The way of the Bulgarian iron

A unique museum is preparing to open in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. In the center of this popular tourist city there will be a collection of irons by the artist Dimitri Dobrev, which he collected for more than forty years.

It will be a modern interactive museum with various visual effects that complement the information about each exhibit – from old retro irons using coal, alcohol or gas to electric models of various shapes and sizes. Visitors will be able to track the transformation of engineering ideas in household appliances from the 19th century to the present day. The oldest copy of the collection is an iron, created in 1880 by a Birmingham–based gun company. Bulgarian irons are represented by manufacturers from Varna, Vratsa, Plovdiv and the Arsenal arms factory in Kazanlak.

Antique iron irons were often decorated with fine plastics, some of them are just works of art. The collection includes models with figures of Romulus and Remus, as well as an iron with a handle in the form of the goddess Vesta. A lot of Bulgarian ironing tools and patents for them are going to be exhibited in the main hall. The curators of the new museum note that specimens have been created in Bulgaria that are not found anywhere else in the world. Among them are porcelain iron boxes, which served not only to smooth delicate lace, but also to store jewelry.

There is only one museum in Europe comparable to the Plovdiv museum: in France, the collection of irons has about 4,000 copies. There are 1300 irons in the Bulgarian exposition so far. However, the museum will be replenished with new arrivals, as avid collector Dimitri Dobrev will continue to search for irons of all times and peoples.

Now the Plovdiv collection claims to be the largest in the Balkans, but with the expansion of the exposition its status may increase. It is planned to open the museum in the summer on Sobornaya Street 22. It will be called "The Way of the iron".