The Plovdiv Regional Ethnographic Museum ( bg, Регионален етнографски музей — Пловдив, ''Regionalen etnografski muzey — Plovdiv'') is a museum of
ethnography
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
in
Plovdiv
Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...
,
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 ...
. Since 1938, it has occupied the 1847 house of the merchant, Argir Kuyumdzhioglu, in the city's Old Town. The museum features six exhibitions, each occupying a separate room.
History
Although there had been plans to organize a museum of ethnography in Plovdiv as early as 1891, it was not until 1917 that a Regional Museum was established thanks to the efforts of Stoyu Shishkov, a local scholar and journalist. Shishkov was the museum's first secretary and only employee. In 1931–32, the collection of 500 items was transferred to the Plovdiv National Library and Museum. In 1938, the museum was revived as the Municipal Museum House thanks to the mayor of Plovdiv, Bozhidar Zdravkov, and was organized in the Kuyumdzhioglu House. The museum was officially reopened on 14 October 1943; six years later, the Municipal Museum House became the People's Ethnographic Museum. A permanent exhibition was arranged in 1952 and revised substantially in 1962.
Today, the Plovdiv Regional Ethnographic Museum has a collection of over 40,000 exhibits distributed among the agriculture, crafts, fabrics and clothing, furniture and interior, musical instruments, religious items and works of art exhibits. In addition, the museum boasts a scholarly archive, a library and a photo archive.
Building
![Regional Ethnographic Museum, Plovdiv](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Regional_Ethnographic_Museum%2C_Plovdiv.jpg)
The Kuyumdzhioglu House, the museum's home, was built in 1847 for the Plovdiv merchant, Argir Hristov Kuyumdzhioglu. He was a prominent homespun trader who owned a company in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
The house was constructed by
Hadzhi Georgi, from the
Rhodopean village of
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
, and has been described as a prime example of Plovdiv's mid-19th century
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...
. The house has a symmetric facade; it is two stories tall on its west side and four stories tall on its east side, employing the natural denivelation. The Kuyumdzhioglu House lies near the Plovdiv Old Town's eastern gate, the
Fortress Gate (Хисар капия, ''Hisar kapia''), and spreads over . It has 12 rooms and airy salons. Both the house's interior and exterior decoration rely on sophisticated floral motives. The ceiling in each room is wood-carved. The house has an inner yard with a garden.
After the
Liberation of Bulgaria
The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishme ...
from
Ottoman rule in 1878, Argir Kuyumdzhioglu left Plovdiv to settle in Vienna. From 1898 to 1902, the house was used as a girls' boarding house. Following that it was used by Garabet Karagyozyan's millinery factory, as a flour warehouse and as a vinegar factory. In 1930, it was acquired by the Bulgarian tobacco merchant, Antonio Colaro (Antonii Kolarov from Rouse).
Colaro intended to demolish the house and build a tobacco warehouse, but he was denied permission by the Plovdiv municipality. The municipality bought the house in 1938, carried out renovations, and organized the museum.
Gallery
File:Plovdiv-ethnographic-museum-interior-01.jpg
File:Plovdiv-ethnographic-museum-interior-02.jpg
File:Plovdiv-ethnographic-museum-view-church.jpg
References
External links
*
Regional Ethnographic Museum-Plovdiv at Google Cultural Institute
{{Authority control
Museums in Plovdiv Province
Ethnographic
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
Houses completed in 1847
Ethnographic museums in Europe
Museums established in 1917
1917 establishments in Bulgaria
History museums in Bulgaria
Ethnography of Bulgaria