Sliven is famous as a craft center since then. It is not by chance that traders from Turkey, Poland and Hungary came here to the fair. The city was an important producer of arms, but mostly of woolen cloth. That is precisely why, in 1984, the famous museum of the textile industry /a branch of the National Polytechnic Museum/, which is the first permanent scientific and technical exposition in our country, was created in it.
The permanent exhibition is located on two floors, in eight halls, with a total area of 550 square meters. The best thing is that visitors are not only spectators, but can also get involved as participants in the demonstrations. In chronological order, manual and then machine textile production are shown – from the era of the early Neolithic to the 70s of the 20th century. The manual one is especially interesting, because after the hurks and spindles, you can see the first looms and reels, the loom invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1733 with the so-called “flying shuttle”, the unwinding of the silk thread from the cocoon of the beetles, Gaitanji charks, the technologies ” mutafchiystvo” and “kilimarstvo”, as a special place is allocated to the progenitor of the Bulgarian textile industry, Dobri Zhelyazkov.
Machinery is also represented with curious exhibits such as the first spinning machines imported from Germany and England. Particularly attractive is the pedal-driven loom, which was worked mostly by men. The Bulgarian contribution to textile technology is also shown: a ribbon weaving machine, the “Yantra” loom produced in Gabrovo, the first machine for the production of spectacular yarns, patented in over 20 countries, and many other interesting exhibits.
If you have a way to Sliven, this is one of the places you must see.
Work time:
Monday – Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Weekends: by prior request
Entrance fees:
for pupils, students and pensioners – 3.00 BGN.
for adults – 5.00 BGN.
guided talk – 8.00 BGN.
demonstrations – 8.00 BGN.
Contacts:
Address: Sliven, Stoil Voivoda Square No. 3
Tel: +359 44 623749
