Arts & Architecture
Visiting Romania gives you the chance to see Constantin Brancusi's works
in the marvelous setting of a park in Targu Jiu, near Hobita, his home
village. "The Endless Column" (Coloana Infinita), "The Gate of the
Kiss" (Poarta Sarutului), "The Table of Silence" (Masa
Tacerii) and "The Alley of Chairs" (Aleea Scaunelor) are displayed among trees and lawns as
Brancusi wanted them to be.
Romania has a great diversity of museums preserving every facet of its
history and arts. Some are small museums, catering to enthusiasts with a
taste for special interests such as pharmacy, clocks, railway trains, folk
arts and architecture, wine making and traditional crafts. Larger museums
host regular exhibitions from around the world, as well as housing
permanent collections of paintings and sculptures.
Prominent museums include Romania's National Museum of Art, the Art
Collections Museum, the Village Museum, the Museum of the Romanian Peasant
in Bucharest, and the Bruckenthal Museum in Sibiu. For a listing of
Websites offering more information on Romania's Museums, please check the
Links.
Romanians' vivid imagination and intense spirituality have always been
expressed through their architecture. Fortunately, they also have strong
preservation instincts, resulting in village museums that display bygone
ways of life through found and restored peasant houses, elaborately carved
gates, barns and other architectural elements.
The best and most comprehensive of these is the Village Museum (Muzeul
Satului) in Bucharest. Constructed by a visionary during the 1930s on a
large tract within the city, this is a fascinating collection of more than
300 houses and other structures from every region of Romania. It also has
a small museum and shop of fine Romanian crafts. Other such village
museums well worth visiting are Museum of Wood (Muzeul Lemnului) in
Campulung Moldovenesc and Museum of Peasant Techniques (Muzeul Tehnicii
Populare) in Sibiu. Both have collections of early farm tools and
household implements.
Monasteries, churches, synagogues, castles and palaces throughout the
country, some dating from the 12th Century, depict the country's
tumultuous history. Even its Communist era is expressed through
Ceausescu's master planning and rebuilding of Bucharest. The best example
of his testament to secularity is the Palace of Parliament — the
world's second largest building after the U.S. Pentagon — whose 1,000 rooms
reflect the country's best architects, artisans and building materials.
Among the best examples of Romanian's Orthodox religion are the painted
monasteries of Southern Bucovina, acclaimed as masterpieces of art and
architecture, "perfectly in harmony with their surroundings and unique in
the world for their painted exteriors." They hold UNESCO's Prix d'Or for
"artistic, spiritual and cultural value." Of the five best known, the
most famous is Voronet, also called the "Sistine Chapel of the East" whose
blue exterior background lent its name to the color "Voronet Blue."
These are essential sights for anyone interested in religious
architecture, but they are only a few of Romania's architectural treasures.
Romania's Architectural Treasures, by
location:
Bucharest
Palace of Parliament, Cotroceni Palace, Royal Palace, Patriarchal Complex,
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Italian Church, Russian Church,
Anglican Church, Armenian Church, Great Synagogue, Choral Temple, Sutu
Palace, Mogosoaia Palace.
Wallachia
Peles and Pelisor Castles (Sinaia), Iulia Hasdeu Castle (Campina), Hurez
Monastery, Dinu Mihail Palace (Craiova).
Moldova
Painted Monasteries of Southern Bucovina (Voronet, Sucevita, Moldovita,
Humor and Putna), Ruginoasa Palace, Metropolitan Cathedral, Great
Synagogue, Palace of Culture (Iasi).
Transylvania
Black Church (Brasov), Bran Castle (Bran), Brukenthal Palace (Sibiu),
Hunedoara Castle (near Deva), Sighisoara Medieval Town, Sibiu — Old Town,
Brasov — Old Town, Fortified Churches in Biertan, Harman and Prejmer.
Maramures
Wooden Churches, Wood Museum, Sighet Synagogue (Sighetu Marmatiei), Satu
Mare Synagogue.
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