The House of Humour and Satire (; ''Dom na Humora i Satirata'') in

Gabrovo Gabrovo ( ) is a city in central northern Bulgaria, the Local government, administrative centre of Gabrovo Province.It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an international ca ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, is an exposition of traditional local

humour Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

art, including cartoons, photographs, paintings, sculptures, and verbal humour. The House combines features of a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

. The city of

is also known as an international capital of humour and satire. Its

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

is ''"The world lasts because it laughs"''.

Collection and activities

The House of Humour and Satire is a cultural center in Gabrovo. Its main objectives are the management of its collection and hosting of permanent and temporary exhibitions of humorous and satirical works of art from Bulgaria and the world, publishing activity and organisation of contests and festivals of humour. The following events are held in the House of Humour and Satire: * International

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and t ...

of humour and satire in the arts (IBHSA) * April 1 - Birthday of the House of Humor and Satire. The House's art collection ''Humour of the peoples'' includes over 51 620 works of art by over 9000 authors from 173 countries around the world: among them approximately 22 000 caricatures, over 3000 satirical graphics, over 1000 picture works, around 1000 sculptures, around 9500 photos, over 200 posters, over 300 carnival masks and costumes. Another part of the museum collection is the specialist library of 25 000 titles and 1000 volumes of periodicals in 35 languages. A big part of those works of art are obtained through donations. This abundance gives the opportunity for constant update of the expositions, and the mounting of topical expositions of various author and themes. For over 35 years of existence, the HSS has organised over 500 topical, group, individual and traveling exhibits in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. The HSS is a unique cultural institute of humor and satirical art with an international resonance. It was created on the site of an old leather and tanning factory on April 1, 1972. The architectural design was by Karl Kandulkov. It is a proud successor of the local folklore humor and carnival traditions of Gabrovo - the Bulgarian capital of humor. The HSS embarks on various activities - it is a museum of laughter, a gallery of the international humorous art, an information center, a place for recreation, a tourist attraction for both the young and the elderly. Its emblem is the Earth's globe with cat eyes and ears, to "see and hear" the world's humor, and invokes the mascot of Gabrovo - the cat. The goal of the House of humour and satire is to collect, show and popularise the humour of the people in the fields of fine arts, literature and folklore, photography, poster, merry holidays and masquerade traditions around the world. The House of humour and satire is a veritable palace with its 10 exhibition halls (totalling some 8000 sq. metres), a library, a recording studio, a conference hall, a souvenir stand, a night cafe, and a free parking lot. The House of Humour and Satire offers its guests four floors of permanent expositions (''How Gabrovo Became a Capital of Humor'', ''Garden Town'', ''Satire and Propaganda, Mirror Room''), temporary exhibitions of humorous art, copper bells, a huge figure of the Gabrovo cat with its severed tail, etc., and a rich museum shop with unique and various products. Located in the center of Gabrovo, close to the bus station and train station, the House of Humour and Satire welcomes its visitors with happy greetings of favorite humorous characters, whose sculptures are shown in the Park of Laughter. Among them are: * the famously witty character Hitar Petar (Crafty Peter); * the greatest comedian of all time

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

; * the inseparable couple of

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

and

Sancho Panza Sancho Panza (; ) is a fictional character in the novel ''Don Quixote'' written by Spain, Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote and provides comments throughout the novel, ...

; * a huge sun dial; * the strange metal

Tower of Babylon The Tower of Babel is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis (chapter 11) meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language migrates to Shinar ...

External links

Web site of the ''House of Humour and Satire''

Podcast Interview with ''House of Humour and Satire'' Director Margarita Dariskova
{{Authority control Gabrovo Bulgarian humour Buildings and structures in Gabrovo Province Tourist attractions in Gabrovo Province

Collection and activities

See also

External links