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The town of Gabrovo (76 591 inhabitants, 390 meters above sea level) is situated along the two banks of the Yantra River, at the northern foot of the Central Stara Planina. It is situated 220km north-east of Sofia, 274km south-west of Varna, 46km south-east of Veliko Tarnovo and 28km south-east of Sevlievo. It is situated in the immediate proximity of the geographical centre of Bulgaria and it itself is a centre of humour and jokes.
Gabrovo originated during the Middle Ages as a strategic settlement in the proximity of the Balkan Mountain Passes.
According to the legend a young blacksmith named Racho settled on these lands along the Yantra River. He used to shoe the horses of the caravans that traveled to and from the mountains allowing the settlers to travel more easily. These new settlers were able to sew clothes, to cook delicious dishes, to repair carts and to process leather. Near the furnace of the blacksmith there was a huge hornbeam/ or in Bulgarian - gabar/, so they named the place Gabrovo in memory of its humble origins.
In that way Racho Kovacha (the Blacksmith) established the settlement, and it was named after the hornbeam.
Today the monument of Racho Kovacha raises in the very center of the town – an imposing bronze figure, situated on a rock in the river of Yantra. The citizens apprehend the monument as a symbol of the creative and tireless Gabrovian spirit that all the generations have preserved.
At the end of the 12 th century due to the proximity of the town to the capital Tarnovo, the handcrafts and trade developed here.
During the years of the Ottoman rule Gabrovo was a big craftsmanship and trade centre. During the 19 th century 26 craftsmanships were practiced here. In 1860 Gabrovo was proclaimed as a town and the first manufacturing enterprise opened. The first Bulgarian church school was opened in 1825 and in 1835, the first Bulgarian secular school where the mutual instruction method was applied. Since 1889 the school was named “Aprilov's High School”, by the name of its founder.
The town is a birthplace of Vasil Aprilov, Tsanko Diustabanov, Pop (Priest) Hariton. The town continued to develop as the biggest textile centre of Bulgaria after the Liberation and it was not by accident that it was nicknamed “the Bulgarian Manchester”. The town has been famous for its stinginess and sharp-wittedness of its inhabitants from time immemorial due to which the unique in the world House of Humour and Satire is located here.
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