History Museum

The museum follows the history of the region and its people, and its centerpiece is the preparations and events of the April Uprising of 1876 against the Ottoman rule. Here is displayed the only original cherrywood cannon in Bulgaria. Among the displays are original rifles, yatagani (Turkish scimitars), pistols, the revolutionaries’ banners, and needlework of the local teacher Ana Gizdova.

In 2009, a picture gallery was opened on the third floor of the museum, displaying the skill of a number of Bulgarian artists.

The museum includes the house of Vasil Petleshkov (1845-1876), the Bulgarian revolutionary who led the April Uprising in the city. This residence-museum opened its doors in 1976 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the uprising. The exhibition displays Petleshkov’s personal effects, and photographs document his role as a member of the local revolutionary committee.

More about the lives and daily customs of the region’s people can be gleaned from the ethnographic exhibit in the Kanev House. On its first floor are photographs and authentic tools used by the local inhabitants to cultivate roses, since a large percentage of the land in Bratsitovo was once devoted to the production of rose oil. There are also examples of the equipment originally used for local handicrafts – distaffs, spindles, looms for rug weaving, and so forth. Also on display are breadstuffs and musical instruments such as gudulkas, gaydas, and other instruments.

In 1981, another exposition was opened at the Popov House, Architecture and Construction in Bratsigovo during the Bulgarian Renaissance.

Architecture and building developed in the city during the 18th century after the resettlement there of some 150 families from Kosturka in Macedonia who brought with them their special building skills. On display are photographs depicting the lives of master builders, contractors, journeymen, and apprentices. There are also examples of their tools and specimens of their craft. Visitors may view the chronicles (minutes) of the local masons’ guild, along with an admirable building master’s glossary containing over 700 terms describing the most important practices and technical aspects related to their closely-guarded trade secrets. The exposition also includes models of the most important churches constructed by these masters. They were regularly commissioned to construct public buildings, schools, and residential ensembles in Plovdiv’s Old, Sofia, Karlovo, Elhovo, Pazardzhik, Bratsigovo, and elsewhere.