The House of Humour and Satire in Gabrovo is unique in its nature. It is the only museum in the world devoted to humour, an exposition of traditional local humour art, including cartoons, photographs, paintings, sculptures, and verbal humour. The House combines features of a museum and an art gallery. The city of Gabrovo is also known as an international capital of humour and satire. Its motto is "The world lasts because it laughs".

The museum was opened on 1 April 1972. Today it is an international cultural centre that successfully combines the features of a museum and a busy gallery where examples of the art of humour and satire from all around the world are gathered together.

The building of the House of Humour and Satire was built on the foundations of an old tannery and currently includes 10 exhibition halls on an area of 8 000 sq m. This makes it one of the biggest museums in Bulgaria.

The symbol of Gabrovo - a black cat with no tail - stands and greets visitors near the entrance of the exhibition hall. One local joke says that people from Gabrovo cut off the tails of their cats in order for them to get out of rooms faster because in this way less heat is lost during the cold winter months. This, of course, is just a joke and no one really does it.

A central spot is given to the painting of artist Radi Nedelchev that depicts another symbol of Gabrovo – a big egg with a tap. The Gabrovo housewives are so economical that they hate to stir a whole egg into the soup. They only do this on holidays. The economy and frugality of Gabrovo people is proverbial and is commonly used to describe very stingy and tight-fisted people.

Visitors will find many more funny things and Gabrovo “patents” in the museum. There is a special entertainment room for children: Planet Gabrovo. There children can have fun, play, run and touch the exhibits.

Visitors can deposit their favourite jokes in the only Joke Bank in the world.