Gabrovo

Over the centuries, Gabrovo and the people of Gabrovo developed a reputation for being skinflints. A symbol of the town, a black cat without its tail, comes from the saying that the locals are so cheap, they cut off the tails of the cat in order to open and shut the door as quickly as possible, allowing them to save heat! To their credit, the people of Gabrovo took this reputation and made it their own, eventually establishing a museum in the city which covers this reputation and provides a venue for other aspects of Bulgarian culture and the arts of Gabrovo.

The Historical Museum takes an important place in the cultural life of Gabrovo. The beginning dates back to the first museum collection initiated in 1883 in Aprilov High School by the school principal Raicho Karolev. Nowadays the museum is housed in a beautiful baroque building built in 1904. Its rich collection includes 90 000 exhibits from the Paleolithic era, the late-ancient civilization on these lands (4th-6th centuries BC), the First and Second Bulgarian Kingdom, the Ottoman Empire, the Revival period and the industrial boom, up to present days.

The gallery was opened in 1974. It is named after the first Bulgarian artist with professional education who was born in Gabrovo and graduated the Art School in Moscow. Its permanent exhibition presents valuable models of icons from the icon-painting school in Tryavna. The gallery has four exhibition halls with a total area of 3000 m².

Usually referred to as Etura, this is a recreation of a Bulgarian Revival Village, similar to what Gabrovo was like during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Built in the 1960s, the complex is home to a number of shops and crafts such as wood-carving, pottery, coppersmith crafts, furriery, cutlery making, needlework etc. There are also shops for souvenirs and a nearby three star hotel with a bar and a restaurant.

A village and architectural reserve in Gabrovo municipality, as compared to the city of Gabrovo itself, Bozhentsi was proclaimed an architectural and historical reserve in 1964 and is part of UNESCO's cultural monuments. A Roman bridge lies east of the village and a forest path leading to Tryavna begins on the other side.

A memorial to those who died for the Liberation of Bulgaria during the Battles of Shipka Pass in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. There are several floors inside the 31.5-m (98-foot) high stone tower where one can find replica of Bulgarian military flags and other relics and the top of the tower reveals a panorama of Shipka Peak and the surrounding area.

A functioning Bulgarian Orthodox monastery situated in the Andaka River Valley, It was founded in the 12th century, during the Second Bulgarian Empire and is dedicated to Archangel Michael. Twice burnt down and pillaged during the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria, the monastery was restored at it present place in 1845. It was the site of several battles during the April Uprising of 1876.

This is the site of ruins of a fortress dating to antiquity, a picnic area, a children's playground and lovely pine groves. The Gradishte site also features a cliff-top view of Gabrovo.