Museum of Gardening – Lyaskovets

The city of Lyaskovets is located 10 km northeast of Veliko Tarnovo and 2 km from the city of Gorna Oryahovitsa. Lyaskovets boasts a unique museum dedicated to gardening and vegetable production.

In the 18^th century, these local inhabitants on the periphery of the Ottoman Empire decided to produce and market their vegetables on a large scale – potatoes, tomatoes, okra, squash, peas, eggplant, carrots, and peppers.

Despite the skepticism of their friends and neighbors, they soon found outlets for their produce in Europe, thus leading the way for the Bulgarian produce industry. Thanks to their initiative, many gardeners from Lyaskovets later found work in other countries.

The exposition covers some 500 square meters and includes two halls and a covered open-air pavilion with an authentic wooden water wheel.

The outdoor exhibition includes a rich collection of documentary material, banners from gardening societies in Lyaskovets and surrounding villages, imported gardening clothing and tools, banknotes from countries where Lyaskovets residents worked, photographs of the gardeners at work, and written contributions by local authors on the subject.

A highlight of the exhibition is a plaster model of a “bahcha” (vegetable garden) that clearly illlustrates such a garden’s optimal organizational plan, tools, work habits, and distribution of labor. In all, there are more than 600 items in the museum.