The beginning of the museum work in Troyan was laid in 1924 by the local historian teacher Vlasi Iliev Lingorski, author of the first history of the city. The small museum collection in the community center, created on his initiative, is located among the books in the library. In an oblong cabinet with glass showcases are arranged guild condiki and chorbaji notebooks, deeds and slaves, weapons, old coins and accidentally discovered archaeological finds from the Roman stations along the Trajan road and the fortresses of the Trojan Balkan. Later, the curator of the museum collection became the famous Trojan public figure Andrei Shipkovenski, who also made the first recording of the exhibits in an inventory book.
In 1939, the board of trustees of the community center assigned Petar Dochev Hadjiev, the drawing teacher at the Troyan high school, to manage the collection. With the help of students from the upper classes, he collected ornaments, ceramic, copper and wooden vessels, Trojan costumes. Due to lack of space, the collection is arranged on the ceiling of the community center.
At the same time, a small collection was made in the “Vasil Levski” high school, in which materials related to the life and work of the Apostle of Freedom were displayed. In 1944, a collection was also discovered in the Troyan monastery, where the hiding place of Vasil Levski was also shown.
In 1933, the Trojan Popular Bank organized an exhibition of Bulgarian crafts in Munich. In his chronicle of 15.12.1933, the newspaper “Hemus” (published in Troyan) noted: “…The works of the Trojan craftsmen made a very strong impression on the Germans. The bank’s management asked to organize such an exhibition in Hamburg and Vienna. There will be an exhibition in Milan next spring.”
In the same year, 1933, the Troyan Popular Bank organized a permanent craft exhibition in the city, arranged by the famous Bulgarian artist Alexander Zhendov. It is this exhibition that is the predecessor of today’s Museum of Folk Arts and Crafts, arranged in the most modern way for its time. A Catalog of Trojan crafts at a high artistic level was also published, which today we can characterize as the first advertising publication of the Museum.
At the end of the 1950s, the city museum collection contained a solid fund of materials, the majority of which were the work of the Trojan masters of folk arts and crafts. Their arrangement in the halls of the old community center is in accordance with the ethnographic features of the Balkan dwelling.
In March 1962, in Troyan, under the patronage of the Institute of Art Studies, a regional theoretical conference on the state and prospects of folk arts and crafts in Loveski District was organized, accompanied by from an exhibition. At this conference, the idea of creating a Museum of Folk Art Crafts and Applied Arts in Troyan was born and clarified. In 1966, even before the arrangement of the first museum exhibition in the current building and before the organization of the Cooperative of the Masters of Folk Art Crafts – Sofia , the creative base of the museum was created, known under the name Atelier na Trojanski masters, later the municipal company “Trojanski masters”.
It is a union of masters from various crafts, which practically implements the art program of the museum. The studio achieved significant economic results through the conquered markets at home and abroad for its production (mostly copies and replicas of museum originals). On October 3, 1968. on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the declaration of Troyan as a city, academician Angel Balevski – the then chairman of the BAS, opened the new exposition of the crafts museum. 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of this event.
Work time:
Opening hours:
NOVEMBER – MARCH MONDAY – FRIDAY: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM SATURDAY: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM SUNDAY – HOLIDAY
APRIL – OCTOBER MONDAY – SUNDAY: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Entry exposure takes place until 16:30/14:30.
Entrance fees:
Admission for children up to 7 years free Admission for students BGN 3.00
Admission for adults BGN 6.00
Admission for students BGN 2.00
Admission for pensioners BGN 2.00
Admission for visitors with special needs BGN 1.00
Family ticket (family with children) 12.00 BGN.
Groups of 20 or more people – 50% discount on the entrance fee
Talk (short) – 15 – 20 min BGN 5.
Talk (long) – 1.30 – 2.00 h BGN 10.00
Talk in a foreign language BGN 20.00
Konak:
Adults, pupils, students, pensioners – BGN 4.
Contacts:
Address: Troyan, 5600, 1 “Vazrazhdane” square
Tel: 067062062, 0888668784, 0878668784 – director
Tel: 067062063 – curators
