House with the Monkey, Revival period residential building in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria.
The House with the Monkey is a three-story Revival-period residence in Veliko Tarnovo, accessible from two different streets. The ground floor holds an antique shop, while the upper floors are used by the local branch of the Union of Scientists and Scholars in Bulgaria.
Master builder Kolyu Ficheto built this house in 1849 for merchant Nikola Koyuv, using design features that were not common in Bulgarian homes at the time. These elements placed it among the early examples of change in local building traditions.
A stone monkey carved on the outer wall gives the building its name and draws the eyes of anyone passing by. The figure has become a natural meeting point in the neighborhood and helps visitors find their way through the old town.
The ground floor antique shop is generally open to visitors, but access to the upper floors may depend on the schedule of the organization based there. It is worth checking ahead if you want to see more than the ground level.
Stefan Penev-Akhtar, considered Bulgaria's first major antiquities collector, once lived here and kept a personal collection of medieval manuscripts and coins in the building. This made the house an early private repository of historical objects at a time when public museums in the region were still rare.
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