The Regional Ethnographic Museum in Plovdiv is housed in the Kuyumdzhiev House in the Old Town, by the eastern gate, Hisar Kapiya. It is the second-largest specialised ethnographic museum in Bulgaria.
The exhibition shows the traditional culture of the people of Thrace, the Rhodopes and Sredna Gora during the National Revival. Farming and stock-breeding are presented as the main livelihoods, and the crafts include cloth- and braid-making, pottery, coppersmithing and ironwork. A goldsmith’s workshop is shown with all its tools. There are jewellery and church plate, folk costumes, fabrics, rugs, musical instruments and ritual objects, as well as rooms showing town life.
The building is an exhibit in its own right: built in 1847 by master Hadzhi Georgi, it is regarded as the high point of Bulgarian baroque architecture — four storeys, over 2,000 m², two large salons, 12 rooms with carved wooden ceilings and more than 130 windows.
The house was built for the merchant Argir Kuyumdzhioglu, who left for Vienna with his family at the end of the 19th century. The building then served as a girls’ boarding school, a hat factory, a vinegar factory and a store. In 1938 the mayor, Bozhidar Zdravkov, stopped its sale and it became a municipal house museum. The museum opened to visitors on 14 October 1943.
Check the opening hours on the museum’s website before you go.
With children: the museum runs educational programmes and has a children’s book, "Adventures with Argir".
The museum courtyard hosts the Week of Traditional Crafts, and every June the museum hosts concerts of the International Chamber Music Festival.
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Regional Ethnographic Museum Plovdiv is located in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Regional Ethnographic Museum Plovdiv is most easily reached by car. Use the coordinates above to navigate, or open the location in OpenStreetMap or your preferred maps app for turn-by-turn directions. Public transport options vary by region — for remote destinations a rental car gives the most flexibility.
Regional Ethnographic Museum Plovdiv can be visited year-round. Verify current opening hours directly with the museum before your visit, as schedules change seasonally and on public holidays.
Opening hours and admission fees vary, and most Bulgarian museums close one day per week (commonly Monday). Verify current schedules and prices directly with the museum or the local tourist information office before visiting Regional Ethnographic Museum Plovdiv, especially on public holidays.
