More about the city
Country: Bulgaria
Gabrovo is situated in the middle of Bulgaria, marked by the official geographical center of the state. Often it is therefore described as lying in the heart of the country. However, the heart is not a matter of geography alone. Gabrovo deserves the connotation with the very heart, having, from its legendary foundation on, always been a place of productivity, pulsating with energy. With a population of 52 169 people (as of December 2018, according to NSI data). Gabrovo is one of the longest cities in Bulgaria with its 25 km. Gabrovo is among the leading economic and industrial centers in Bulgaria. It is the place where modern factory production in Bulgaria was initiated more than 150 years ago. In the 2nd half of the 19th-century crafts and trade evolved so rapidly that people called Gabrovo "The Bulgarian Manchester". Except for industry, it is also famous for its sense of humor, the House of Humor and Satire and the annual Carnival of Humor. Gabrovo is rich in immovable cultural heritage. The intangible cultural heritage is profoundly studied, preserved and exhibited, esp. in terms of crafts and folk art. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) selected Gabrovo as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art in 2017. Versatile are the entertainment and recreation opportunities in Gabrovo and its region. The place is a spellbinding merge of gorgeous nature and alluring history – a destination greeting with a smiling welcome and leaving the departing faces smiling.
History
The beginning of this history is marked with the transformation of Turnovgrad into a capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom in 12th century as well as the subsequent significance of the road winding through the ‘Shipka” Pass. A settlement was created and inhabited by open-minded and skilful in warfare people who took the road protection. They had the privilege to pay fewer amounts of taxes, as well as to retain the ownership of their land and harvest. The local people established their lives as an integral part of the Bulgarian state. They erected a church, a monastery and related their existence to the conveyance of St. Petka’s relics. The cult of her is kept even nowadays. The Ottoman conquest of the state did not entirely change their means of living and it hardly affected their belonging to orthodoxy, manners and customs. They continued to guard the pass and for that reason, they belonged to the detachments of the ‘dervetnzhii’, as the road guardians were called at that time. Their task was to guard the passing caravans and civil servants for which they bore a joint responsibility. For a short time, they belonged to lands of an army leader but later became part of the grand vizier’s people. A representative of the ‘king’s’ power was the Aga of the “has” (land), the leader of the military band was a Bulgarian and the local priest was a leader of the citizens. For privileges such as carrying guns, not providing food for major military units and half-payment of taxes they were given a sultan’s resolution, confirmed by each new sultan. Their number increased as the years were passing – from 96 families in 1478 to 500 families in 1545, the population reached about 3000 inhabitants at the end of 17th century. The historical sources describe them as quite different physically, but predominantly they were young, of average height, with brown hair, beards, moustaches and shaved heads. They prided themselves on being independent people as described by Evliya Chelebi, one of the most famous Turkish travellers, in 1662, when he had to defend himself against a military squad armed with rifles and axes and carrying a drum, as well as a flag with the Christian cross on it. Gabrovo people raised the four basic pillars of the Bulgarian nation – the Bulgarian community, the movement for independent church, the new Bulgarian School and the movement for recognition of the Bulgarians as a separate nation within the territory of the Ottoman Empire. The word of the mayors of Gabrovo, called “chorbadzhii” (rich men), carried weight before the voivode (chieftain) of Turnovo and even in Tsarigrad (Istanbul) before The Great Gate. It was a Gabrovo citizen who arranged the construction of the first Bulgarian orthodox church in Tsarigrad, as well as the issue of a sultan’s decree for the separation of the Bulgarian nation from the community called ‘rumeli milet’ (Byzantine people), represented by the Greek Ecumenical Patriarchate. With the funds raised by the people of Gabrovo and after Vasil Aprilov’s initiative, the first secular school of new Bulgaria was opened. The school was followed as a model of education throughout Bulgaria. During the years of the Russian-Turkish war of liberation, Gabrovo was one of the ten Bulgarian towns with greatest contribution to the victorious end. Locals reinforced the volunteer’s bands, provided protective bands and workers for the road construction, as well as for the building of defence and military equipment, they spied out the ground and led the military columns to the way of the Russian forces, to the south of the Balkan Mountain Range, gave shelter to thousands of refugees, established hospitals, orphanages and homes for the elderly, and at the end of the battles also a camp for the captured Turkish soldiers. In the newly created state the intellectuals from Gabrovo became the basis of the state government for which they contributed with deputies such as the first prime minister, a Minister of Education and a Minister of War. Their power was concentrated in the foundation of the Bulgarian industry with Ivan Kalpazanov’s factories and his successors. Ivan H. Berov brought in the electricity in his production process in addition to many other innovations. Because of that, he was called ‘the Japanese in the Balkans’. Here in Gabrovo, Pencho Semov developed and enriched his entrepreneurship skills and was considered ‘the Bulgarian Rockefeller’ by his contemporaries. Because of its huge industrial power the English called the town ‘the Bulgarian Manchester’. The participants in the unification of the Principality of Bulgaria with Eastern Roumelia, the declaration of the Bulgarian Independence and the wars of liberation of Bulgarian lands in Edirne region in Thrace and Macedonia represent the national pride of Gabrovo people. 10 ministers, 11 generals and 25 big industrialists, writers, poets and scientists came from Gabrovo. The achievements of the years before 1944 provided a basis for an industrial town famous for its weaving, knitwear, leather and telpher industries, as well as for its institutes of technological development. The changes in 1989 resulted in a transformation of the industrial ‘giants’ into small and medium robotized companies exporting production all over the world.
Geography
The town of Gabrovo is situated in the northern branches of the Central Balkan Mountains, along the river Yantra. Its altitude is 392 m. The climate is temperate continental with mountain influence. The average annual temperature is 10 ° C. Winter is cold, summer - relatively warm. The snow cover lasts about 110 days, the rainfall is above the average for the country with a maximum in June. Mountain-covered mountainous areas are rich in large and small game. Near the town is situated Uzana, in which the geographic center of Bulgaria is located. The proximity of Gabrovo to the Shipka pass is defined as an important transport node. The city is 220 km away. from Sofia, 150 km. from Plovdiv, 274 km. from Varna, 234 km. from Bourgas and 153 km. from Rousse. One of the most important road links crossing Bulgaria in the North-South direction, which is part of the Trans-European Transport Corridor № 9 (Helsinki - St. Petersburg - Kiev - Bucharest - Rousse - Veliko Tarnovo - Gabrovo - Stara Zagora - Dimitrovgrad deviations to Greece and Turkey). Gabrovo is the center and the only city in the same name and occupies 18% of its territory. The town is also a regional center of Gabrovo region. Gabrovo municipality consists of 10 mayoralties and 18 mayoralties. Situated on an area of 1871.7 ha, Gabrovo is also a strategic transport crossroad on the E85 main road.
Infrastructure
The strategic location of Gabrovo has predetermined its significance as an important transport connection point. The city is crossed by two of the main thoroughfares – Sofia-Varna and Ruse-Stara Zagora. One of the most important intersections that crosses Bulgaria in the north-south direction and which is part of Trans-European Transport Corridor No. 9 also passes through Gabrovo. Despite the lack of a highway, the province boasts a road network with the highest density in the country. The general level of the economy, the social environment and the infrastructure is good. The operating enterprises have well-developed external markets and production. As of the end of 2011, Gabrovo is the city with the highest level of absorption of EU funds under the EU operational programs.
Development
Gabrovo is the International Capital of Humor and Satire and a member of the Federation of European Carnival Cities. Each year in May, the city organizes the International Festival of Humor and Satire, which is a one-of-a-kind venue for the entire Balkan Peninsula. The city is also an established industrial center where the leading role is taken by the manufacturing sector. The top economic sectors within the municipality are export-oriented. The rich natural and cultural heritage, the favorable climate and varied landscape have created conditions for the development of different forms of tourism. The natural assets favor the development of organic farming and multi-functional forestry. A large share of the municipality territory is part of the National Ecological Network. The region is abundant in sites of national interest. The unique outdoor ethnographic museum “Etara” is located at a distance of 8 km from Gabrovo city center and constitutes an incredible recreation of Gabrovo region during the Revival period. This is the period when more than 26 crafts developed in the city, the products of which were realized on the markets of Bucharest, Vienna, Marseille and Anatolia. Lyulyatsite area, Gradishte fortress and Shipka National Park-Museum are also located close to the city of Gabrovo. The key geographic location with respect to the pan-European transport corridors, the unrivaled natural assets of the region and the unique humor of the residents of Gabrovo combined with the unique thriftiness of the local population outline the remarkable spirit of Gabrovo. This is a city that has survived because it never stopped laughing! :)
