The main livelihood for the people in the Kazanlak region was stock breeding and agriculture which they did in a rather primitive way. The households produced and made everything they needed for living, as well as their clothes, fabrics, pottery and furniture. Labor specialization – crafts like pottery, carpentry, iron-smithery, leather dressing, etc. appeared and developed later. The clothing, interior furniture, and instruments of production, apart from their practical usage, were made with taste for beauty and harmony, which still fills us with admiration. In the late Middle Ages and during the Renaissance period the urban way of life started to become more and more different from that of the country. The crafts connected with the specific industries of the region, and particularly with the rose manufacture, went through a vigorous growth – some of those were the homespun tailoring, braid making, shoemaking, black-smithing, copper-smithing, glass making, etc. The weekly market, village festivals and fairs helped the local entrepreneurs to “keep in touch” and stimulated the communication with other regions. Craftsmen guilds developed, the first machines and manufacture appeared, the first factories opened, and the number of hired workers kept constantly increasing. The clothing and objects of everyday life went through a lot of changes. The European style rushed in. However, life is not only labour and material achievements but also joy arising from what is produced, hope for the future, disappointment and faith, joy and sorrow. And out of them rites and beliefs, traditions and customs, legends and fairy tales, songs and dances are born.
“Kulata” Historical and Ethnographic Complex |
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 You can feel the calm traditional atmosphere of the old Kazanlak houses in “Kulata” Ethnographic Complex. The beautiful white house in the northern part of the little square and the neatly arranged houses and craftsmen’ workshops around it, add a touch of old-time cosiness to this part of the town, representative of the Bulgarian national revival period. The hosts would welcome you with hospitality and a glass of rose liquor and rose jam and would tell you about the past and present of Kazanlak. Hadjienovata Kushta, now turned into a museum, is the house in the Ethnographic Complex which belonged to a family of well-off rose-oil manufacturers. Right after entering into the yard, you will see a “gulpana” (primitive rose-distilling installation) and a unique collection of agricultural machinery and inventory. The house is situated amid a garden of trees, box-shrubs and roses. It is a two-storey asymmetrical building. The workrooms and the cellar are on the ground floor, and the second floor has a large open veranda and three rooms - a kitchen, bedroom and dining-room. The furniture and pottery, imported from abroad, are arranged in harmony with samples from the local craftsmanship. In the next yard, in a flower garden nestles snugly a small country house with only two rooms, a bedroom and a kitchen, impressive in its modesty and usefulness. Light is shining through the windows, illuminating the colourful rugs, cushions and the patterned pottery on the shelves. In the old shop nearby you can find both rose products and magnificent works of traditional Bulgarian applied art. The violin craftsmen are just across the way, as well as the coppersmith’s workshop. In the Ethnographic Complex the guests can enjoy many local and traditional festivities (on a preliminary request). |
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Location and access: 6100 Kazanlak, 18 Nikola Petkov Str., about 1km northeast from the center of Kazanlak, near the Tyulbeto Park, 15 min by foot, 5 min by car