Description of the attraction
"Etar" is an architectural and historical museum complex located 9 km from Gabrovo. It is located right under the open sky. The purpose of the museum is to give the guests of the complex a full-fledged idea of the life, culture, crafts and architecture of Gabrovo and the region as a whole in the period from the 18th to the 19th century. Etar is the first museum complex of this kind in Bulgaria, it was opened in 1964. Three years later, it became a national park, and in 1971 the newspaper "Derzhaven Vestnik" in No. 101 declared it a cultural monument.
The author of the idea and project is Lazar Donkov, under whose leadership the museum began to be created in 1963. On the territory of the complex, the already existing water mill was first restored, and then they began to engage in the construction of other objects. In general, the museum was replenished mainly in three ways: restoration of objects on site, relocation of structures without any changes, copying of original objects.
The museum unites 50 ancient objects. Among them are various water features and houses that house craft workshops. It is here that 10 objects are collected, the mechanisms of which are driven by water. This collection is one of the richest and most technically superbly organized exhibits of any open-air museum in Europe. The museum staff managed to preserve the authentic principle of the structure and operation of all mechanisms (mills, grinders and felts), which is the main feature of the Etar Museum. Thanks to this, the water wheel became the symbol of the complex.
In the ethnographic village "Etar", on the street of merchants and artisans, there are copies of 16 houses that once existed in Gabrovo and its environs. Here you can watch the work of real artisans and learn how in the past centuries pottery, various dishes were made, botalo for livestock, as well as how skins and furs were made, and much more. Visitors, after getting acquainted with the intricacies of crafts, can purchase the products they have seen. The complex also accepts applications for training in traditional Bulgarian crafts.
In the museum complex, during religious holidays, performances are held according to ancient customs.
On the territory of the complex there is a hotel and a restaurant, which serves traditional cuisine of the area, prepared according to ancient Bulgarian recipes.
