Payless

Vasil Ivanov Kunchev was born on July 18, 1837 in Karlovo. He is a descendant of two old, proud and freedom-loving Bulgarians families. His nickname "Levski" he received during his stay in Serbia as part of the First Bulgarian Legia. He is the most famous Bulgarian revolutionary and freedom fighter.

The birthplace of Vasil Levski - the Apostle of Freedom, as he is known, is one of the first memorial museums in Bulgaria. For several decades it collected and stored many objects, documents and photographs relating to the family, the life and work of Vasil Levski, and his followers from Karlovo and other parts of the country.

The Museum of Vasil Levski in Karlovo has more than 70 years of history. Its beginning is related to the restoration of the home of the Apostle in 1933 and its opening as a museum in 1937.

The house is a small one-storey building. Stone stairs lead into the cellar room, built near the ground. Left of the stairs is a closet without a window where also containers were stored. To the right is the hiding room. In front of it, in the wall was built in commode, which inner wall is a wooden door, plastered with lime. In the commode rugs were folded in order to hide the door of the shelter itself. The house has two more rooms. In the first the family slept during the summer and the other was the guestroom. Next to it is attached workshop - low building consisting of rooms two rooms.

The exhibition hall of the museum was built in 1965. Here are kept almost all scientific researches and biographical literature devoted to the Apostle. The museum keeps a rich collection of works of art related to the personality of Vasil Levski.

Here can be seen a Statute of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee, uniform of the First Bulgarian Legia, banner of the local revolutionary committee founded by Levski in 1869 and many other interesting exhibits.

In 2000, to the museum complex was added a memorial chapel built in memory of Vasil Levski. It preserves a priceless exhibit - part of his hair. The story of how the hair survived until today is interesting. The Apostle cut himself his hair and removed his monk's robe on the eve of Easter in 1864 near the Alton Cair area, in the outskirts of Karlovo, giving them his mother to preserve them.

Part of the exposition of the museum is the Chardaklieva house. Chardaklievata house is located immediately adjacent to the home of Vasil Levski. In it lived the family of the Apostle's aunt Donna Chardaklieva – sister of Gina Kuncheva (Levski’s mother). The house was built around 1840. There is chamber hall for temporary exhibitions.