Hidden in the outskirts of Sofia, one small hotel is more than a place to stay for the night. It tells incredible stories on the walls of its corridors – of glorious rulers, troubled times and shows amazing landscapes of natural landmarks. It sounds incredible, but it’s true and is an incredible experience for the guests. This is the first ever hotel that has gathered the Bulgarian history in beautiful frescoes in the common areas on the way to the rooms. They were developed by the artist Emilia Dimitrova in two compositions: on the first floor- „Guests from the past”, and on the second floor – “Bulgaria in the palm of your hand”.
“Guests from the past” shows the chronologically placed pictures, tracking our history from the times before the Ottoman rule to the rule itself. The composition of these two “worlds” connects them into one. A strong influence are the portraits of the Bulgarian rulers from the glorious ages after 681 – decorated in gold and colorful red cloaks.
After that comes the “Portal of suffering” – the second part of the same corridor, which is separated by a glass door where scenes of the Ottoman rule play out. They are mainly in darker colors, exuding sorrow. The idea of the project comes from the owner of the hotel – Monka Ivanova, who although majoring in and working in tourism, loves history and art. “It was harder for me to clearly plan the concept. The practical creation of it took three months. The composition spans a huge period of Bulgarian history – from Khan Kubrat to the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878. That is a lot of work, spread across a whole floor of the hotel, walls and ceiling with a 200 sq. m. size” she says.
“The fresco work is seco /dry technique/. In almost all the compositions, there are reliefs that act as a center of the most important details of the historical events. There are reliefs of important artefacts – the ring of Tsar Kaloyan, the rosette from Pliska and so on” adds the artist Emilia Dimitrova, The official opening of the exhibit will be on the 25th September from 18:30 in the “Simona Complex” hotel on 721 Okolovrusten put.
