It seems that in the history of the region one man was busier than all the others put together. If there is one name that crops up over and over again as you wander around Veliko Turnovo it is that of Kolyo Ficheto.

His statue sits in the green area outside the Museum for Bulgarian Revival, a building he in fact designed and built originally as the town hall for the then Turkish rulers in 1876. He is also the master builder of the House with the Monkey, Hadzhi Nikoli's Inn, St. Nicholas Church, the Church of Sts. Constantine and Elena, the Church of Sts. Kiril and Methodi, the belfry at Preobrazhenski Monastery and many other notable buildings in the region.

Born in 1800 in the town of Dryanovo, Nikola Fichev was orphaned by the age of three. From the age of ten he served as an apprentice with the master craftsmen in Tryavna, before setting out on travels, acquiring various building skills on the way. By the age of 36 he was fully recognised as a master craftsman. He died in Turnovo in 1881. His other notable works include the Byala Bridge, the covered bridge in Lovech, and the Church of the Holy Trinity in Shvishtov. There is a museum dedicated to his life and work in his birth town of Dryanovo.