Description of the attraction
All aspects of the colorful, diverse and, at the same time, difficult life of the Romanian peasantry are reflected in the exhibits of this Museum.
Its history goes back to the second hundred years. Almost from the moment of its foundation in 1906 and for forty years the Museum was headed by the famous historian Alexandru Tsigara-Samurkash. He became the founder of the exposition dedicated, in general, to prosaic things - objects of life and everyday life of peasants.
The building was built slowly and, although the museum was opened to visitors in 1930, its entire construction was completed by 1941. The house received a beautiful facade, with boxes decorated with columns and a tower in the style of old church bell towers. Fortunately, during the bombing of the Second World War, when Bucharest lost many architectural masterpieces, the Museum building was not damaged.
In the post-war years, in the spirit of the times, a museum of the Communist Party named after Lenin was opened in the building, and the richest collection of exhibits was transported to a rented premises. At the new location, it was not possible to demonstrate to visitors many valuable exhibits, especially religious ones, they were kept in storerooms for a long time. However, museum workers continued to add to the collection and almost tripled it by the time they returned to their own building after the overthrow of the Ceausescu regime.
At present, the Museum's collection of folk art numbers over 100 thousand exhibits. The collection of ceramics alone contains more than 18 thousand items, the oldest of which is dated 1746. The collection of traditional folk costumes is impressive, many of which date back to the early 19th century. The most striking fragment of the exposition is a wooden peasant house of the century before last, the so-called "house in a house". The “grandmothers room” with all the attributes of their life is very popular among tourists.
In 1996, the Museum of the Romanian Peasant was awarded the status of the best museum in Europe.
