Ivan Denkoglu

Ivan Nikolaevich Denkoglu (1781-1861) was a Bulgarian patron of education during the National Revival. He was born in the village of Balsha, Sofia region, and later moved to Russia where he became a merchant and achieved significant wealth. Using his own funds – 30,000 pennies, in 1849 he built the first modern school in Sofia in the courtyard of St. Nedelya church. Later the school was named after him. As long as he was alive, Denkoglu took care of the school – bought books and training aids, provided teachers, granted big amounts for repair and expansion of the school. At the end of his life he left 10,000 silver rubles for the maintenance of the school. After the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman yoke the annual interests were used for establishing Ivan Denkoglu fund. The municipality used the money for the purchase of building at the corner of the Vitoshka and Alabinska streets (today the building of the Court Palace rises there). Denkoglu’s school was accommodated there, but it was burned down after the end of the Russo-Turkish war (1877-1878).