| MUSEUMS IN BUZAU COUNTY 04/02/2010 |
| Last updated: 2010-02-05 13:03 EET |
It all started in 1882, with a school collection that in 1936 was granted the status of a museum. The collection moved around over the years, but since 1978 today’s museum building has housed the entire collection. Right from the entrance, visitors can see that the items on display are grouped into several sections. We found out from Doina Ciobanu that the richest collection is the archaeological one:
“In this section we have exhibits from the Paleolithic period. The Neolithic is also well represented thanks to the excavations made in Cotatcu. No less well represented is the Bronze Age, as in our geographical area we have the locality of Monteoru, that gave the name to Bronze Age culture in Romania – Monteoru culture, as it’s called. Then we have exhibits from Gaeto-Dacian civilization. Here we have Dacian fortresses, with exhibits from the main fortress in Calamanesti. It was in fact a settlement where religious services were performed for a large area located around Gruiu Darii. We also have a defensive fortress on the Buzau Valley, in Targov. All these are proof of how well represented the Dacians were in Buzau County.”
The history of the first millenium is also well represented. It is correlated with the peoples’ migration, and with the treasure found at Pietroasele. In the Buzau County Museum there is a replica of the Pietroasele collection, commissioned by King Carol I, actually the only replica in existence. The Middle Ages are also well-represented in Buzau:
“Here close to the arc of the Carpathians, in Buzau, there used to be three defensive fortresses during Middle Ages, which later became fortified monasteries: one in Bradu, dating from the 13th century, one in Berca, built in the 17th century, and the Vintila Voda fortress, actually the capital of Vlad Voda Vintila, Wallachia’s ruling prince. All of these places can still be visited. Then, of course, there is Buzau, first documented on April 13, 372; later on it became a fortress and a market town in the Middle Ages. In this respect, there is strong archaeological evidence for medieval Buzau, where a defensive fortress was built around the bishopric.”
The history of the 19th and the 20th centuries can be seen in the museum with exhibits showing the activity of the people of Buzau, who fought for the Unification of the Romanian Principalities in 1859, for Alexandru Ioan Cuza to be elected ruling prince, and for the War of Independence in 1877-1878. Buzau used to be a very important cultural center as here Ruling Prince Radu founded a bishopric, in the year 1500. The Episcopalian Museum was founded in 2007 in Buzau. Speaking again is Doina Ciobanu, who reminded us that visitors to Buzau should definitely make time to visit the museum:
“The museum is also located in a historical building erected in 1837 which once housed the Buzau seminary. It is perhaps the most beautiful museum of its kind used for religious purposes in the country. Both the building and the exhibition are very well restored. I would also recommend a visit to the Vasile Voiculescu memorial house in Pârscov. The house used to be Vasile Voiculescu’s family home and inside you can see many objects which belonged to the Voiculescu family. The surrounding area is also worth a visit, as it helps us understand Voiculescu’s fantastic writings and the works in which he describes the village and its inhabitants. I also recommend visiting the amber collection at the Amber Museum in Colti containing processed and raw pieces of amber. The outdoor sculpture camp in Magura is also worth a visit. The camp is located close to the museum and contains 256 artworks carved in stone from Magura. The camp covers 21 hectares.”
The older sculptures are now part of the landscape, which makes the camp even more interesting. The camp was restored 3 years ago and now also provides visitors with information about the works on display. There is an information panel containing the names of the artists and their works. Visitors can thus find out more about each individual piece.
Doina Ciobanu, the director of the Buzau County Museum told us that no tour of the museums in this county is complete without a visit to the museums housed by monasteries:
“The Ratesti monastery has a very well preserved museum, as well as the Ciolanu monastery, which is located close to the Magura camp. Speaking of monasteries, I recommend visiting the Poiana Marului monastery in Bisoca. The two churches inside this monastery, although dating back to the end of the 18th century, look exactly as they did when they were first built and are some of the few buildings to have been preserved so well.”
To conclude, we can say that apart from some surprising landscapes, a trip to this area also provides an insight into the history of the Romanian people. Send your entries to our competition “The Legends of Buzau” and you can win a trip to Buzau or one of the runners-up prizes offering information about all the places presented today.
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2010-09-10
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