In an age when we can track the location and monitor the behavior of hundreds of people through their profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, it may seem strange that many Revival-era houses in Old Plovdiv had a specially designated nook called the “gossip corner” (klyukarnik).
It was usually located on the ground floor. Its purpose was to provide visibility to the street and as wide a view as possible of the surroundings.
In reality, it's unlikely that anyone spent hours specifically watching the flow of people. The idea behind this was a person to be able to see who was knocking at the door before opening it to a visitor.
If you walk through the cobbled streets of Old Plovdiv, you will definitely notice several such “gossip corners”.
One is at the Kuyumdzhioglu House ( the Ethnographic Museum of Plovdiv). Previously, there was another property in that spot, which Argir bought after becoming wealthy.
Another well-known gossip corner is in the Nedkovich House, which is well designed and equipped with windows facing the street, allowing for direct connection to life outside.
Next to it, in the Georgiadi House, which houses the “Bulgarian National Revival” exhibition, the salon on the first floor is designed as a covered courtyard and a kind of extension of the city street into the inner courtyard of the building.
And if you turn onto the street where the Hindliyan House and the Tsanko Lavrenov exhibition are located, you’ll also encounter this interesting architectural detail—in the house of Artin Gidikov. Built in 1848, it is also part of the architectural and historical reserve. During the April Uprising in 1876, it saved the lives of 52 sentenced revolutionaries from Plovdiv and the surrounding area.
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