Daskalova house

Overview

Daskalova house is one of the most beautiful and well-preserved houses from the early Bulgarian Renaissance. It was built in the period from 1804 to 1808 for two of the sons of Hristo Daskalov.

The most remarkable thing about it is the carved ceilings in both rooms. They were made after a bet between the old master and his assistant in six months. The rooms are illuminated by the rays from the sun falling on them in the calm May as well as in the hot July. 

The bet between the old master and his assistant is considered the first Bulgarian art competition.

The woodcarving is the main element in the exposition of the famous Daskalova house. It is the only museum of its kind in woodcarving and painting in Bulgaria and presents over 5,000 exhibits. It is a wonderful example of the Tryavna Renaissance architecture - a two-story building with a huge veranda, a spacious yard, and a high stone wall.

The museum presents the three main types of woodcarving - shepherd's carving, decorative carving, and church carving. The simplest is the shepherd's one -  decorations of household items and small wooden objects - candlesticks, albums, salt pans, and others. Carving for decoration is found in almost every home of this era. The richest in carvings were the houses of the wealthiest people. And here you can see various furniture, columns, beds and much more. The most difficult of all is the church style because of the ornaments and miniature details. This collection is widely presented in Daskalova house - icons, iconostasis, crosses, frescoes and many other church elements.

In addition to the exhibition of creative products, you can get familiar with the place where they are produced. For this purpose, in Daskalova house is equipped with an authentic workshop, which demonstrates the way and the tools needed for the production of works of art.

You shouldn't miss the works of the indigenous artist Gencho Marangozov and his wooden sculptures of Bulgarian khans, kings, and famous Renaissance people.

The thousands of exhibits include many other works by masters from the Tryavna Art School in woodcarving and painting. There are also over 160 works done by six famous painting families, from the 17th to 19th century.