Gabrovo in central Bulgaria has got a brand new tourist attraction. Recently, the City of the Humor and Satire saw the opening of an interactive museum of industry in a project related to cultural heritage and tourism. The virtual museum builds animation through a complex array of video, software, virtual guides and set design.

On the four floors of the museum’s premises where displays are arranged, visitors can learn about the types of industry and crafts that made 19 c. Gabrovo known as the "Bulgarian Manchester". There visitors are welcome to learn about the traditions of Gabrovo in various crafts such as leather processing, weaving, pottery, blacksmithing, carpentry, braiding and cutlery. Thematically, the museum is divided into three sections – industrialization: from the late 19 c. until 1944; communism: from 1944 to 1989; and the present: since 1989.

The biggest queues emerge in front of the so-called interactive attractions. Guests of the new museum are able to see on the spot how dynamite works and to "blow up" a wall of its building. Others prefer to take pictures and then, using dedicated software, become characters in movies telling the most popular Gabrovo anecdotes. In this way they can find out why the traditional chain dance used to be played in slippers and why cat tails used to be cut in that part of Bulgaria.The huge walls of the museum are lined with touchscreens where tourists themselves can alternate images with just one go. In the meantime, a digital guide reveals to them curious details from the history of the city.

The project has been executed by the municipal administration and is funded with 6.2 million leva by the European Regional Development Fund and by the state budget. The building of the new museum, located in the main street Nikolaevska, was built in the 19 c. and has been completely renovated.

English version: Daniela Konstantinova