Every time I pass by this hotel, I feel kind of strange.
You might think that this is just an ordinary building. Pretty boring, at that. That it's just an ordinary hotel.
But this is not so.
You must have guessed that now I will show you something else from this artificially created city of Dimitrovgrad. A city that is built according to a plan and everything in it has its own precise place and its own precise and special meaning.
And with that being said, everything had to be and was done in the perfect way.
But in the case of the hotel, it seems to me that the architects were asleep. Or they were drunk or something. 😄
What do I mean?
Of course my brain will again try to handle familiar images and memories. And I think of my hometown. My hometown is smaller than the one I'm showing you, but the layout is quite different there. I am not saying that all cities must be "laid out" in exactly the same way, but I am suggesting that there is some standard that is more or less adopted by city architects and followed for the convenience of citizens.
In my hometown, for example, the hotel was built in the absolute center of the city, on the main and largest square, and in front of it was a garden and a supplementary square, which made it easy to access, made it visible from afar, but also made to look majestic.
This is not the case here. The hotel, the main hotel of the city, is located in the center, yes. But it is located on the main and constantly busy street, without square access to the central entrance. No view of it. You might not even notice it if you walk past it.
This is the side of the building along the main street.
Of course, the building has its peculiarities, such as the fact that it forms a common entity with the city's theater, also located on the main street.
Above you see the building shown from the theater side.
And the entrance to the theater itself.
Monument to this great artist, after whom the theater is named - Apostle Karamitev. Unfortunately, he died very early.
You can see from the inscription that the city's Rotary Club had a hand in the creation of the monument.
And here is another pompous communist inscription left on the facade of the theater, in honor of: "the enthusiasts who on May 5, 1957 in Dimitrovgrad laid the foundations of the organized film lovers' movement in socialist Bulgaria".
But let's get back to the hotel, which is the main topic of this post.
I actually like it. It is another representative of the Stalinist architecture ruling in this city - clean and monumental. Beautiful in the simplicity of the detail and its geometric shapes.
Check out this simple 3D neon sign from the past, reading "hotel" in Bulgarian language. Remained intact.
I totally love it.
Or the other three-dimensional signs denoting "restaurant" and "cafe" in the hotel building.
I wish I could peek into one of the rooms in this hotel. But I'm pretty sure that's impossible because it no longer functions as such. This can be seen even from its main entrance, where there are inscriptions of company offices. Perhaps somewhere in the history museum can be found a photo of the interior of the hotel as it was after its construction.
That wasn't all that long ago. But it means an entire era for the Bulgarian people.
An era that is supposed to be irretrievably gone. And never come back.
Copyright: @soulsdetour
 | Soul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you. |
