Currency of Bulgaria 2000 Leva banknote 1996
Bulgarian National Bank - Българска народна банка
Obverse: A portrait of the architect Nikola Fichev (master Kolyo Ficheto), a hologram stripe with rhomboid elements.
Reverse: His works: the "Holy Trinity" Church in the town of Svishtov, the bridge near Byala.
Size: 155 х 77 mm.
Watermark: a portrait of Nikola Fichev.
Security thread: a thread with the initials ‘БНБ’ (BNB) appearing as as a microtext.
Marks for visually impaired people: two rectangles.
In circulation: from May 1996 to 31 December 1999.
Bulgarian banknotes - Bulgaria paper money
1991-1997 Issue
20 Leva 50 Leva 100 Leva 200 Leva 500 Leva 1000 Leva 2000 Leva 5000 Leva 10000 Leva Vladimir Dimitrov 10000 Leva Petar Beron
50000 Leva
Nikola Fichev
Nikola Fichev (Bulgarian: Никола Фичев) (1800-1881), commonly known as Kolyu Ficheto (Bulgarian: Колю Фичето), was a Bulgarian National Revival architect, builder and sculptor born in Dryanovo in 1800.
Left an orphan without a father at the age of three, Kolyu Ficheto was taught craftsmanship by the masterhands in the Tryavna town since he was ten. He learned stonecutting in the Albanian town of Korçë when he was 17, and then mastered the construction of churches, bell towers and bridges from the craftsmen in Bratsigovo.
Kolyu Ficheto became a journeyman at the age of 23 and was fully recognized as a master craftsman by the whole builders' guild at 36. Aside from his native language Bulgarian, he spoke fluent Turkish and good Greek and Romanian, but was illiterate, unable to read and write. Kolyu Ficheto is known for having lain under one of his own bridges to guarantee its safety with his life.
Fichev died in Veliko Tarnovo, where he was buried, in 1881.
Some of his notable works include the Byala Bridge (Беленски мост, Belenski most) over the Yantra River close to Byala (1865-1867), the Covered Bridge in Lovech over the Osam (1872-1874), churches in his native town, as well as in Svishtov (Church of the Holy Trinity, 1867) and Veliko Tarnovo (1844), where he also designed a number of houses and public buildings.
Church of the Holy Trinity, Svishtov
The Church of the Holy Trinity (Bulgarian: Църква „Света Троица“, Tsarkva „Sveta Troitsa“) is a 19th-century Bulgarian Orthodox church in the northern Bulgarian town of Svishtov and one of the finest examples of late Bulgarian National Revival church architecture.
A work of the best-known Bulgarian architect of the period, Nikola Fichev, the church was inaugurated on 19 September 1867 and constructed on the highest spot in the town. The three-naved church features a central dome and an elongated 30 m-long body with thin and high columns supporting the naves, as well as three smaller domes. The design of the façades is particularly remarkable. Fichev notably broke the Orthodox architectural canon by making the whole east façade a giant undulating apse.
The iconostasis, 16 m long and an average 10 m high, was created by Anton Peshev from Debar in 1870–1872 and the 73 icons were painted by Nikolai Pavlovich, a master from Svishtov. The bell tower, stylistically a reference to Baroque architecture, was added in 1883–1886 and designed by Gencho Novakov.
Several important figures, including the first Bulgarian Exarch Antim I (1872), the Metropolitan of Tarnovo Ilarion Makariopolski (1872) and the eparchial metropolitan bishop Clement of Tarnovo (1889) have held services in the church. It was also visited by Russian Emperor Alexander II, who attended the service on 28 June 1877. Alexander II also donated six bells for the bell tower.
The Church of the Holy Trinity suffered damage from an earthquake on 4 March 1977, but was subsequently restored. Today, the church with its iconostasis is a cultural monument of national importance.