Etar

The Etar Regional Ethnographic Open-Air Museum is a unique museum in Gabrovo's Etara district. A living reconstruction of Bulgarian customs, culture and craftsmanship, it is the first museum of its kind in Bulgaria. It opened on 7 September 1964 and lies eight kilometres south of central Gabrovo.
The museum preserves Bulgaria's only collection of traditional technology for processing water. Comprising ten exhibits, it is one of the richest and best-organised technical collections among Europe's open-air museums. The working waterwheel has become one of Etar's icons. A distinctive feature of the collection is that all its installations function as they did in the past.
The museum's crafts bazaar presents sixteen examples of Balkan architecture, revealing the unique talent of National Revival builders. Etar is included among Bulgaria's Hundred National Tourist Sites.
The museum's history began in 1963 under Lazar Donkov's direction and to his design. The watermill was restored first, followed by the construction of other features. Three main methods were used: restoring existing structures in situ, relocating original installations and reconstructing buildings from previously prepared surveys. The museum officially opened on 7 September 1964 and was declared a national ethnographic park in 1967. In 1971 it received cultural-monument status.