House of Humour and Satire, Museum and cultural center in Gabrovo, Bulgaria

The House of Humour and Satire is a four-story museum in Gabrovo with exhibition halls housing an extensive collection of artworks from around the world. The displays include caricatures, sculptures, photographs, masks, and costumes that document different traditions of humor and social commentary.

The House of Humour and Satire opened on 1 April 1972, a date chosen as April Fools' Day, on the site of an old leather and tanning factory. Architect Karl Kandulkov designed the building. Its motto, "The world lasts because it laughs", was proposed by the satirical writer Radoy Ralin. The International Biennial of Humour and Satire in the Arts has been held there since 1973.

The museum demonstrates how humor and satire function across different societies as tools for expression and social commentary. Visitors encounter caricatures, masks, and costumes from around the world that reveal what makes people laugh and what matters to them.

The museum is accessible to visitors with strollers and wheelchairs throughout the exhibition spaces. You can also visit a specialized library on site if you want to explore humor and satire from different cultures in more depth.

The museum's emblem is a globe with cat eyes and ears, chosen so it can see and hear humour worldwide, echoing the Gabrovo cat mascot. In the Park of Laughter by the bus and train stations stand sculptures of Hitar Petar, Charlie Chaplin, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, a large sundial and a Tower of Babylon built from scrap metal.