The Canetti House was built and used as a business and commercial building by the Canetti family (Elias Canetti’s father and grandfather). It was planned by the architect Nikos Bedrosyan and built in 1898. The store dealt with wholesale groceries. In his memoires (“The Tongue set Free“) Elias Canetti reconsiders his early childhood memories of the store. After the Canetti family had left Ruse, a furniture store was situated in the building. Since 1999 the building is used by the IECS.

During the last years the house became an alternative venue for concerts, performances and fine arts. The IECS successfully established the house as a space for contemporary art and culture and as a meeting point for the young generation.

The building has not been renovated and needs an urgent reconstruction to prevent further damage to its main structure. The IECS wants to maintain the building as an important cultural space in Ruse and to preserve the building itself.