Old Fountain circa 1869

Pic. Size 10"x14" (25,5X35cm)
Beautiful Old Water Source in the Architectural-Ethnographic Complex "Etter" in Bulgarian town Gabrovo. (Oil painting)

Gabrovo is a town in central northern Bulgaria. It is known as an international capital of humour and satire, as well as noted for its Bulgarian National Revival architecture. Gabrovo is also known as the longest town in Bulgaria, stretching over 25 km along the Yantra River, yet reaching only 1 km in width at places. For some images of Gabrovo Click Here.

The citizens of Gabrovo, are notorious for their unique sense of humour. During the second half of 20th century jokes have been largely popularized due to the House of Humour and Satire in Gabrovo. The city is now known as an international capital of humour and satire.

It is said that the people from Gabrovo...

• Cut the tails off of their cats so they can close the door faster when they let the cat out, in order to save heat. The black cat with a cut-off tail has become an enduring symbol of Gabrovo.
• Fit taps to the eggs (as for a keg) to tap as much as they need for a soup and to save the rest;
• Turn their clocks off before they go to sleep to save the wear & tear;
• Put green spectacles on their donkeys so that the donkeys will eat shavings, thinking it's hay;
• When they invite people to tea, they heat the knives so the guests can't take any butter;
• To save money on sweeps, they let a cat down the chimney;
• when something new has only just hit the headlines somewhere, it is already being done in Gabrovo.

Some well known Gabrovo jokes are:

-A citizen of Gabrovo throws a party, but too many people show up! He goes to his neighbour.... "Hi, I've got a big problem! 15 guests showed up but I've only got 10 chairs! Do you have any extras?" "Yes, my kids are away at college, so I've got a couple I'm not using" "That's perfect; I'll send five to your house."

-Why don't people from Gabrovo buy refrigerators? Answer: Because they can't be sure the light goes off when the door's closed.

-Why do people from Gabrovo switch the lamp on and off every now and then when they're reading a book? Answer: To save energy while turning pages.

Copyright Lily Serj, and LilysWatercolorPaintings 2008-2011