History, myth and legend are interwoven to produce a unique cultural tapestry that is at once Troyans past and present. The Museum of Folk Crafts and Applied Arts in Troyan is unique to the country – this is the only museum surveying and exhibiting the development of the arts and crafts. There are rich collections of ceramics, artistic woodworking, wood-carvings, iconography, artistic metal-work, folk costumes and textiles.
In the Museum one can Find a lot of information about the local history, culture and way of life. The National Fair of Folk Crafts and Arts in the village of Oreshak represents a succession to an old tradition – the big fair started near the Troyan Monastery at the end of the 18-th century. The National fair was established in 1971 with the main aim of presenting and stimulating the development of the Bulgarian artistic traditional genius. Exhibitions with articles by the best craftsmen that could be bought are organized on a regular basis. International exhibitions are organized too.

Here you`ll find comprehensive displays of local ceramics, wood-carvings, musical instruments and folk costumes, as well as reconstructions of a wood-turner`s workroom and a nineteenth-century house. Also look out for the beautifully made scale-model of a street scene with busy workshops and houses, where the attention to detail is breathtaking. Troyan became a major centre of ceramic production in the nineteenth century, and most of the souvenir pottery you`ll see for sale around Bulgaria is still made here. Troyan wares are instantly recognizable from the Troyanska kapka (”Troyan droplet”) design, achieved by allowing successive layers of colour to drip down the side of the vessel before glazing. A few items are on sale in the museum, and visits to local ceramicists, which usually involve an opportunity to purchase, can be organized through the tourist office. Next door to the Museum of Folk Crafts.

The Oreshaka locality near Troyan – every year from June to September thousands of people flock to the Fair of Traditional Crafts. Articles of the modern masters of art crafts from all over the country are exhibited in the numerous halls there. The Troyan Craft`s museum with over 130,000 exhibits is the only specialized Museum of national crafts and applied arts in the country.

A part of the exposition is a bazaar. The queen of crafts is the unsurpassed Troyan-style pottery – the warmth of the clay abounds in the gay colours of the Bulgarian land and gives expression to the cheerful character of its people.