The building is mostly associated with negative events—arrested criminals, various types of court cases, and administration considered by some people to be dull, which deals with companies, criminal record certificates, and similar bureaucracy.
However, the truth is that the building's initial history is connected to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Plovdiv. After the unit was established and its activities gradually expanded over the years, it was decided in the late 1930s that a representative building had to be built. This happened in 1938, when the construction began. The design was commissioned to Dimitar Popov and Svetoslav Grozev, and the construction lasted until 1941, when the building was consecrated on March 6.
The design is quite strict, typical for a serious building of such kind. It also carries many of the traits common to the architectural modernism in Bulgaria between the two world wars. It had three floors, two large halls, and two separate staircases. The larger entrance and staircase led to the two halls—one which is directly above the main entrance and the other facing north, today overlooking the inner courtyard.
The flooring is made of large black-and-white marble tiles. Beautiful smooth marble tablets with striking veining were used around the door frames. The walls are clad in travertine. Every detail is meticulously crafted. In many places today, the window-opening mechanisms can still be seen, along with the name of the company that made them—Germany's Kiekert, which still exists today and manufactures locking systems for customers around the world.
The smaller rooms are located in the western part—here, the flooring consists of black-and-white checkered mosaic tiles, also typical for the modernism in Bulgaria in the 1930s. The staircase also features a characteristic modernist element—tall, narrow vertical window slits. The handrails are tubular. Extremely interesting and unusual for the country—but found in other buildings in Plovdiv—is the design of the underside of the staircases. Instead of smooth, sloping surfaces, they are stepped underneath.
The exterior of the building is also very interesting. The facade is clad in stone, stripped of unnecessary details, of which there are very few. These are mainly found on the two doors—the larger one from the eastern entrance and the smaller one from the western entrance. The metal medallions on the door depict symbols typical of industry—a stylized factory, gears, wheat sheaves, and Mercury, the protector of merchants. Similar elements can be seen above the main entrance of the building, below the cornice. These elements can also be found in other similar buildings related to commerce throughout the country.
Today, the building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry has undergone some changes, primarily during the socialist period. Even after the Liberation, Plovdiv faced difficulties in constructing a building for the judiciary. Many options for location, types of financing, etc., were discussed, but by 1944, no such building had been created. After 9 September 1994, the Chamber of Commerce was closed, and the building was taken over, with the Plovdiv court moving in shortly after.
One of the major changes was the addition of a fourth floor, in a style that was atypical and inappropriate for modernism. The sloping roof from the 1938 design was removed and replaced with the current mansard floor. Another significant change occurred in the early 1980s, when a building was constructed to the north, connecting the two with a warm passage. Today, the two buildings house the District and Regional Courts, as well as other institutions. Numerous interior renovations have been made.
However, much of the charm of the authentic building is still preserved. Among the elements are the natural material flooring and wall cladding, the staircases, the window openings (some window frames have been replaced, but others are intact), some of the very specific doors with metal tubular handles, the stairway railings, and much of the exterior—the beautiful doors, small details, and the stone facade itself.
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