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House-Museum Nikola Vaptzarov

3 Demokracia Square, Bansko Town Centre

The museum dedicated to the prominent Bulgarian poet Nikola Vaptzarov is located in the centre of his native town - Bansko, right at the main square, which bore his name in the past, now renamed to "Ploshtad Demokratzia" or Democracy Square. You will be pleasantly surprised by the rich museum display and if you do not take into consideration the use of the poet's name in the Bulgarian communist propaganda after 1944, you will receive objective information about his life and family. The museum is opened every day from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm with 2 hour mid-noon break between 12:00 am and 2:00 pm.

The museum was officially opened in 1953. For the purpose the native house of Vaptzarov family was restored and began to welcome visitors. In fact, exactly the house gave the name to the family. The local people called it "Vaptzarova House" or just "Vaptzarnitzata", as it housed a "vaptzarnitza" - a "dyer's / dye-house" in the local Bulgarian dialect. That's how the local people began to call "Vaptzarovi" to the entire family who lived in the house. Otherwise the mother of Nikola Vaptzarov was from the Vezyuvi Family and the father - from Prodanichini Family.

The museum display was arranged with the help of Elena - the mother of the poet. Following her memories the rooms of the house were returned to the original appearance they had in the time Nikola Vaptzarov was a young boy. The exhibition occupies the two floors of the building and displays three periods of the poet's life. On the initiative of the well-known Bulgarian cinema director Valo Radev a small hall for lectures and film-shows was added in the 1990s.

Entering the house you will find yourself on the ground floor where is located the hall for lectures and film-shows. Here you can watch a movie about the life of the poet, listen to his poems, as well as to some of his favorite songs and the stories of his mother Elena. Everything is available in several languages: Bulgarian, English, German, Russian and French. Here you can see the ancestry tree of Vaptzarovi Family - a mixture of many old local families. The list with famous people who had visited the house as guests to Nikola Vaptzarov is also impressive. It includes another famous Bulgarian poet - Peyo Yavorov, the Bulgarian monarchs: Tsar Ferdinand and Tsar Boris III, the prominent Bulgarian writer Elin Pelin and the important figures in the fight for liberating the Bulgarian lands in Macedonia from Ottoman government - Yane Sandanski and Hristo Chernopeev.

On the second floor you will see three rooms, where to lived together with his family - his mother, father, brother - Boris and sister - Rada.

According to the latest statistics the House-Museum Nikola Vaptzarov in Bansko has been visited by more than 4 million guests, including a large number of foreign visitors.