military Club in Sofia, which was only roughly constructed under Antonín Kolář. In 1896, he established the first private architectural company (headquartered at Targovska Street), and in 1902 he became the first architect to be elected to the

National Assembly of Bulgaria The National Assembly () is the Unicameralism, unicameral parliament and Legislature, legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The first National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution. During the People's Republic ...

by joining the parliament as a deputy of his native Karlovo. Together with

Yordan Milanov Yordan Milanov (; 1867–1932) was a Bulgarian architect. Milanov was one of the leading Bulgarian architects from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.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. ...

in 1908. He worked actively as an architect until 1934. In 1937–1941, he was a leading member of the Capital Municipal Council and an advocate of Adolf Mussmann's 1938

city plan Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

Works

Vrana Palace Vrana Palace (; formerly ; ) is a royal palace, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is today the official residence of the former Royal House of Bulgaria, royal family of Bulgaria. While the Royal Palace (Sofia), Royal Palace i ...

main building, Sofia; co-operation on the Sofia Royal Palace and

palace * Parushevi Brothers' twin houses at Oborishte Street, Sofia * Baron Gendovich House, Sofia *

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Bulgaria) The name of the ministry was changed in 2022 by the ''Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry'' to the ''Ministry of Agriculture.'' The Ministry of Agriculture, (, ''Ministerstvo na zemedelieto'') of Bulgaria is the ministry charged with regul ...

Central Military Club The Central Military Club (, ''Tsentralen voenen klub'') is a multi-purpose monument of culture building in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, located on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard and Georgi Rakovski Street. It serves the Bulgarian Ar ...

(initial project by Antonín Kolář); military clubs in

Shumen Shumen (, also Romanization of Bulgarian, romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, tenth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province. Etymology The city ...

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 ...

and

* Stoyan Bachvarov Dramatic Theatre, Varna *

Public Baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

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 ...

* Design for a

new royal palace The Presidential Mansion () in Athens, Greece, is the official residence of the president of the Hellenic Republic. It served previously as the Royal Palace (often known as the New Royal Palace, ), until the abolition of the monarchy by the 1974 ...

in Sofia

Gallery

File:Central-military-club-sofia-ifb.JPG, Central Military Club File:Ministry_of_Agriculture_-_Sofia.jpg, Ministry of Agriculture Food and Forestry File:Gendovich-house-sofia-tb.jpg, Baron Gendovich House File:Sofia buildings TodorBozhinov (6).JPG, Parushevi brothers twin houses

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazarov, Nikola Bulgarian architects Bulgarian politicians People from Karlovo 1870 births 1942 deaths École Spéciale d'Architecture alumni