Balkan Peninsula's First Iron Museum Opens in Plovdiv

Momchil Rusev, BTA Correspondent Ani Mihaylova

The Iron Museum in Plovdiv,

Plovdiv, South Central Bulgaria,

21.11.2025 19:27

(BTA)

The first Iron Museum on the Balkan Peninsula opened its doors in Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria) on Friday. The new exhibition is part of the rich collection of the city's Regional Ethnographic Museum and showcases over 1,200 artefacts from around the world, collected over more than four decades by the late artist Dimitar Dobrev, who donated them to the museum.

Among the first exhibits to greet visitors is an iron shaped like the head of a fire-breathing dragon that emits steam. Also part of the collection is an iron bearing the image of Athena Pallas – the goddess of wisdom and crafts. Many other types of irons with various functions are displayed as well. The collection traces the development of this household appliance from the 14th century to the present day, hinting at even earlier periods.

“This is the first themed museum in Bulgaria dedicated to this appliance. We trace the history of the iron from its origins thousands of years before Christ to the present day,” the Museum’s Director, Assoc. Prof. Angel Yankov, told BTA.

“From the old stone irons we move on to the Chinese ones, which colleagues call ‘pans’ because they are shaped like a pan. They are closed with a lid and were used for ironing silk – the heated tool was simply passed over it while the fabric was stretched by two people, allowing it to smooth out. Then come the tailors’ irons, blacksmith-made with a long handle, which are placed directly into the hearth,” he explained.

“We then move on to the chimney-body irons, which are of Swedish and English original, and from there to еthanol irons, gas irons and those with a removable handle, which is quite a significant invention. With the irons that have removable cores, the core itself is heated on a stove, and one iron can operate with three cores without interrupting its work. After that we reach electricity and the temperature regulation of modern irons,” the Director said.

According to him, the Museum also features trouser-pressing machines, tie presses, as well as children’s and souvenir irons. “You can see everything from a tiny object weighing just a few grams, intended as a souvenir, to heavy, solid irons of 12–13 kg used for smoothing much sturdier fabrics,” Yankov explained.

/KK/