Description of the attraction
The Ethnographic Museum in the village of Belchin, which is a branch of the Historical Museum in the city of Samokov, was opened in 2007. Its foundation is associated with the initiative to develop cultural and historical tourism in the region through the formation of a single cultural and historical complex in the village of Belchin (it includes the medieval church of Holy Friday, the Ethnographic Museum, an ancient fortress and an early Christian church on the hill "Holy Savior").
A special building was built for the needs of the museum. The construction took into account how the new building will fit into the existing architectural ensemble (nearby, at the foot of the Holy Savior Hill, is the restored medieval church "St. Petka"). In order for the museum building to be in harmony with the spirit of the place, it was designed as a conceptual replication of the Koprivshtitsa house of the first half of the 19th century (there are such buildings in the village of Belchin).
The theme of the museum covers the peculiarities of life, culture and traditions of the local population over the centuries. The exterior and interior of the building reproduce the features of a typical Balkan residential building of the first half of the 19th century. On the ground floor, there are premises for making homemade products and warehouses for storing them. This part of the exhibition, partially located in the open air, tells about the traditional domestic activities of the local population, housekeeping.
The exposition on the second floor is contrasted with what guests of the museum will see below: white-painted walls, a spacious open veranda, carved wooden railings. Here you can see various household items, clothes, hunting weapons, documents and other equally interesting exhibits reflecting the peculiarities of the life and culture of the average family of local residents.
