BACKSTORY OF THE GALATI HISTORY MUSEUM
23 years after the opening of the first museum, Paul and Ecaterina Pasa laid the foundations of another mixed museum complex, located in one of the halls of the Boys’ School no. 6 in the city; this time, the museum included very many elements of natural history, and fewer historical ones. In 1937 the “Cuza Voda House” was created; this association collected funds, donations and contributions and bought the Alexandru Ioan Cuza Memorial House, which was inaugurated as the “Cuza Voda House” Museum. Today, this building is part of the Galati History Museum. Over time, the museum went through a series of alterations for the better; new buildings were bought or donated and added to the museum patrimony, the exhibition space was increased every year due to numerous steps taken in that respect, and the collections were enriched substantially. For example, in 1956 the museum was divided into 3 branches: the History Museum, the Natural Sciences Museum and the Art Museum, all of them nowadays under the control of the Galati History Museum.
However, the passage of time did not bring only happy events to the museum; because of the 1984 earthquake, the “Galant Personalities of Modern History” section was closed down. Other exhibits had the same fate over time, either due to the lack of storage space or because the authorities donated the buildings to other public institutions. For that reason, at a particular point in time, the museum only curated two permanent exhibits: in Manjina and the “Cuza Voda” House. Shortly after that, the museum was assigned a building where the main headquarters are located to this day, on 2 Major Iancu Fotea St. The building needed major repair work which delayed the opening until 1988. That is when the didactic-themed national history museum was created, a museum rich in exhibits originating from the reference areas of the county and from the Maritime Danube area.
Over time, the museum went through a beautiful growth process, and now consists of 6 sections, as follows:
• The headquarters of the Galati History Museum on 25 Domneasca St. Visiting hours differ depending on the season and on the permanent or temporary exhibits hosted here. Throughout the year, this section is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and in the cold season the museum closes one hour earlier, at 5.00 PM.
• “Cuza Voda” House on 80 Cuza Voda St. The museum is set up in Cuza Voda’s ancestral home, and can be visited all year round (it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays). It is worth noting that in 2003 an outbuilding was set up here with an exhibit of stamp, coin, medal and document collections and contemporary pieces.
• “Costache Negri ” Memorial House in Costache Negri (Manjina) Commune, Galati County; like the other sections, it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The building is the place where Costache Negri, Nicolae Balcescu, Mihail Kogalniceanu, Vasile Alecsandri and Alexandru Ioan Cuza met to debate the ideas during the Romanian Revolution. The house was declared a historical monument in 1943, and 25 years later, in 1968, it became the Costache Negri memorial house.
• The House of Collections in the Building of the Former Tinc Pharmacy on 64 Eroilor St., with the same visiting hours. The building is listed as a Historical monument with code GL-II-m-B-03045; in the past, there was a pharmacy here on the ground floor, and the first floor was the residence of the apothecary Constantin Tinc. He was, in turn, a counsellor, mayor and senator of Covurlui. 2002 was a critical year for this building, when it was transferred to the museum by the Local Council; with the approval of the Ministry of Culture, its purpose was changed, from a historical monument to the Museum of Collections.
• “Hortensia Papadat Bengescu” House in Ivesti Commune, Galati County was inaugurated on July 20th 2009 at 1.00 PM and can be visited all year round except on Mondays and Tuesdays. Here you can visit the “Ivesti Personalities” exhibit with documents and objects belonging to Hortensia Bengescu and to other important members of the Ivesti culture.
• “Ion Avram Dunareanu” Rural Home in Suhurlui Commune, Galati County, was inaugurated on October 10th 2009. It was built by Andone and Maria Avram; in 2007 the judge Ioan Avram Dunareanu, their son, donated his family home and an impressive collection of ethnographic assets to the Museum. The exhibit here is called “Traditional Rural Environment”.
GOOD TO KNOW WHEN TRAVELING HERE
The headquarters of the History Museum are on 2 Major Iancu Fotea St., where you can request information about the other sections and the exhibits they host.
Once in Galati, the museum is not the only attraction here; look for accommodation and stay in the area for at least 2-3 days, in order to visit the 6 sections and their main exhibits as well as other beautiful places, because Galati hides beautiful things and is also the largest and most dynamic river port in Romania.
The commercial origins of the city date back to the 16th century, when the Turks exploited everything in the area. 1944 was a bloody year on the Danube shore, when a German siege killed half of the population here, mostly Jewish. Although the city is very well-known due to its steel mill, the beautiful river vistas and the city center are impressive. Other places to visit in Galati:
• Saint Precista Fortified Church built by the ruler Vasile Lupu, on 1 Traian St.
• Visual Art Museum, the first contemporary art museum in Romania, on 141 Domneasca St.
• River Railway Station on 43 Portului St., where the port authority is located
• Village Museum in Galati where you can see traditional huts in the Lower Danube area, located at the entrance of the Garboavele Forest
The winter here is a bit harsher than in the plains, and the summers are generally pleasant, with warm and sunny days almost all the time.
From a historical standpoint, the archaeological discoveries indicate that in the past there was a population of Dacian origin living here (since the first Iron Age), a population led by Dromichaites (between the 4th and 3rd Centuries BC). The archaeological excavations led by Nicolae Constantinescu revealed the fact that in the 1200s there was a small residence of a voivode here and a small church.
According to specialists, in the 13th century (around 1247), Curtea the Arges held the seat of the voivode Seneslau, ruler of a state formation, according to notes found on the diploma of the Knights of the Order of Saint John. Basarab the 1st united all the principalities and voivodeships from the Carpathians to the Danube under the name of Wallachia, thus becoming the first ruler of Wallachia between 1310 and 1330, until the battle of Posada. The first time that the city of Curtea de Arges was mentioned in documents was on October 17th 1336 under the name of “Castro-Argyas”; it is mentioned in a Hungarian diploma. Although the name it was known under was Arges, its present name began being used in the 16th century, mentioned for the first time in 1510.
The voivode Vladislav the 1st (also called Vlaicu, who ruled between 1364 and 1377) set up the first mint here; he encouraged commercial ties between Muntenia and the western cities. During the same time period, the first local school was set up here, for the children from the city.
PLACES TO VISIT IN CURTEA DE ARGES
• The Municipal Museum – north of the square located close to the main road
• The Royal Court – built in 1330 shortly after the battle of Posada; nowadays, what is left of the old Royal Court is well indicated by the exterior walls.
• Curtea de Arges Monastery – founded in 1517 and built out of stone.
• The Episcopal Church – it became the bishop’s residence in 1739. This is where the first two royal couples of Romania, King Charles and Queen Elisabeth and King Ferdinand and his wife Maria are buried.
• The Central Square
PLACES TO VISIT NEAR CURTEA DE ARGES
• Bradetu – the name means fir forest and, as the name indicates, the town is covered with mixed forests and is very appreciated by the tourists who come here to hike and relax, and for its sulfur waters. The town is 28 km away from Curtea de Arges, following the DN73C highway.
• The Wooden Hermitage in Bradetu – an orthodox monastery, a copy of the Cozia Monastery, dating back to the 18th Century.
• The Church of the Saint Peter and Paul Monastery – a church dug in a sandstone rock, located in the town of Corbii; if you want to visit the place after 4 PM, ask at the house located on the other side of the rock. Here you can find frescoes painted in the purest Byzantine style in our country.
• The House of Elisabeth Rizea in Nucsoara Commune
GOOD TO KNOWN WHEN IN CURTEA DE ARGES
A good day to visit here is on a Thursday, because that is a market day; the stalls in the central square are brimming with souvenirs, clothes and delicacies. After a visit and a shopping session in the market, visit Mrs. Mitrofan’s terrace restaurant, where you can admire the interior decorated in an authentic style of the year 1821 and the painted ceilings.
As landmarks, the city of Curtea de Arges is 38 km away from Pitesti, 36 km away from Ramnicu Valcea, 45 km away from Campulung and 150 km away from Bucharest. It is good to know that the city is an important point of departure towards the Transfagarasan highway, the Poenari Citadel, the Vidraru Dam and Lake and the Ocnele Mari salt mines.
The Comana Monastery was erected during the reign of Radu Serban, in 1588, and later restored by Serban Cantacuzino in 1700. The monastery is built on the remnants of the walls of a monastery founded in 1461 by Vlad Tepes. The remains of the rulers Radu Serban and Nicolae Patrascu, son of Michael the Brave, and also the remains of the Cantacuzino Family can be found here. Only a few remnants of the church built by Tepes still stand after having been restored.
The peony and butcher’s broom scientific reserves. Butcher’s broom is found in Comana commune and also in the Oloaga Gradinari area. It grows at the base of trees, so it can be spotted while walking in the area. It is of Mediterranean origin, but specialists believe that it grows and thrives here because this is where two microclimates overlap.
The peony reserve, called Tatar Forest, is found only a few kilometers away from Comana, in Mihai Bravu commune, and the flowers here are different from the garden peony, due to their bright red color and fewer petals. In this area, locals celebrate the peony accordingly, in the month of May, by organizing the “Peony Celebration”.
In the Calugareni Commune, located within the park, there is also a lily-of-the-valley reserve which is not a protected area however, because it was not considered at the moment when the documents were drafted.
Within the area of the park there are countless species of flowers and animals identified and later protected. A big part of these are on the European Red List. The following have already been identified here:
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