Livelihood and crafts

In handicraft and trading centers during the Bulgarian Revival Era, single-floor and two-floor buildings dominated towns and cities, and this helped public and religious buildings to stand out—notably, clock towers, churches, schools, stone fountains, stone bridges etc. In the general layout solution of the museum's territory, Etar Museum reserves spaces for sites of public and religious importance: a city clock tower, Krastnikkolchov Inn, Epiphany Church, five stone fountains, two stone bridges and others.

During the Bulgarian Revival Era with the differentiation of trades related to metal working, coppersmith's trade specialized in making household vessels and church plate. This is due to the fact that copper is the most ductile, the softest and the most thermally conductive of all metals used in traditional crafts. In this way copper (called bakar) was particularly apt to use for vessels that come in touch with fire. Unlike silver and gold though, copper is very easily oxidized which results in another specific aspect of coppersmith's trade—plating with either tin or silver of the entire vessels or only of these parts of them that come in direct touch with foods or liquids.

In the museum coppersmith's trade is presented at the house with workshop of coppersmith Trifon Kanev from Gabrovo. It was built in the museum in 1968 as a replica of the original house built in 1872 south of Virgin Mary Church (in the center of Gabrovo).

The struzhnya, as it is known in the region of Gabrovo, is a saw-mill for planks and boards. It was introduced to replace the large manual saw called krap. The facility itself is found in a temporary protective structure. By its side there is large cone-shaped basket in which the water brought to it by the mill-race is injected. The strong flush sets in motion a small water wheel—or dolap, which in turn, with the help of a wooden axle, sets into motion a kurbela (a kind of crankshaft). The gradual passage of the whole log to the saw is done by a cogwheel and a spud–as they move, they work to coil a rope that pulls the frame with the attached log. Wood-turned shafts help push forward the log to the saw.

The saw-mill displayed in the museum in 1966 is a replica of a saw-mill from end-19^th century in the village of Toplesh, Gabrovo region.

In the past, dyeing workshops were adjacent to the braid-making rooms where gaytan (braid) was made. In the workshop there is pishkyun (rack, shelf) where enlacing braid was done; there is also a copper on the oven and another, smaller one; an open oven with a cross-bar—for singeing, a ladle or gourd, coppers, wooden stirrers, a wooden paddle and wooden staffs for drying braid.

Brisk trade relations of Gabrovo merchants with Istanbul, Brasov, Vienna and Bucharest during the 19^th and 20^th centuries helped import dyestuff for dyeing braid in Gabrovo. Nevertheless the tradition of using dyes from nature survived for a long time, especially in villages: dyeing black with sumac, bark and leaves from ash-tree and ripe elderberries; violet with onion skins; yellow with leaves from quince or peach; green with young walnut leaves and nettle roots; brown with walnut leaves; dark blue with indigo and ergot. Up to 12 colors were used in dyeing. The dyeing workshop built at Etar Museum in 1964 is a replica of a dyeing workshop from 1870, property of Ivan Kalpazanov who in 1882 founded the First Textile Factory in Gabrovo.

Water-milling is displayed at two sites of Etar Museum—the dolapkinya water-mill and the karadzheyka water-mill.

In the dolapkinya water-mill water is driven by means of a big wheel called dolap. Along its periphery it has wooden pails formed in a way that does not let the water pour until the pail turns down, i.e. the dolap is set in motion by the weight of the water. Whereas with the karadzheyka water-mill there is direct drive: perey (horizontal water wheel)—vertical shaft—millstones, with the dolapkinya water-mill the rotating movement of the horizontal shaft on the stones takes place due to a wooden gear (a large cogwheel with wooden teeth called kalkan and a small crown wheel on the vertical shaft known as fener). In this way not only the direction is changed but also the speed is increased. This type of water-mills was common along Topleshka River exclusively. They need smaller water debit and fall. The dolapkinya water-mill was reproduced at Etar Museum in 1966 with reference to a facility that existed in reality at the end of 19^th century in the village of Delidzhetsi.

The karadzheyka water-mill is the oldest facility at Etar Regional Ethnographic Open-Air Museum. It was built in 1780 and was later restored and put into motion. The name karadzheyka derives from the Turkish word kara meaning black, because in it the flour was milled without separating the bran, so its color turned out dark. The driving mechanism of the facility consists of a horizontal water wheel (perey), a wooden axle (spindle) and a metal one (maal). On them rests the runner stone which rotates, while the lower stone stands still. The water that sets the perey in motion is taken by the mill-race along a wooden pipe called ralupa or koruba (both meaning hollow tree). The pipe was made from a robust trunk with rotten heartwood. The karadzheyka mill owners were three residents of the village of Boychetata. Along the way of inheritance, at the beginning of the 20^th century the number of owners reached 70, and each of them depending on their share, used the facility for a fixed number of days during the year. It was used to mill corn, wheat and barley.

A few crafts grew rapidly during the Bulgarian Revival Era, and one of them is braid-making—making traditional gaytan (woolen cord) aimed for decoration of clothes. Originally braid appeared as a flat galloon, stitched to the rims of woolen clothes to keep various parts of cloth fit stronger together. Braid originated from the traditional decoration of Bulgarian folk costumes. The inception of mechanical braid knitting was during the first decades of the 19^h century, when the chark came into being—the first Bulgarian machine developed by Gabrovo blacksmiths. Braid-making workshops (called odaya or rooms) were built outside towns and villages in close proximity to mill-race beds. Starting in the mid-19^th century due to the growing demand for braid, they worked 24/7. Along the upper reaches of the River Yantra some braid-making workshops existed until 1947-1948. The braid-making workshop in the exposition of Etar Museum was transferred in 1964 from the locality of Tepavitsite near Gabrovo.

The process of making earthen pots is not unlike the creation of life. Earth and water mingle together with air and fire and as the main elements blend they create a unique thing.

While it emerged to satisfy the practical need for household vessels, pottery grew to become a leading craft during the Bulgarian Revival Era. A few centers of pottery were established. Gabrovian pottery lived through its heyday from the 1870s to the 1890s. In the 1870s the artisans with own workshops and kilns came to 45 located in two pottery neighborhoods, the so-called Lower Potters. This was the older pottery neighborhood. In the 19^th century a new neighborhood appeared on the right-hand bank of the river called Upper Potters. The last craftsmen of traditional pottery worked in the 1950s: Ivan Lungov and Kolyo Dragolov (until 1954). The latter's house was reproduced at Etar Museum in 1967.

Wood-turnery was the main source of livelihood for the population of remote mountain neighborhoods south of Gabrovo. It grew as an original local handicraft and derived from the natural givens of this area—rich in forests and swift-running rivers while at the same time poor in terms of fertile soil. Wood- turnery was an inherited trade and sometimes the same lathe was used by as many as three generations. The materials preferred by wood-turners were sycamore and beech. The best quality and most durable articles were made of sycamore, and beech was used widely because it is very common in the forests of the Balkan Range. Other wood varieties were in use as well, such as walnut, plumb, cherry, lime, pear, elm and ash-tree. The items of this trade were diverse in shape, size and purpose. On the lathe for gavanka bowls various items including gavanka bowls, tanur boards, salt-cellars, lidded vessels, candlesticks, distaffs and many other items were made. They have interesting names like sara, chantalak, kankavel, kutel, shashkan, batal… Gabrovian turners worked to satisfy not only the needs of the locals. Their articles sold well across the Bulgarian lands and some reached as far as Asia Minor and Egypt. The glory and skills of the masters made the craft a household name for the region of Gabrovo, and in the early 20^th century when Gabrovo compared with Manchester in terms of economic upsurge and industrial development, the city was jokingly but with a good reason nicknamed Gavanchester. Wood-turnery is presented at the museum with lathes driven by hydropower. Their prototypes operated in the villages of Toplesh and Kashlite.

Wood-carving represents processing of wood by means of cutting (carving) of various decorative motifs and images. It culminated in the 18^th and 19^th centuries when the Bulgarian lands saw a general upsurge in crafts and architecture. Wood-carving found application in both church architecture and church interiors—iconostases, ambones, wood-carved church gates, as well as in the homes of Bulgarians – with beautiful wood-carved ceilings, furniture, chests, wooden vessels, walking sticks, distaffs, cowl staffs etc. There are two styles of wood-carving. The first one is shepherd's wood-carving which is dominated by small ornaments, and is also shallow and flat. Its samples mostly display geometrical ornaments such as dots, circles, arches, rhombuses and crosses more often carved with a knife. In contrast, the marangoz (artisan, professional) wood-carving uses large ornaments and it is deep as well. During the National Revival Era, the three main wood-carving schools originated almost simultaneously in the Bulgarian lands, notably the Samokov, Tryavna and Debar schools. The house with the wood-carving workshop is a replica of the home of Simeon Nozharov built in Gabrovo in the second half of the 19^th century in Shesti uchastak (Sixth Section) neighborhood. Its construction at Etar Museum began in 1972.

Iconography in Bulgaria emerged during the 9^th century in connection with the newly-adopted Orthodox Christianity. Because of the strict regulation by the church, this type of painting underwent several different stages of stylistic development of Eastern Orthodox art. After the Ottoman conquest of the Bulgarian lands in the 14^th century and the religious discrimination that followed iconography went into decline to come back to life during the Bulgarian National Revival Era. Three icon-painting schools were established within the bounds of the Bulgarian lands – the Debar, Bansko and Tryavna schools. Today the icon-painting atelier in Etar's Craftsman Street combines the old traditions in iconography laid out in the hermenias (manuals) with the addition of modern elements into the familiar iconography patterns and biblical storylines.

During the 1870s, there were 10 coffee-houses in Gabrovo, and one of them was the Motkovo coffee-house. Each of them was a little parliament by itself. That is where men relaxed and discussed global and local affairs over a cup of Turkish coffee brewed on sand. Since the 1860s coffee-houses were offering tea and white candy in water. It was unusual for coffee-makers to run other trades as well, such as the barber's job. Today Motkovo coffee-house's guests are offered Turkish coffee on sand, white candy in water and sweets with the taste of the past. In 1968, Lazar Donkov recreated the original coffee-house from 1850 at Etar Museum referring to photographs, sketches and drafts.

During the Bulgarian Revival Era furriery fully catered for the needs of the local population. Fur shops were scattered all around Gabrovo. On the eve of the Russo-Turkish, war there were 55 fur shops in the town. In the furriery there is a traditional rack near the window used to sit on it the Turkish way (with legs crossed), cut, sew and shear. Sewing fur items was initially done by hand and later the Singer sewing machine was introduced. The whole process of making articles from pre-fabricated furs can be tracked in the furriery—Romanian, Troyan, Dobrudzhan and Macedonian fur caps, hats, slippers, gloves and tobacco-pouches. The furriery is located on the ground floor of the house from the village of Batoshevo. Its construction in the museum took place in 1970 as a replica of a house from 1865 in the village of Batoshevo, Sevlievo region.

Cart-smithery's development in Gabrovo is connected with the region's economic progress during the Bulgarian National Revival. Carts pulled by buffalos only were used for transport since the end of the 18^th century. Carts with iron axles and rims and pulled by horses (the so-called wagons and drays) emerged towards the end of the 19^th and at the beginning of the 20^th centuries. The master drayman was a skilled blacksmith, wood-turner and e woodworker, because the making of a cart combines all these crafts. Separate parts of the dray were colored or painted with motley drawings according to the customer's wish. In the past only well-to-do citizens could afford painted drays. The cart-smithery workshop is located on the ground floor of the house from Gachevtsi village from the end of the 19^th century. It was built in the museum in 1972.

During the 1860s, there were 35 jewelry workshops in Gabrovo but in 1927 only six of them remained. This craft has two modifications: goldsmith's trade, which is linked with the processing of precious metals such as gold and silver, and dyukmedzhiistvo—processing of non-precious metals like copper, zinc, lead and dudiya (an alloy of zinc and tin). However, just like in the past, there is no clear distinction between these two groups of skills. The population's conservative taste for the shapes and the decoration of articles facilitated the conservation of traditional techniques throughout the centuries such as casting, forging out and filigree. Thanks to these techniques, masters made buckles, bracelets, earrings, rings, church plate and last but not least, the sokay which was the symbol of feminine beauty in the Central Balkan Range region. This is women's headgear put on the bride's head on the third day after the wedding (Wednesday), after taking the bridal veil off. According to historical evidence, there was not a single house in the region of Gabrovo without sokay headgear. The ground floor of the jewelry workshop is located a house which was built in the museum in 1968 as a replica of the house of goldsmith Maksim Kosev originally built in 1860, south-east from Igoto (The Yoke) Bridge.

Stock-breeding was one of the highlanders' main means of livelihood. The availability of plentiful grazing, water and natural meadows favored keeping sheep. Mountain dairy farms were primitive, double roof structures located along the ridge of the Balkan Range. Their work was determined by the summer pasture rearing of sheep and sheep milking by shepherds. Farm equipment comprised coppers, wooden barrels, troughs, milking pails, milk-cans, sifting cloths and others. In the dairies milk got collected and processed into milk products – cheese, yellow cheese, butter, curd, etc. In the dairy farm exhibited at the museum there are tools and vessels for sheep- and goat-milking, milk processing and for the storage of cheese, yellow cheese, butter, curd and other products made from it.

On the long side, near the oven, wooden ladles are hung; on the floor different sizes of coppers, wooden casks and wooden pails are arranged. On the short side there are milk-cans of various volume, iron scales and a churn for milk-beating. In front of them there is a low table (paraliya) with three-legged chairs which were used by shepherds and dairymen for dining. On the low table there are earthenware bowls and wooden spoons. On the other long side a wooden box for cheese storing and two wooden broads aimed for the preparation of milk products are displayed. The mountain dairy-farm in the museum is a reproduction of a dairy in the village of Toplesh from the end of the 19^th century.

In the folk musical instruments workshop various samples of folk musical instruments are made: a children's whistle (pishtyalka), shepherd's whistle, duduk (a whistle characteristic of Western Bulgaria in the main), kaval—shepherd's flute, one of the most popular folk musical instruments, bagpipe, gadulka, a kind of rebec, a traditional instrument for the region's population, also called kemane, and others.

The workshop reproduced in the museum in 1971 is located on the ground floor of the house from the village of Tumbalovo. The original house was built in the mid-19^th century.

It flourished with the development of crafts and commerce during the Bulgarian Revival and later, in connection with the wider usage of carter's caravans. It is linked to goat-breeding which provides the raw material for making goat hair articles. Sacks and bags for transporting different goods as well as horse belts and grain bags were woven in large quantities. Typical Gabrovian big preshovi (wheat sacks) were also among them as well as rugs in natural hair colors. Goat hair processing is the only craft where all the stages of preliminary treatment and also the weaving are handled by the craftsman in the workshop. This trade is the most conservative and the most unprofitable one in Bulgarian crafts' history. It is presented in the twin house from the village of Lesicharka from the mid-19^th century. The house's recreation in the museum began in 1969 based on sketches and plans by Lazar Donkov.

Cutlery is one of the crafts that contributed to Gabrovo's remarkable glory as a center of crafts during the Bulgarian National Revival. Local craftsmen were making over 150 different types of knives. They have attractive names which depend on the material, the place where they were sold and also on their function – bayuvski, belenski, groshlak, kulakliya, Thessaloniki-style, Armenian-style, kokoni, terziyski (tailor's), jay, etc. The workshop is authentic and has been transferred from Nova mahala village (nowadays Nova mahala neighborhood of Gabrovo). There are numbers marked on the wooden beams of the workshop aimed to assist its transfer. The workshop was owned by cutler master Metyo. It represents a smithy with an oven. Behind the oven there is an authentic blower made of whole buff leather (c.a. 150 years old). There is also a second room in the workshop which was used for finishing works. After forging and fixing the handle, the knife got sharpened on a whetstone.

The name of the trade derives from the Arabic word sarach meaning saddle. Its origin was related to the use of the horse as a draught animal and for riding. Saddle-makers make horse tack, leather straps, suitcases, bags, belts, cartridge pouches, saddle-bags, leather sandals etc. As basic material the trade relies on cattle skins, as well as on sheep, goat and swine skins. The decoration of horse tack, apart from its purely decorative function, was also meant to protect the horse from evil eyes, black magic and any harmful influence. The saddle-making workshop is accommodated on the ground floor of the twin house from the village of Lesicharka.

The plums are preserved for a longer period of time by smoking. The so-called pushilo is an oven duct, 3—4 meters long, and 0.5 meters in width and depth. Its size should make sure that plums won't get burned while they dry up. There is an oven in the corner of the facility while at the other end there is a big wooden frame with a wooden lid. The oven duct is covered with slab stones and brushwood. The frame can hold 30 kg of plums. The drying process lasts for 24 hours, then plums get dried up for 2—3 extra days, outside, in the sun. Smoking is an essential stage. It preserves the plums, so that they can be stored up to 10 years. Part of the plums is usually for sale and the rest remains for private consumption. During the autumn the oven duct is used for drying damsons. The prototype of the reproduced oven duct is from end-19^th century from the village of Raynushkovtsi, Tryavna region.

Viticulture was the main occupation of the highlanders from the Gabrovo area. Fruits picked up from trees were used by households both fresh and dried. For this region of Bulgaria fruit-drying in a special device (called sushilo) was especially popular, as it helped store fruit for a longer time. The Havelka-type dryers appeared after 1930 and were made in the shape of small lodges from clay or adobe covered with slabs. The oven is at its back and is connected with a duct that goes across the whole length of the facility. The duct is connected with other narrower ducts which merge in a single chimney taking the smoke to the roof. Above the oven, a square opening facilitates the process of burning. Special wooden frames are placed above the oven duct. Access to them is provided by wooden wickets on the front side of the structure. The karatavan (a ceiling made of beams and laths) has a vent for temperature and humidity regulation. Fruits are dried by means of dry and warm air. The Havelka-type plum dryer was built in the museum in 2009 and is an exact replica of a sushilo dryer from the village of Gorni Radkovtsi, Tryavna region, originally built circa 1940.

Animal hide working is among the first organized crafts in Gabrovo. During the 1860s there were over 100 craftsmen who owned tabahans (tanneries), employing over 400 staff. Until the Liberation (1878), four types of leather were made here: sole-leather from buffalo and large ox hides; kyusele—semi-processed sole-leather for sandals from smaller cattle and horse hides; saffian from goat hides and Moroccan leather from sheep hides for shoe uppers and lining. Animal hide working has three basic stages—first, soaking and cleaning; secondly, liming and finally tanning. One impressive feature of the house with the tannery is the large loggia built at the expense of the residential area and used to dry the hides. Outside the tannery building one can spot the barrels for limewater built in the earth. The tannery is static because the ancient technology of working animal hides pollutes the natural environment. It is located in Ivan Golosmanov's house. The house was built in the second half of the 19^th century. Its restoration in 1967 at Etar Museum laid the beginnings of the Craftsman Street.

The tepavitsa fulling mill is a primitive facility for mechanical treatment of woolen homespun cloths: frieze, leggings, belts, rugs, and was later used to felt black braid as well. The aim of the process is to strengthen the fabric and make sure it has a fleecy surface. The facility is driven by water. The process of felting, depending on the type of items, takes from 2 to 14 hours. During this time a range of operations is underway—throwing, cutting, pouring hot water, etc. From mid-19^th century on, tepavitsa fulling mills started felting also braid after its first and second dyeing. During that same period the fuller's trade emerged as an autonomous craft. Starting in the early 20^th century, tepavitsa fulling mills began to lose their economic relevance. Only few tepavitsa mills remained active – in the upper section of the river Yantra. In 2019, the only surviving one is at Etar Museum. The tepavitsa mill is original, found on location. It was built in the mid-19^th century. In 1963 when the museum's construction began it was half-ruined, which necessitated its reconstruction. On 7 September 1964 the museum's official opening took place next to the tepavitsa fulling mill.

In the past every woman was trained to weave on the domestic loom. To cater for the needs of the family the housewife would make a full set of articles from wool, flax, hemp and silk. Nowadays the weaving workshop of Etar Museum is located on the second floor of the house from Batoshevo village built in 1865. There colorful rugs and carpets, fleecy rugs, bags, aprons, napkins, towels and decorative wall panels are made following the traditional technology and making use of a variety of textile materials.

The founder of Etar Museum Lazar Donkov had the desire to restore the production of bun (simid) which is connected with the romantic past of the people from the late Revival until the mid-20^th century. The simid making technology is a delicate process because of the quality materials needed: fine white flour and chickpeas from which the yeast bites for about 10 hours and a variety of other details. The chickpeas contribute to the unique aroma of the bun. It is also called steam bread because it rises in cupboards on steam. The oven where the pastry products are baked is located on the ground floor. To this day Etar's Craftsman Street smells sweetly of simid which is a proof that our children and grandchildren will also be familiar with its taste and aroma. The house with a bakery was built around 1874-1875. Photographs and sketches were used for its renovation at Etar Museum in 1969.

The articles of cow-bell making as a handicraft in general include wrought-iron bells and cast bells. In the region of Gabrovo the trade is limited to wrought bells from sheet iron and is known with the name hlopkarstvo (from hlopka meaning cow bell). It is confined to the village of Nova mahala. According to narratives of craftsmen, the first cow-bell was brought to the village (today a neighborhood of Gabrovo) by merchant bothers Georgi and Tsanyo Pavlev. They gave it as a gift to their brother Donko Pavlev Kovachev. He teamed up with other masters and they started making cow-bells in the aftermath of the Balkan War (1912). The first cow-bells were called traki (rattles). They were flat and shaped with cold hammering, so they did not boast a sweet voice. For that reason, demand for them was low. Another kind of bells are the horned ones. However, round bells used to be the most popular, as their ringing was the best. The house where the cow-bell workshop is located is a replica of the one built in 1880 in Nova mahala village. With its construction in 1971 at Etar Museum, the authentic image of this typical highland house was restored.

The steps of extraction and treatment of sharlan are shown in the workshop with the help of texts, photographs and authentic facilities. Its production in the Gabrovo area focused on walnuts. They are baked, milled in a grinder driven by a horse then boiled in water in a copper in order to separate the slag, and put it in a bag made of goat's hair to be pressed. Sharlan oil ages in earthenware built in the earth. Because of the long-lasting and expensive production process the workshop is static. The extracted oil is used in households for cooking and lighting (aged oil was poured for use in oil lamps). The hard mass left after pressing (kyuspe or oil-cake) was used as fodder for domestic livestock and as bait for fishermen. The process of production of sharlan workshops was uninterrupted. The treatment of 75 kg of nuts lasted for 10-12 hours and the extracted oil was 60 l. Sesame, linseed and poppy seed, as well as sunflower were also processed in the workshop. The craft is shown on the ground floor of Yonko Kolchev's house, which was built in Gabrovo, south from the Virgin Mary Church, in 1873. The house's reproduction at Etar Museum began in 1970.

The first confectionery shops in Gabrovo originated in the first half of the 19^th century. Confectionery skills were transferred from Romania by Gabrovians Gavril and Yonko who opened their own shops. Until then, halva, Turkish delight, walnut & grape must sausage and other treats would be imported from Romania and Istanbul, while the Gabrovian women opted for homemade fruit jams. At the beginning, production of white candy in water and other confectionery items was weak, because consumption was limited—during name days, weddings and engagements. Based on traditional technology the confectionery workshop makes lollipops, sesame sticks, brown halva, Turkish delight, walnut & grape must sausage and other treats, and Motkovo coffee-house offers Turkish coffee brewed on sand, white candy in water and cookies. The confectionery is located on the ground floor of Motkovo coffee-house from 1850, restored in the museum in 1968.