The Old Houses of Tutrakan 
Petar Keremedchiev (Kel Petraki) House
By houseadmin in The Old Houses on 09.05.2021
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Address – Tutrakan, 3 Ivan Vazov Str. | GPS: 44.04899, 26.60814
The house was built in 1920 and belongs to Petar Keremedchiev (called Kel Petrake) – a large landowner, a grain grower, one of the leading figures among the Bulgarians in Tutrakan during the Romanian occupation. He owned 12,000 decares of land in the land of the villages of Shumentsi and Varnentsi and was engaged in trade and usury. In the almanac from 1917 P.Yu. Keremedchiev is mentioned as the sole owner of a mill, and together with Stoyko Dimov are the only mentioned farmsteads.
After 1944, the house was nationalised and housed the Tutrakan Polyclinic, headed by Dr. Pavel Dosev. In the house-polyclinic there was an office for women’s and children’s consultation, as well as a dentist’s office with a dental laboratory. At the same time, a maternity hospital was functioning in neighboring houses – first in the one opposite Ivan Vazov at 18 and then at 32.
After the polyclinic was removed from the house, it was bought by the dentist Dr. Ruseva and her husband, who after the divorce divided the property in two and the part of Dr. Ruseva was bought in the 70s by Racho Zmeev – a local historian, born in 1929 in Tutrakan. He created the first fishing museum in Tutrakan and arranged the first local history museum collection on the history of Tutrakan, opened on May 22, 1967. He enriched the local history of Dobrudzha with his works: “Tutrakan” (1971-1987), “Fishing in Tutrakan from the past to the present days “(1973),” Boatbuilding in Tutrakan “(1974),” Double-wing windmills in Danube Dobrudja “(1985),” Floating mills in Danube Dobrudja “(1988),” Traditional fishing in Danube Dobrudja (“collection” Dobrudja ” 1992). He is involved in the preparation of the encyclopedia “Dobrudja – Ludogorie”.
The house is built with typical post-liberation urban architecture, two-storey, the first floor is half dug. Although it is located on a small inner street and does not look impressive at first glance, in fact its location was chosen with a very nice view of the Danube and the mouth of the Arges River, which can be seen through the windows of the house to the north and from the yard. The walls are massive, built of baked bricks plastered with mortar. The window cornices are still preserved. The interiors are high and spacious.
For the past more than 50 years, the house has been used as two separate properties, but fortunately in early 2021 they were purchased by a single owner and repair work is currently underway to preserve this hidden architectural gem.
