The Museum of Romanian Peasant is one of my favourite museums in Bucharest. It houses, as the name suggests, a large collection of objects used by Romanian peasants: pottery, textiles, traditional costumes, icons and other religious artifacts, pieces of furniture, carpets etc as well as photographs documenting the customs of rural life. Today’s photographs show the red-brick facade of the building. The museum was founded in 1906 under the name of Ethnographic and National Art Museum and was housed temporarily at another location. Construction to the present building started in 1912, was stopped in 1916 and restarted in 1932. It was completed in 1941, 29 years after it was started. The building is the project of architect Nicolae Ghika Budeşti who designed it as an illustration of the neo-Romanian style, very popular in Bucharest at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1953, the communists “liberated” the building, turning it into a museum dedicated to the history of the Communist Party and sending the collection away. In 1990, after the Romanian Revolution, the collection returned home.
I'm glad that the collection returned from 'away'. I like your buildings in this style, massive but extensively decorated.
Your photoblog is great. It's one of my links to keep in touch with my home town. I really miss winter and all it comes with it, even "iarna nu'i ca vara". This museum it's a great one, but it needs some updating like it's neighbor Antipa Museum.
Imposing and beautiful! So glad it houses once again the collections for which it was intended.
A strong, sturdy, no-nonsense building which probably represents the similar traits of the peasants. It reminds me of my first college. A find it very beautiful!
Those Commies…so frightened! All the time. Like someone might find out there was no substance behind their rhetoric, that the structure of their facade was made of sand…
Glad things are back where they belong!
That's quite a monumental building! And today you showed us a small sampling of what's inside! Looks like a must see stop in Bucharest!
It's a handsome building with tons of character. I'm so glad the building was re-liberated to house the present collection. I cannot believe the gall of the Communists! How dare they think their ideas more important than the past of the people who have lived there for generations!