Old High School of Music, Rousse
Encyclopedia
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...
, located at 33 Borisova Street, which is to become a private cultural and arts centre.
The building was constructed in 1900–1901 by Ruse's Protestant community
Protestantism in Bulgaria
Protestantism in Bulgaria: Protestantism is the fourth largest religious grouping in Bulgaria after Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam and Roman Catholicism. In the census of 2001, a total of 42,308 people declared themselves to be Protestants of different denominations, up from 21,878 in the previous census...
to be used by the German Protestant
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
school, as well as to accommodate its boarding house, kindergarten and orphanage. Funds (a total of 320,000 German gold mark
German gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
s) were secured by the local pastor Theodor Wandemann. The four-storey edifice was designed by the architect Udo Ribau and the construction was supervised by the engineers Todor Tonev and Merbach. The architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
is eclectic
Eclecticism
Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.It can sometimes seem inelegant or...
, combining Neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
and Gothic Revival elements and Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
an influences.
The German school was inaugurated on 5 October 1905 and declared a Secondary School of Business by the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy in 1909. It was attended not only by the city's German colony
Germans in Bulgaria
Germans are a minority ethnic group in Bulgaria . Although according to the 2001 census they only numbered 436, the settlement of Germans in Bulgaria has a long and eventful history and comprises several waves, the earliest in the Middle Ages....
, but also by the children of eminent local merchant families. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, on 28 September 1918, the school, as German property, was confiscated by the Bulgarian authorities. Although it was damaged by Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n shellfire, it was reconstructed after the war and consecutively accommodated the 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...
St Joseph School for Boys, the Petar Beron
Petar Beron
Dr. Petar Beron was a famous Bulgarian educator. He created the first modern Bulgarian primer, erroneously called the Fish Primer because of the dolphin drawn in the end of the book .-Biography:Petar Beron was born around 1800, probably in 1799, in the town of Kotel in a rich family...
Junior High School (since 1935), the State University of Technology (University of Ruse), and the school of the local farming machinery factory (the former Müllhaupt Factory). After that, it began to be used by Ruse's High School of Music. In 1973, it was declared a monument of culture.
Severely damaged by the 1977 Bucharest Earthquake
1977 Bucharest Earthquake
The 1977 Vrancea Earthquake occurred on Friday, 4 March 1977, 21:20 local time and was felt throughout the Balkans. It had a magnitude of 7.2 with an epicenter in Vrancea at a depth of ....
, although it was reinforced, the edifice was subsequently abandoned in disrepair until it was acquired by auction by the Bobokov brothers in April 2007. The two brothers are to invest €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
1,000,000 in the building's reconstruction and are obliged to convert it into a cultural and arts centre.
Directly next to the old school is Ruse's Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church.