House with the Strawberries: A Sofia Architectural Gem

The House with the Strawberries, located on 6 San Stefano Street in Sofia, is a captivating landmark that embodies the city's rich architectural heritage. Constructed between 1927 and 1930 for banker Dimitar Ivanov and his wife Nadezhda Stankovich, the house was designed by Georgi Kunev, who also contributed to the design of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The house's design is a unique blend of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau), Art Deco, and romantic features drawn from traditional Bulgarian architecture. The name comes from the strawberry bushes that once adorned its front yard. The building features a rounded veranda with ornamented columns, a polygonal side facade with a covered balcony, and a tower. Inside, it originally contained five bedrooms, a cellar, a drawing room with a red-marble fireplace, and a music stage. After Bulgaria's 1944 coup, the house was nationalized and used as the Romanian embassy and a Soviet trade representative office. It was declared a cultural monument in 1978. The house was returned to the Ivanov family in the 1990s, who then sold it. Recent attempts to demolish it sparked public outcry. As of December 2024, the house has a new owner who intends to restore it.