The Town
As usual, the more interesting parts of Gabrovo are the older quarters, lying beyond the Igoto Bridge on both sides of the River Yantra which carves through the long, straggling town centre. A statue of Gabrovo's legendary sixteenth-century founder, Racho the Blacksmith, stands on a rock in midstream. Your first port of call if arriving at the nearby bus or train stations, however, will probably be Dom na Humora i Satirata (daily 8.30am-6pm; US$1), standing on the west bank at the northern end of the centre. Inside is a massive collection of cartoons, paintings, humorous writings and photos, carnival masks and costumes drawn from scores of countries across the world. Exhibits are changed regularly, but cartoons involving ironic observations of human nature or worthy allusions to global political concerns - such as pollution - seem to be the order of the day. More intriguing, though, are the surreal paintings by Bulgarian and foreign artists - look out for for striking images of Bulgarian artist Rosen Krustev, such as his Hunting Scene , showing miniature jockeys on rocking horses in pursuit of a butterfly. Gabrovo's central area is on the east bank around ul. Radetska. The main sight of interest nearby is the Detchko House , at pl. 10 Yuli 2 (also, confusingly, referred to as the "Historical Museum"; irregular hours, but officially Tues-Sat 9am-5pm; US$1.50), a remarkable example of a restored nineteenth-century town house. Originally built for local businessman Hadzhi Detchko in 1835, the house was later used as a school and as a temporary hospital for Russian soldiers during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877. Today, you can traipse through a suite of elegantly furnished rooms which accommodate occasional concerts and temporary exhibitions. Crossing the river by ul. Aprilovska brings you to the Aprilov School , founded by Odessa-based merchant Vasil Aprilov in 1835 and one of the first schools in the country to offer a secular education in the Bulgarian language. It also houses a small museum of education, though opening times are irregular.
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