Nikola Lazarov

Who was Nikola Lazarov?

Nikola Ivanov Lazarov was a Bulgarian architect.

Lazarov was born in the sub-Balkan town of Karlovo, then part of the Ottoman Empire. His father, a rose oil and woolen braid dealer and manufacturer, was killed by the Ottomans during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 which led to the Liberation of Bulgaria. Left an orphan, Lazarov moved to the capital Sofia, where he worked as a draftsman at the Capital Direction of Public Buildings under Friedrich Grünanger, Aleksi Nachev, Mihail Hashnov and Karl Heinrich. Lazarov received a Bulgarian state scholarship to study at the École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris, France. He finished two years at the school only to return to Bulgaria due to a lack of funds. However, on the recommendation of several noted architects he was granted another scholarship, this time by the Prince of Bulgaria himself, and returned to Paris. He graduated from the École Spéciale d'Architecture in 1893 with a thesis on the main church of the Rila Monastery.

Upon his graduation Nikola Lazarov returned to Sofia. As a royal scholarship student, he was obliged to work for three years as a royal architect. During that period he participated in the construction of the northeast wing of the Sofia Royal Palace and the final interior works on the Euxinograd palace in Varna. He also finished the exterior and interior design of the Central Military Club in Sofia, which was only roughly constructed under Antonín Kolář.