Velyan's House

Velyan's House in Bansko, Bulgaria, is a National Revival building declared a cultural monument of national significance in 1967. It was built in the 18th century and remodelled and painted by Velyan Ognenov, a renowned representative of the Debar School of Art, who received it as a gift in the 1830s.

Architecturally, the house has two storeys: a ground floor of more substantial stone masonry and a residential floor. Its fortified core lies in the southern part of the building. The ground floor contains a cellar and a two-part hiding place, partly lit. A masonry staircase links the hiding place's vestibule with a room in the fortified core. The upper floor has a draught-proof entrance hall, a room with a hearth and a steep fixed staircase to the attic.

The building is distinguished by the decorative treatment of its façades and interior, including woodcarving and wall paintings. The façades are adorned with various elements, including panels of plant compositions, Baroque features, branches and birds. The wall paintings depict landscapes, fortresses, churches and scenes of everyday life. The woodcarving includes rich ornamentation, a rosette on the veranda ceiling and column capitals.

Velyan's House is an excellent example of Bansko's fortified architecture and an important monument of the town's cultural heritage.