Bulgaria's former shoe capital. Welcome to Gabrovo.

A haute couture shoe-selling garage in one of the yards of central Gabrovo.

In central Bulgaria - almost at the very centre of it - there is a long, ugly, and, in a way, quirky town of Gabrovo, also known as the country's Capital of Humour. Why? - because nationwide (and even in some areas outside Bulgaria) there have been a lot of jokes about the Gabrovians' stinginess, calculation and overly practicality. The Gabrovians have even got a Museum of Humour & Satire, located in a heavy and grey rectangular building, to prove their reputation.

During the socialist era Gabrovo was also known for its impressive sized shoe factory that provided footwear for all country. Nowadays the factory is in coma, if we use satire; or, if we want to be realistic, simply deserted.

The town stretches along the Yantra river, one that also flows through the neighbouring Etara crafts' village. The town itself feels a bit like a river, narrow and of nearly 30 kilometres' length. You can walk across easily but for a trip along it is advisable to get a bike or some other form of transport. Even to walk from the old part of the town to the aforementioned Museum of Humour might take you a while.

Although the town's history dates back to the medieval times, most of its current architecture seems to be from the same era as the retired shoe factory. One does not need to travel to Gabrovo solely for architecture; you can see pretty much the same styles at the 'sleeping districts' of Sofia.

On a Saturday night Gabrovo witnesses a few groups of young people, some of them drinking and partying right on the street. Then there are a couple of well hidden bars.

If you are in the area, I recommend spending more time (and sleeping) at the Etara village; and perhaps going for a nice hike to the neighbouring Shara Planina. The latter has got two celebrated peaks with monuments on them: the Shipka Pass with the monument for Bulgarian Freedom, and the UFO-like mysterious abandoned socialism monument.   

As well as that, in order to keep your guts healthy and fit, you can try a bar of Gabrovian chocolate (they sell it in Etara too, along with home made boza, airan, and several other culinary delights).



The hip-hop reunion.

Text and photos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.

Etara, the water-powered crafts' village

The smoke, Etara.

Etara (Etar) is an ethnographic village located 8 kms south from Gabrovo, up the river Yantra.

Although officially an open air museum, the whole complex is a vivid hybrid of craftsmen & artisans at work in their shelters (you may watch them, ask them questions, and buy their ready produce right there on the spot); traditional food kiosks & restaurants; and a whole street of traditional 'National Revival' style houses.

Entry to the street of traditional houses.

Each house on the said street is a mini museum depicting how traditional homes of various craftsmen (ironmongers, tanners, silversmiths, carpenters, weavers, to mention a few) looked like back in the day - typically, with working spaces & shops downstairs, and sleeping quarters upstairs.

At the end of the said street there is a large hotel, built in the same style, offering the option to sleep at the museum. If you are not lucky to secure a room in this hotel do not worry as there are several other guesthouses in Etara, outside the ethnographic complex.

Some of the craftsmen shelters.

All the machinery of the artisans is run by water power - the old-fashioned way. The machines are made mainly of wood and iron, and you are welcome to observe their mechanics, e.g. how a water stream spins a large wheel that connects to a wood carver's lathe, or how a saw, all by itself, slices through a long log. 

Lazar Donkov, the initiator of Etara crafts' village.

Etara crafts village was initiated back in the 1960s by the local artist and ethnographer Lazar Donkov. Although it was intended to demonstrate the traditional ways of the past, it becomes relevant nowadays, as the tendencies towards self-sustainability, zero carbon footprint, small scale production increase. It is a good place to get some ideas, not only to learn about the past.

Several times a year, the village hosts popular festivals & culture events. Meanwhile, outside the crowded days one may equally appreciate the village's beautiful settings, inhale the smells of smoke (among other things, prunes are being smoke-dried here to make the Gabrovian chocolate); wood; leaves and flowers; and listen to the ever present water. 

Watch water at work in Etara:

 Spinning a power wheel.

Sawing a log.

Doing the laundry. 

(The latter one could as well be a spring water jacuzzii).

 

Text, photos and videos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.



Underwater Thracian city of Seuthopolis

View from the Shipka Pass, Stara Planina mountains, Bulgaria. The Koprinka Reservoir that covers the city of Seuthopolis is on the plane in the far distance, a bit to the right. The plane is also known as 'the Valley of the Thracian Kings'.

In the previous post I wrote about the Thracians, the ancient inhabitants of Bulgaria, and mentioned the 'Valley of the Kings' in Central Bulgaria (nowadays also a major Rosa Damascena producing region) - the place where a big concentration of the remaining Thracian architectural constructions can be found.

One of such constructions is the Thracian city of Seuthopolis (4th century BC) - shamefully, put underwater by the communist government. To be more precise, it was discovered in 1948 during the building of the Koprinka Reservoir (dam of the Tundzha river) - and it was marked as the best preserved Thracian city to date - but it was decided to continue with the industrial works anyway and the city was flooded with water.

Now Seuthopolis is about 20 metres underwater. There are no organised diving tours to the site as far as I know but the Bulgarian architect Zkeko Tilev has proposed a plan (one worth at least 50 million euros) to re-claim Seuthopolis from underwater and to make it a major tourist attraction (as well as that the move would enable Seuthopolis to gain a UNESCO World Heritage Site status).

According to the plan, a circular wall around Seuthopolis would be built within the dam - one, similar to those used in archaeological sea excavations - then the water from inside the wall removed. The city would become a 'deep' island within the reservoir. Visitors would reach it by boats and then observe the city from the water level (20 metres above) or they could take a lift down and explore the constructions immediately.   

The summary of the Tilev's proposed plan can be found here (and I strongly recommend to have a look at it as the concept is very interesting).

Worth mentioning is also the fact that the famous Thracian graves in the area (currently appreciated by many tourists, historians and archaeologists alike) are of people from Seuthopolis. That is yet another reason why uncovering the underwater city would make a perfect sense.

Text and photos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.