Apart from the magic of the Damask rose and the abundance of Thracian art, Kazanlak prides itself with being a town of artists. It is the home town of a lot of artists, some of whom have reached the highest peaks of Bulgarian visual art such as: Petko Klisurov, Ivan Milev, Ivan Penkov, Dechko Uzunov, Nenko Balkanski, Vasil Barakov, Mara Yosifova and others. That’s why it’s no wonder why Kazanlak has one of the oldest and richest galleries in the country.

 

In 1901 a Museum of Antiques and Arts was founded in Kazanlak which, under the initiative of artist Ivan Enchev – Vidyu, became home to the earliest art collection in the country. Thanks to his tireless efforts and persistent requests aimed at colleagues of his from the drawing school, in the period of 1902 – 1906 the museum received works by sculptors Zheko Spiridonov and Boris Shatz, painters Georgi Mitov, Zahari Zhelev, Boris Mihaylov and others.

 

The period of 1930 – 1958 was particularly fruitful because of the fact that artist and writer Dimitar Chorbadzhiyski – Chudomir was director of the museum and the gallery. Thanks to his intuition and his personal contacts with artists of his time, he managed to enrich the collection with artists and works of national importance. Since 1973 the gallery has been a standalone cultural institute and in 1981 it placed its permanent exhibition in a section of the newly built building at Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodi Str 9.