The house with the Monkey

Къщата с маймунката

The House with the Monkey is situated near the Samovodska charshiya. It was built in 1849 by Kolyo Ficheto for the merchant Nikola Koyuv. Although it was built on a very narrow plot of land, the house had everything necessary for the merchant’s activity: storehouse premises, shops and a residential section for the family. Like all houses in Veliko Tarnovo, it is situated in two streets.

A profiled column on the house’s façade depicts a sitting monkey with a slate. This image has lent the building its exotic name.

For some time it was the home of Stoyancho Ahtar, the first antique collector in Bulgaria.