The Open Air Ethnographic Museum «Etar» ( bg, Етнографски музей на открито „Етър“, usually referred to as Етъра, Etara) is an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

and a neighbourhood of

Gabrovo Gabrovo ( bg, Габрово ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an internationa ...

(8 km south of its center) in northern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. It is on the northern edge of the

Bulgarka Nature Park The Bulgarka Natural Park (Bulgarian: Природен парк ″Българка″) is a Bulgarian nature park on the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina), occupying 22,000 hectares of territory in the central and eastern ...

, between the park and the city of Gabrovo. It presents the Bulgarian customs, culture and craftsmanship. It spans over an area of 7 ha and contains a total of 50 objects, including water installations and houses with craftsmen's workshops attached. As a whole, the complex's goal is to illustrate the architecture, way of life and economy of Gabrovo and the region during the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

The museum's construction started in 1963 under the direction and project of Lazar Donkov. The pre-existing Karadzheyka

water-mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

, built around 1780, was thoroughly reconstructed, with the other objects being constructed later. The complex was opened on 7 September 1964 and proclaimed a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in 1967, as well as a monument of culture in 1971. The park features typical

Bulgarian revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

houses with two floors, bay windows, a clock tower, and a beautifully decorated house by Saakov featuring 21 windows. Using original instruments and following the old traditions, locals represent around 20 characteristics of the regional crafts such as

wood-carving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

coppersmith A coppersmith, also known as a brazier, is a person who makes artifacts from copper and brass. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The term "redsmith" is used for a tinsmith that uses tinsmithing tools and techniques to make copper items. Hi ...

crafts, furriery,

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...

making,

needlework Needlework is decorative sewing and textile arts handicrafts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework. Needlework may include related textile crafts such as crochet, worked with a hook, or tatting, worked with a ...

etc. There are shops for souvenirs. There are numerous restaurants in the park where tourist could consume local

Bulgarian cuisine Bulgarian cuisine ( bg, българска кухня , translit=bǎlgarska kuhnja) is part of the cuisine of Southeast Europe, sharing characteristics with other Balkan cuisines. Bulgarian cooking traditions are diverse because of geographical f ...

. There are visitors to the park, from all over the world, all the year round, especially during the annual Christian festivals celebrated in the park, namely,

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...

and

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

Sokolski Monastery The Sokolski Monastery is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery founded in 1833 and named after its founder Yosif Sokolski. It is located 15 km southwest of Gabrovo on the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains in the Bulgarka Nature Park and is clos ...

is situated several kilometers away from Etar.

Gallery

File:Etura Gabrovo 10.JPG File:Etura Gabrovo 2.JPG File:Etura Gabrovo 6.JPG File:Etura Gabrovo 9.JPG File:Etura Gabrovo 1.JPG File:Etura Gabrovo 8.JPG File:Etar09.JPG File:Etar08.JPG File:Etura Gabrovo 11.JPG File:Etura Gabrovo 17.JPG File:Etura Gabrovo 3.JPG File:Bulgaria Etara-02.jpg File:Old-bench-from-Etara.jpg, Ancient bench File:EtaraCharkove.jpg, Early 19th century

braiding A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...

machines File:Etar05.JPG File:Etar07.JPG File:Etar2.webm, Video: Water equipments in Etar museum

External links

Official website

Pictures from Etara

Photos from Ethnographic museum Etar
{{commons category, Etar Museums in Gabrovo Province Balkan mountains Open-air museums in Bulgaria Gabrovo History museums in Bulgaria Ethnography of Bulgaria Articles containing video clips Living museums

Gallery

See also

External links