Marsh Wood Manor

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Architecture: The manor and its outbuildings were built in the Bulgarian Revivalist style during the heyday of that period. The manor house was considered a work of art when it hosted the opening of the social season in 1884.

History: Marsh Wood Manor was built in the 19th century as summer retreat for Baron Natanail Kiril Vodenicharov and his family. Construction was begun in 1879 and finished in 1884; the manor and grounds remained in the possession of the Vodenicharov family until World War II. In late 1944, those aristocrats that hadn't already fled, were hunted down and executed by communist death squads, the Vodenicharov's were one such family.

Though no official records of those events exist, second hand testimony from the families of the soldier suggest that the Vodenicharov family and servants were rounded up and executed in the wine cellar of the manor house.

The manor lay abandoned for ten years and then was taken over by a mid level cabinet minister and his family, who subsequently disappeared. An investigation revealed no sign of foul play, it was ultimately determined that the cabinet minister and his family defected.

The manor lay abandoned for another ten years and then it became the residence of a colonel in the Bulgarian Soviet Army and his family. When the colonel and his men failed to report for duty a month later, the military sent a detachment to investigate. The military records are closed, but rumors spread by the townsfolk suggest that the colonel when from room to room with an AK-47 kill family and soldiers under his command alike. Though tragedies like this had occurred before, the strange thing was that neither the family members or soldiers tried to defend themselves. From this point on, the communist government discouraged anyone from using the manor and orders were drawn up for the destruction of the property - strangely, those orders were never followed up upon.

The manor and grounds wouldn't be used again until the late 1970s when hospitals and prisons were overcrowded with inmates, and the manor was converted to an insane asylum. The asylum operated from 1970 until the fall of communism in 1989. In 1991, the asylum was shut down, the inmates moved to new facilities and it lay empty until 2009 when it was purchased by an aging western tycoon and restored to its original condition. It has remained a possession of the Giovanni Family since that time.

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