120 years of HISTORY IN THE SPIRIT OF THE FRENCH SESSION
Iliya Nikolov Zurkov was born in 1875 in the town of Elena. Left an orphan, Ilia was raised by his mother Petra and his older sisters. He studied in his hometown, then in Veliko Tarnovo, and later went to study pharmacy at the oldest university in Graz (Austria). He finished his education in 1899 and settled in Burgas. In 1900, he started working in Kalkandzhiev's pharmacy, of which he later became manager. In the same year, the Yunak company was founded in the city, and Iliya Zurkov became an active participant in its activities for 40 years. For 15 years, he was the chairman, and later the honorary chairman of the company.
In 1906, Iliya Zurkov opened his drugstore in Burgas - "Drogeria Zurkov", which sells various medicinal products, perfumery and cosmetics, becoming a distributor of the world-famous pharmaceutical companies Bayer, Schering, Tsiba-Gaigi, etc.
He is among the founders and chairman of the Burgas Trade Company, a long-time member of the Burgas Chamber of Commerce and Industry. For 27 years he chaired the Association of Druggists in Bulgaria. He is among the founders of the Rotary Club (1937). In the masonic lodge, established in Burgas in 1929 and bearing the name "St. Kliment Ohridski", Zurkov holds the rank of first master. He died on March 14, 1950 in Burgas.
The Zurkova house is one of the apotheosis of the extremely expressive architectural ensembles located on the former Blvd. "L. Dimitrova", on the first line in the sea garden in Burgas, 50 meters from the sea. These ensembles were built in the period after the Liberation - 1878 - 1920.
Zurkov's house flanks the southeast side of "Tsar Simeon I" street and the street flowing towards the main entrance of the Central beach. The house was built and was used by the French and Belgian specialists who were sent to build the Port - in 1900. Subsequently, it was bought by the pharmacist Iliya Zurkov. The house has two floors and an impressive attic. The interior was in the Rococo style. Unfortunately, much of it is now lost. There is deep plastic woodwork on the doors and windows. The furniture was imported from France, the marble and other stone details were imported from Greece. The wood was imported from Slovenia. /These historical data were collected by the late Arch. Sirkarov. The house has been declared a monument by NIIK.
The exterior architectural layout is in the spirit of the French trend "Art Nouveau" or "Secession" style. There is a renaissance sound in the division, details and shape of the facade. Renaissance forms bring calmness to the external image. The windows on the ground floor have semicircular frames with a keystone, and on the first floor - with a light upper arch and cornice. The emphasized calm main entrance, arched with rich details, is also impressive. The characteristic feature of the ground floor is the rustication /walls with narrow and wide stripes/, and on the first floor – shaped clinker masonry.
The balcony has an openwork metal railing and consoles. Flaky tin roof cladding completes the striking French Art Nouveau look and feel. During the reconstruction, the brick grid was restored. Without affecting the construction of the house, the jewelry details on the facade were also restored, and the original color range was also restored. The roof covering was also replaced.
During the repair of the roof, we came across an extremely interesting solution to the drainage of the roof from the rains. In an exceptional way, a sewer was built into the walls, with the aim of draining the water into an underground concrete tank /below the level of the yard/. This system, characteristic of its era and of France, was first found in Burgas, and perhaps it was carried out in connection with the fact that at the beginning of the century, in the central city part of Burgas, there was no water supply and sewage system. The water under the underground tank, relatively clean, was used for domestic purposes. Unfortunately, when the roof was repaired, this system was not restored, due to ignorance of it and forgotten habits and skills in the art of construction.
Inspired by the exterior architectural French layout, we gave new life to the house and named it "Promenade" or "walk by the sea". After the renovation, the villa is a 5-star accommodation. For the convenience of its guests, the villa offers a sauna, a gym, an equipped kitchen and an outdoor yard. Guests will enjoy the grace and intimate-coquettish character of the villa, inspired by Floreal style interior design. Guests will find the combination of a place to relax and a work area, decorated with original works of art (plastics and paintings). The atmosphere of the French Secession is recreated through furniture made of natural materials with an author's design.
The maximum capacity of Villa "Promenade" is 10 people, which makes it extremely suitable for team building and business presentations. Ideally located with easy access to high streets, shops, restaurants, cafes, galleries, summer theatre, train station, bus stops, ports here is the famous Burgas bridge. Guests of our hotel can choose one of 5 rooms, all exquisitely decorated in a classic style combined with unique comfort and warmth, which makes them an ideal place for a vacation, business trip or just a leisurely weekend.
Villa "Promenade" offers:
- free parking (limited spaces)
- high-speed Internet
- free in-room safe
- private outdoor patio with garden furniture
- luxury cosmetics
- sauna
- fitness
- equipped kitchen
- iron and ironing board in each room
- transfer
- rent a car
- a restaurant
- washing and ironing
- coffee maker in every room
- free beach towels
As a compliment, our guests receive a free minibar: soft drinks, wine, different types of aromatic Italian coffee and chocolate bars.
The villa is cleaned with the most modern technologies in the field of cleaning and fighting asthma and allergies, using water that has certificates: Asthma & Allergy friendly. The rooms are sealed with a germicidal lamp.