BUCHAREST

Museum of Old

West Art r

Muzeul de Arta Veche

Apuseana

Str Dr Minovici 3. Map F1.

Tel (021) 665 7334. @

# 9am–5pm Thu–Sun. &

This charming red-brick Tudor-

style house was built in the

1930s for Dumitru Minovici,

who made his for tune in the

oil industry and became an

avid art collector. The house

con tains a collect ion of

European art dating back to

the 16th cen tury and is fur-

nished with antiques and

Swiss stained-glass windows.

Herăstrău Park

and Lake e

Parcul Herăstrău

Str Kiseleff 32. Map F1. @

Village Museum Tel (021) 317

9110. 
      

      9am–5pm Mon,

      
      

      9am–7pm Tue–Sun. & http://www.
      muzeul-satului.ro

      
      

Bucharest’s largest park

was created in the

1930s under King

Carol II after sev eral

marshes in the area were

drained. Located to the

north of the city, the

park is popular today

with cyclists, roller-

bladers and joggers.

Regular boat trips traverse the

lake and smaller boats are

avail able for indivi dual hire.

Herãstrãu is also home

to one of Europe’s oldest

museum parks, the Village

Museum. Inaugurated in

1936, it com prises a won derful

col lection of recon structed

rural dwell ings and work-

shops. The buildings represent

architec tural styles from all

over the country and range

from 19th-century wood-tiled

houses to wooden wind mills

and thatched Transylvanian

cottages with beautifully

painted window frames.

There is even a half-buried

house, designed to escape

Museum of

the Romanian

Peasant w
Muzeul Țăranului Roman

Str Şoseaua Kiseleff 3. Map C1.
Tel (021) 317 9661. @ 300.

10am–6pm Tue–Sun. &

http://www.muzeultaranuluiroman.ro

Housed in a red-brick edifice
built in 1906, the Museum of
the Romanian Peasant was
intended as a celebration of
the country’s traditions at a
time when industrialization
was begin ning to alter the
rural face of Romania. With
around 100,000 exhibits, the
collec tion covers the regions
of Romania. It includes mock-
ups of crafts men’s workshops,
a 19th-cen tury classroom and
numer ous colourful trad itional
costumes. The highlight, how -
ever, is an enormous wooden
18th-century wind mill,
which has been recon-
structed on the ground
floor alongside a ma s-
sive spiked dărstă
(carding comb), which
was used to prepare
wool for spin ning. A
room at the back con-
tains a replica of an
Orthodox church, hung
with icons dating back
to the 17th cen tury.
The Communism
Exhibition, which
has paintings and

The grand building of the Museum
of the Romanian Peasant

memorabilia relating to

Romania’s former Communist

leaders, is worth a visit. Also

of interest are the hand made

wooden chairs col lected from

villages around the country,

displayed on the first floor.

Replica of a typical Romanian house at the Village Museum, Herãstrãu Park

Passenger boat cruising on the calm

waters of Herăstrău Lake

Costume display,

Museum of the

Romanian Peasant

small exhibition of medieval
religious objects collected
during the couple’s travels.

the notice of invading tribes.

However, the high lights of the

museum are the oak houses

from Maramureş county,

which have beauti fully carved

hunt ing and ani mal scenes on

their gateways. The museum

shop stocks an excellent

range of souvenirs.

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