Georgi Dimitrov Fingov ( bg, Георги Димитров Фингов; 1874–1944) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n architect who was particularly influenced by French

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

and is regarded as the first prominent representative of the Bulgarian

Secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

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 ( bg, Българско царско семейство, Balgarsko tsarsko semeystvo) 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, ...

. Fingov was born in

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. It is best known as the b ...

(at the time part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, now in central

) to the family of Dimitar Fingov, a

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

-educated

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingualism, monolingual speakers in the World population, world's pop ...

teacher who was an acquaintance of

Hristo Botev Hristo Botev ( bg, Христо Ботев, ), born Hristo Botyov Petkov (Христо Ботьов Петков; – ), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and poet. Botev is considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and nationa ...

and

Ivan Vazov Ivan Minchov Vazov ( bg, Иван Минчов Вазов; – 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 ...

. 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-establishmen ...

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

Targovishte Targovishte ( bg, Търговище, also transliterated ''Tǎrgovište'', , tr, Eski Cuma) is a city in Bulgaria, the administrative and economic capital of Targovishte Province. It is situated at the northern foot of the low mountain of Pr ...

Botevgrad Botevgrad ( bg, Ботевград ) 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 ...

and

Pleven Pleven ( bg, Плèвен ) 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 ...

. In 1892, Georgi Fingov graduated from the

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

high school and moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, to study architecture at what is today the

Vienna University of Technology TU Wien (TUW; german: Technische Universität Wien; still known in English as the Vienna University of Technology from 1975–2014) is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recogn ...

. As a student, Fingov was an assistant of

Karl Mayreder Karl Mayreder (13 June 1856 in Mauer (today a suburb of Vienna) – 9 September 1935 in Vienna) was an Austrian architect. Life and work Karl Mayreder was born the son of hotelier Leopold Mayreder and his wife Henriette Mayreder. Leopold ...

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, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

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

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, the capital of the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) 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 ende ...

, 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 Transylvania, Transylvanian Austrians, Austrian architect who worked primarily in Bulgaria. Born in Schäßburg in Austria-Hungary (today Sighişoara in Romania), Grünanger studi ...

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

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

mountain lodge and the

Tsarska Bistritsa Tsarska Bistritsa ("Tsar's Bistritsa"; bg, Царска Бистрица) 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. Built between 18 ...

royal hunting lodge, both in

Rila Rila ( bg, Рила, ) 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 Mus ...

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

Euxinograd Euxinograd ( bg, Евксиноград , 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. The palace is currently a governmental and p ...

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

. 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 The Bulgarian capital of Sofia suffered a series of Allied bombing raids during World War II, from mid 1941 to early 1944. Bulgaria declared war on the United Kingdom and the United States on 13 December 1941. The Southern Italy-based Allied a ...

. 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 (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 airstrike during World War II