Gabrovo

Climate in Gabrovo

Due to its proximity to the Balkan Mountains and distance from the Black Sea, the city enjoys a continental climate. Gabrovo has hot summers and cold, snowy winters, which is ideal for the surrounding Uzana area’s famed ski resorts. This region of Bulgaria has all four seasons, however spring is short and peaks in April. The average daily high temperature in the summer is around 27 °C, while the average daily high temperature in the winter is approximately 4 °C.

Population of Gabrovo

Gabrovo’s population quadrupled in the post-World War II years. With global demographic trends in Bulgaria, the country’s population began to decline following the collapse of Communism. Individuals began emigrating overseas or to the capital Sofia. Gabrovo is now more than 20,000 persons short of its 1985-1991 high, when the population topped 80,000. The following table summarizes the population change since the country’s freedom in 1887. According to Census 2011, the town has a population of 58,950 residents as of February 2011.

According to the most recent 2011 census statistics, those who indicated their ethnic identification were divided into the following categories:

• Bulgarians: 54,227 (97.9%)
• Turks: 473 (0.9%)
• Roma: 343 (0.6%)
• Others: 193 (0.3%)
• Indefinable: 151 (0.3%)
• Undeclared: 3,563 (6.0%)

Culture of Gabrovo

Gabrovo, internationally renowned as a center of humour and satire, is home to two theatres, the Racho Stoyanov Drama Theatre and the puppet theatre, as well as a House of Humour and Satire that functions as a cultural institution, a center, a museum, and gallery dedicated to popularizing comedic art. There is a theater, Aleko Cinema, as well as museums and memorial homes in and around the town, most notably the Etar Architectural-Ethnographic Complex and the Aprilov National High School’s National Museum of Education.

Gabrovo organizes an annual Carnival of Humor and Satire on a Saturday around the week of May 21, with the tagline in Bulgarian „Da izkukurigame ot smyah“ (translating to „Let’s go insane from laughing“). On carnival day, the streets of Gabrovo are teeming with colorful characters such as masked musketeers, bullfighters, shamans, and gypsies. Additionally, the carnival is well-known for its use of traditional Balkan melodies, folklore dancers, and an abundance of Gabrovo humour and culture.

History of Gabrovo

Gabrovo is a remarkable town with a fascinating history. Turnovgrad’s metamorphosis as the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom in the 12th century, as well as the subsequent importance of the route flowing through the „Shipka“ Pass, mark the beginning of its history. A community was established and populated by individuals who were open-minded and skilled in battle and accepted responsibility for the road’s defense. They had the benefit of paying lower taxes and retaining control of their land and produce. The indigenous people integrated their life into the Bulgarian state. They built a church and a monastery and established a connection between their life and the transportation of St. Petka’s remains. Even now, her cult is maintained. The Ottoman invasion of the state had little effect on their means of subsistence and had little effect on their adherence to orthodoxy, manners, and traditions. They continued to defend the pass, and as such were assigned to detachments of the ‘dervetnzhii,’ as road guards were referred to at the period. Their role was to protect passing caravans and government workers. They were briefly associated with the territories of an army commander but eventually became a part of the grand vizier’s people. The Aga of the „had“ (land) was a representation of the ‘king’s’ authority, the head of the military band was a Bulgarian, and the local priest was a leader of the population. They received a sultan’s resolution, approved by each succeeding sultan, for privileges like as carrying firearms, not supplying food for important military forces, and half-payment of taxes. Their population rose throughout time – from 96 households in 1478 to 500 families in 1545, the population reached around 3000 individuals by the end of the 17th century.

Although historical accounts depict them as physically disparate, they were mostly youthful, of ordinary height, with brown hair, beards, moustaches, and shaven heads. They took pleasure in their independence, as Evliya Chelebi, one of the most renowned Turkish travelers, reported in 1662, when he was forced to defend himself against a military squad equipped with rifles and axes and carrying a drum, as well as a banner with the Christian cross. The Gabrovo people established the four fundamental foundations of the Bulgarian nation: the Bulgarian community, the movement for an independent church, the new Bulgarian school, and the struggle for the recognition of Bulgarians as a distinct country inside the Ottoman Empire’s borders. The mayors of Gabrovo, dubbed „chorbadzhii“ (wealthy men), spoke with authority before the voivode (chieftain) of Turnovo and even before The Great Gate in Tsarigrad (Istanbul). A Gabrovo citizen orchestrated the building of the first Bulgarian orthodox church in Tsarigrad, as well as the issuance of a sultan’s order separating the Bulgarian nation from the ‘rumeli milet’ (Byzantine people) community represented by the Greek Ecumenical Patriarchate. The first secular school in modern Bulgaria was established with money provided by the citizens of Gabrovo and on Vasil Aprilov’s initiative. The school served as a model for education in Bulgaria.

Gabrovo was one of the ten Bulgarian towns that made the biggest contribution to the triumphant outcome throughout the years of the Russian-Turkish liberation struggle. Locals reinforced the volunteer bands, provided protective bands and laborers for road construction, as well as defense and military equipment construction; they spied out the ground and directed the military columns south of the Balkan Mountain Range in the direction of the Russian forces; they provided shelter for thousands of refugees, established hospitals, orphanages, and homes for the elderly; and, at the conclusion of the battles, they also established a camp for the captured Turkish soldier.

Gabrovo intelligentsia formed the core of the newly founded state’s government, contributing representatives such as the first prime minister, a minister of education, and a minister of war. Their influence was centered on the establishment of Bulgarian industry via Ivan Kalpazanov’s firms and those that followed. Ivan H. Berov introduced electricity into his manufacturing process, among other advancements. As a result, he was dubbed ‘the Japanese in the Balkans’. Pencho Semov developed and honed his entrepreneurial talents at Gabrovo, where he was dubbed ‘the Bulgarian Rockefeller’ by his peers. Due to the town’s enormous industrial capacity, the English dubbed it ‘the Bulgarian Manchester’. Participants in the merger of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia, the proclamation of Bulgarian independence, and the liberation fights for Bulgarian territories in the Edirne area of Thrace and Macedonia epitomize the Gabrovo people’s national pride. Gabrovo produced ten ministers, eleven generals, and twenty-five prominent manufacturers, authors, poets, and scientists. Prior to 1944, the successes of the preceding years laid the groundwork for an industrial town renowned for its weaving, knitwear, leather, and telpher industries, as well as for its technical research institutions. The 1989 developments led in the transition of industrial ‘giants’ into small and medium-sized robotized businesses selling their products worldwide.

Etar Architectural-Ethnographic Complex

Winter hours are limited; spring, summer, and fall hours are normal. Often referred to as Etura, this is a replica of a Bulgarian Revival Village in the style of Gabrovo in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The complex, which was built in the 1960s, is home to a variety of stores and crafts, including wood carving, ceramics, coppersmith skills, furriery, cutlery manufacturing, and embroidery. Additionally, there are souvenir shops and a three-star hotel with a bar and restaurant nearby. Entrance fee is 5 lev.

The House of Humour and Satire

Gabrovo and its inhabitants gained a reputation for being skinflints throughout the generations. The town’s sign, a black cat without its tail, derives from the tradition that the people are so frugal that they cut the cat’s tails in order to open and close the door as fast as possible, thereby conserving heat! To their credit, the inhabitants of Gabrovo adopted this reputation and developed it further, finally constructing a museum in the city that encompasses both this renown and other facets of Bulgarian culture and Gabrovo’s arts. Entrance fee is 5 lev. 

Ethnographic Village of Bozhentsi

Bozhentsi, a hamlet and architectural reserve in Gabrovo municipality, was declared an architectural and historical reserve in 1964 and is included on UNESCO’s list of cultural monuments. A Roman bridge sits east of the settlement, and on the other side, a wooded trail leads to Tryavna. As a village, there is no admission fee; however, several of the community’s museums do charge admission.

Shipka Memorial

A monument to those who perished fighting for Bulgaria’s liberation during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78’s Battles of Shipka Pass. The inside of the 31.5-meter (98-foot) high stone tower has replicas of Bulgarian military flags and other antiques, while the top of the tower provides a panoramic view of Shipka Peak and the surrounding region.

Dryanovo Monastery

A functional Bulgarian Orthodox monastery located in the Andaka River Valley. Founded in the 12th century under the Second Bulgarian Empire, it is dedicated to Archangel Michael. After being destroyed and pillaged twice under the Ottoman control of Bulgaria, the monastery was rebuilt in its current location in 1845. It was the scene of several clashes during the 1876 April Uprising. There is no entrance cost. 

Gradishte

It is open 24 hours a day, albeit it is unpleasant and difficult to reach during the winter. This location has the remnants of an ancient fortification, a picnic area, a children’s playground, and gorgeous pine woods. Additionally, the Gradishte location offers a cliff-top vista of Gabrovo. It is a free public park and historic site.

Sokolski Monastery

The Sokolski Monastery is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery named after its founder Yosif Sokolski. It was established in 1833. It is located in the Bulgarka Nature Park, near the Sokolovo cave. The whole monastery was constructed during the Bulgarian National Revival with the enthusiastic backing of the Gabrovo and surrounding villages. Additionally, the monastery played a significant part in the April Uprising. Spartan rooms are on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no entrance cost. 

Regional Historical Museum

The Historical Museum is a vital part of Gabrovo’s cultural life. The origin goes all the way back to 1883, when Raicho Karolev, the headmaster of Aprilov High School, created the first museum collection. Today, the museum is situated in a magnificent baroque structure constructed in 1904. Its extensive collection spans the Paleolithic age, late-ancient civilization on these territories (4th-6th centuries BC), the First and Second Bulgarian Kingdoms, the Ottoman Empire, the Revival period, and the industrial boom, up to the current day. Entrance fee is 5 lev.

Hristo Tsekov Gallery

The gallery first opened its doors in 1974. It is named after the first professional Bulgarian artist, who was born in Gabrovo and graduated from Moscow’s Art School. Its permanent display has priceless models of icons from Tryavna’s icon-painting school. The gallery is comprised of four display spaces totaling 3000 m2.