Nikola Fichev ( bg, Никола Фичев) (1800 Direnova,

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) ...

- 1881

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

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 ...

), commonly known as Kolyo Ficheto ( bg, Колю Фичето) or with his Turkish honorific Usta (Master) Kolyo Ficheto, 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 ...

National Revival National revival or national awakening is a period of ethnic self-consciousness that often precedes a political movement for national liberation but that can take place at a time when independence is politically unrealistic. In the history of Eur ...

architect, builder and sculptor born in

Dryanovo Dryanovo ( bg, Дряново, ) is a Bulgarian town situated at the northern foot of the Balkan Mountains in Gabrovo Province; amphitheatrically along the two banks of Dryanovo River, a tributary to the Yantra River. The town is a centre of t ...

(then called Direnova) in 1800. Left an orphan without a father at the age of three, Kolyu Ficheto was taught craftsmanship by the masterhands in the Trevne town (today

Tryavna Tryavna ( bg, Трявна ) is a town in central Bulgaria, situated in the northern slopes of the Balkan range, on the Tryavna river valley, near Gabrovo. It is famous for its textile industry and typical National Revival architecture, featuring ...

) since he was ten. He learned stonecutting in the town of Görice (today

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau some ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

) when he was 17, and then mastered the construction of churches,

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

s and bridges from the craftsmen in

Bratsigovo Bratsigovo ( bg, Брацигово ) is a town in Southern Bulgaria. It is located in the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, on the banks of the Umishka River in Pazardzhik oblast, and is close to the towns of Peshtera and Krichim. Bratsigov ...

. Kolyu Ficheto became a

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

at the age of 23 and was fully recognized as a

master craftsman Historically, a master craftsman or master tradesman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster) was a member of a guild. The title survives as the highest professional qualification in craft industries. In the European guild system, only mas ...

by the whole builders'

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

at 36. Aside from his native language

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

, he spoke fluent

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

and good

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

, but was

illiterate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

, unable to read and write. Kolyu Ficheto is known for having lain under one of his own bridges to guarantee its safety with his life. Fichev died in

, where he was buried, in 1881. Some of his notable works include the Byala Bridge (Беленски мост, ''Belenski most'') over the

Yantra River The Yantra ( bg, Янтра ) is a river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. It is long (the third longest Bulgarian tributary of the Danube, after Iskar and Osam), and has a watershed of . Its average discharge at the mouth ...

close to Byala (1865-1867), the

Covered Bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

Lovech Lovech ( bg, Ловеч, Lovech, ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast f ...

over the

Osam The Osam ( bg, Осъм ) is a river in northern Bulgaria. Its drainage basin is in between that of the river Vit to the west and the Yantra system to the east. Поречието на р. Осъм The river has two main tributaries in its upper ...

(1872-1874), churches in his native town, as well as in

Svishtov Svishtov ( bg, Свищов ) is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svishtov Municipalit ...

( Church of the Holy Trinity, 1867) and Veliko Tarnovo (1844), where he also designed a number of houses and public buildings.

Architecture

File:MonkeyVT-KF150.jpg, The House with the Monkey -

built in 1849 by Kolyo Ficheto File:ByalaBridge-KF150.jpg, The bridge over

Byala, Ruse Province Byala ( bg, Бяла ) is a town in Ruse Province, Northern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Byala Municipality. The town is located on the crossroad between roads that connect Ruse, Bulgaria, Ruse with Veliko Tarnovo an ...

, built in 1867 by Kolyo Ficheto File:StTrinityKF150.jpg,

Church of the Holy Trinity, Svishtov The Church of the Holy Trinity ( bg, Църква „Света Троица", ''Tsarkva „Sveta Troitsa"'') is a 19th-century Bulgarian Orthodox church in the northern Bulgarian town of Svishtov and one of the finest examples of late Bulgarian ...

, built in 1867 by Kolyo Ficheto File:KonakVT-KF150.jpg, The Town-Hall in

Veliko Turnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

, built in 1876 by Kolyo Ficheto File:Dryanovo church kf.jpg, The 19th century church in

, designed by Kolyo Ficheto

Honour

Ficheto Point Ficheto Point (Nos Ficheto 'nos 'fi-che-to) is an ice-free point on the northeast coast of Varna Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica forming the southeast side of the entrance to Dragon Cove. ''Channel Rock'' () is lying in the adjacent nort ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

is named after Kolyo Ficheto.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ficheto, Kolyu 1800 births 1881 deaths Architects from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Bulgarian architects Bulgarian civil engineers People from Dryanovo