The Tsar Boris hotel in Veliko Turnovo will be rescued from ruin and will be restored with the help of financing by American millionaire-philanthropist Edmund Beck.

The building has been falling apart for years, even though it was declared a monument of culture in 1980. Beck bought the building not long ago, and work is already underway on a project to restore it.

The Tsar Boris hotel was built in 1894. It was designed by Stoyan Gerganov, a self-taught master-builder, who learnt his trade from the school of the builders of Dryanovo, among them Kolyo Ficheto. Edmund Beck, the building’s new owner, is an ex-fighter pilot, turned oil, golf course and real estate businessman. Finding himself in Veliko Turnovo in 2006, he was impressed by the beauty of the city and started buying abandoned old buildings of historical value and investing in their repair and restoration. Edmund Beck is owner of the famed Hadji Nikoli tavern. After being restored, the tavern is now a luxury complex with a restaurant and art galleries.

For the investments he has made into the restoration and preservation of historical buildings in Veliko Turnovo, Edmund Beck received the “Veliko Turnovo” award.