Dimitar Sergiuv was born in 1806 in the village of Bochukovtsi, Dryanovo region. He studied the building trade under his father, First Master Sergyu, and went through all the stages of training – apprentice, assistant, and as an independent master who began work as such around 1830. Moving to Tryavna, “beyond the bridge” in the Upper Neighbourhood, he built his own home in 1845. Also known as Dosyu Kubrata, he designed and built houses, churches, bridges himself and in his own recognizable manner. He trained students, such as Master Gencho Kanev, Master Gencho Novakov and others, who applied the features of his style and built buildings based on his designs in different regions of the country.
His grandson Petar Dimitrov Sergiev told stories of how “Master Dimitar negotiated the conditions of the construction works without witnesses – outside. He would close himself outside in the “big room” of his house and there, from the waxes he melted on the brazier, he would fold the skeleton of the building <…> This skeleton served as a model for the owner and a plan for the master builder.”
For his mastery Dimitar Sergiuv was awarded by the Ottoman administration with the title “architecton”, i.e. architect-practitioner (first master). He was given the right to draw up projects and to draw up the financial part of their execution. His distinctive feature was the inscription of the start or end date of the construction. He built thirteen houses and two bridges in Tryavna, a school together with Gencho Kanev in Targovishte and numerous churches throughout the Bulgarian lands. The churches in Targovishte, Lyaskovets, Enchovtsi, Tryavna, Chervena Voda, Kotel are among his best creations. He introduced a second staircase to the emporium (balcony) in the church, which is built into the walls, and the balcony circles the entire interior space of the church. His buildings are symmetrical, heavy and opulent structures in which space and light are an important element of the architecture.
By virtue of his creativity in our Renaissance architecture Dimitar Sergiuv stands on a par with First Master Nikola Fichev and First Master Gencho Kanev. He was one of the most famous builders in Northern Bulgaria in the first half of the 19th century.
The master, who created the whole Renaissance look of Tryavna, passed away in 1864 or 1865.