Address: 5300 Gabrovo, Nikolaevska str. 10
Phone: +359 66 809767
E-mail: museum_gabrovo@abv.bg
The Historical Museum takes an important place in the cultural life of Gabrovo. The beginning dates back to the first museum collection initiated in 1883 in Aprilov High School by the school principal Raicho Karolev. Nowadays the museum is housed in a beautiful baroque building built in 1904. Its rich collection includes 90 000 exhibits from the Paleolithic era, the late-ancient civilization on these lands (IV-VI centuries BC.), the First and Second Bulgarian Kingdom, the Ottoman Empire, the Revival period and the industrial boom, up to present days. Among its valuables are the following:
Remains from the life of the first modern people in Europe;
A numismatic collection;
The second most important collection of traditional and urban clothing and accessories;
The first Bulgarian banknote of 20 Bulgarian levs, etc.
The main exhibition is called ‘Gabrovo and Gabrovians’. It traces the early beginning, progress and advancement of Gabrovo, starting from a little settlement of the protectors of the pass and turning into an enlightened town of craftsmen up to a centre of the textile industry. Five expositions represent a banker’s office, sample exhibition stands, stylishly-furnished drawing room of a well-off Gabrovian family in addition to a church plates collection made by a local master goldsmith. In the central hall ceremonies are held to honour citizens who have contributed to the town’s history.
The sites intended for temporary exhibitions are used by visiting museum exhibitions, galleries, collectors of antique objects and people connected to art. The donation made by the sculptor Mityo Solakov is also a permanent exhibition. The museum offers a sightseeing tour of the town, historical references and analysis of cultural records, as well as bibliographies of important personalities and events of the local history.