Museum of roses

Overview

Rose production and even the greater part the trading with the rose oil became one of the most attractive visit cards on Kazanlak region and the Bulgarian agriculture. Before half century reasonably said: Rose culture in Bulgaria whose purpose is extraction of rose oil, is not only the oldest and the most charming industry in our country but also exceptionally and specific in the region.

The Museum of Roses has a rich collection of objects, pictures and documents that reveal the history of Bulgarian oleaginous-roses growing. These exhibits are located in three halls. Inside the museum one can see instruments used for processing rose gardens, utensils for storage and export of rose oil and rose water. There is also a reproduction of a rose-oil depot and of the first rose-oil examination laboratory established in 1907. Hristo Yaramov is a chemistry teacher in the Kazanlak school. The laboratory was aimed at analyzing the rose oil and started issuing certificates for the purity of oil that was to be exported abroad. The period back then was hard for Bulgarian rose-growing as the so called ‘tereshe’, or fake rose oil, emerged. Threatened by deterioration of the Bulgarian rose oil’s reputation as the world’s best, Hristo Yaramov’s laboratory was a successful attempt to spoil this wrongful practice.

A remarkable object in the museum’s exhibition is a rose-oil container that was last used in 1947, but the rose fragrance still comes out of it. Inside the museum there is a tourist shop where one can buy information materials, souvenirs, cosmetics, rose jams, rose liqueurs, fragrant oils, etc.