Next time you’re passing through central Bulgaria and have an afternoon to spare, why not pop into the wonderful and charming Etar Ethnographical and Architectural Museum? Situated about 5 miles south of Gabrovo (a mountain town allegedly founded by a blacksmith), the museum is an out-door complex consisting of workshops, where you can watch the craftsmen and women in action and then buy their traditionally made stuff. The museum stretches alongside a diverted part of the river Sivek, and is in narrow woodland valley, affording a very scenic day out.

Once you’ve finally made it, you’ll need to either a) tip your taxi driver for his trouble and arrange for him to pick you up later, or b) find a parking spot. There is a designated parking area, which is free, but it’s rather small. Etar is a hugely popular site and the carpark fills up sharpish, but it’s fairly easy to park in the street alongside the museum. Just be careful you don’t reverse over the side of a ditch into the stream that fuels the museum’s waterwheels, or you’ll have some tricky explaining to do. There is a loo in the carpark, but don’t be tempted- the ones inside the museum are less offensive.

Once inside, you will find yourself transported back in time. Etar is a reconstructed village where every building is a working model of a different craft workshop. There are also a few other bits and bobs which I’ll mention below. It was opened in communist times, in 1964, after a local guy, Lazar Donkov, decided to gather together objects which illustrated the rich cultural heritage of Bulgaria, typically from the era of the Bulgarian National Revival (or Bulgarian Renaissance), which is generally accepted to span from 1762 to 1878. This period is critical in Bulgarian history as it marks the beginning of a reawakening in national pride and culminates in Bulgaria’s liberation from the Ottoman Empire and the foundation of the Republic of Bulgaria. Donkov chose a site where there was already an old watermill (called “Karadzheyka” from the Turkish word “kara” meaning “black”, because the milled flour was very dark in colour), which dated from around 1780, and he then set about looking for other examples of traditional machinery, tools, implements and examples of craftwork. His ambition was to make a living museum so that the Bulgarian people would not forget their past and would be able to experience firsthand the methods used by their ancestors. In 1967 the centre was made a National Park, and in 1971 a Monument of Culture.

Each building is tiny, damp and fairly cramped, but full of all kinds of wonderful stuff. You might be able to watch a craftsman at work (see pictures), admire his/her handiwork and perhaps buy a souvenir or ten, watch old mills, looms

Pictures of Ethnographical Museum Etar

Poppy on Grandpa's back

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The whole complex is about 7 hectares and an afternoon is ample time to amble around comfortably. Expect to climb quite a few steps up to the second storey of many of the buildings, so avoid bringing buggies. (My dad carried Poppy in her baby back-pack thing, and that worked out fine. She got a birds’-eye view of everything and loved it.) These traditional style houses used the ground floor for the shop or workshop, with the living quarters housed upstairs, usually with a balcony overhanging the street below.

All in all, a very pleasant afternoon out for the family.