The City Art Gallery of Plovdiv includes five exhibition houses located in different places in the Old Town. The oldest and largest of them is the building of the former Girls' High School on Saborna Street, which preserves the permanent exhibition of the gallery. The building was designed in 1881 by famous Czech architect Josef Schnitter, who took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 and after that settled in Plovdiv. In 1886 he became urban engineer of the city and remained in this position until his death in 1914.

"This is the man who contributed greatly to the image of Plovdiv today," the current head of the Art Gallery, Krassimir Linkov, says. Four years ago, according to a decision of the Municipal Council, extensive restoration of the building started. The project was assigned to architects Petko Kostadinov and Ivan Kostadinov and the municipal budget provided about 700,000 euros. Additional 250,000 went for the complete reconstruction of the yard around the house, which another municipal property was attached to, architect Petko Kostadinov has told BNR. He has been working on the renovation project since 2014 and today says that this has been the most difficult professional task in his 45 year-long career as an architect. "This is a magnificent 140-year-old work of art, created by a great architect and our main task was to preserve its authenticity to the fullest extent possible," architect Kostadinov says.

The yard space turned out to be a real challenge for his team. It was constructed in such a way, as to become a backdrop that reveals the beauty of the building to the fullest. "The space is now a square where many young people already gather and I believe that it will become an attractive place in Plovdiv," the architect says.

Another advantage of the project is that after the renovation of the building the exhibition space of the gallery has doubled.

300 works from the gallery's permanent collection are already on display. They present the best of Bulgarian fine arts from the period of the National Revival to the present day.

There is a special hall for children on the first floor, where educational workshops in the field of fine arts will be organized. Access for people with disabilities has also been provided.

An innovative video guide that will show visitors various works of the presented artists, which are located in other galleries around the country, is also functioning. "In this way we will expand the visitors’ knowledge of fine arts in general and the place of Bulgarian art in Europe," Krassimir Linkov says. The next step is to show the trends in Bulgaria over the years and to compare them with the events in Europe.

"In this way it becomes much clearer what Bulgaria's contribution to world art is," the director of the City Art Gallery in Plovdiv says. He is proud that the gallery now meets all modern standards and has reopened.

Compiled by: Vessela Krasteva /based on a report by Veselina Peeva, BNR-Plovdiv/

English: Alexander Markov