There are few places in Plovdiv that preserve such a rich and international history as the building of today's National School of Music and Dance "Dobrin Petkov". Few know that it was once home to the German School - one of the most prestigious foreign educational institutions in the city in the first half of the 20th century.
Its history begins at the end of the 19th century, when the construction of the Baron Hirsch Railway attracted specialists from German-speaking countries to Plovdiv. This happened in the 1870s, when the Plovdiv railway station was also opened. Gradually, the line expanded and after the Liberation, various specialists from German-speaking countries remained in Bulgaria.
For the children of Germans, Austrians and Swiss working on the line, the German School was opened in 1901 - at that time a small junior high school with only about thirty students.
Over time, the school became an attractive place not only for foreigners, but also for local families. By 1905, the number of Bulgarian children was almost equal to that of children from Austria-Hungary, and the following decade marked a real upswing – over 100 Bulgarian students attended the school by 1915.
After a short interruption during the First World War, the German School was resurrected in the 1919/20 school year, again with the ambition to be among the best. In 1926, a new stage in its history began – the construction of an impressive building designed by architect Nikola Kostov, who also stands behind the Burgas railway station. The building on G. M. Dimitrov Street (then Stefan Stambolov Street) became the architectural pride of the city.
In the 1930s, the school already had nearly 450 students and ranked among the most elite foreign schools in Plovdiv – the French colleges and the Italian high schools. However, it experienced a turbulent period after 1933, when German educational institutions abroad fell under the influence of the new political ideology in Berlin.
In 1940, the German School became a full high school and received a new wing – including the beautiful auditorium, which we know today as the Music School hall. But its fate was short: after 1944, with the changes in the country, all German and Western schools were closed.
The building survived, changing its spirit, but not its meaning – from a place where German culture and language were studied, it became a home for music, talents and art.
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