The Ethnographical Museum of Transylvania in Cluj is one of the oldest in the country and the first ethnographical cultural institution in Romania. Since it's opening till now the museum has received countless visitors from all over the world, interested in discovering the folk art and tools, traditional jobs and products, legends, clothes, beliefs and way of life. In it's eight decades of existence, due in no small part to the efforts made by several generations of researchers, scientists and curators, the museum has amassed a huge collection of tens of thousands, from all over the country. Some of the exhibits featured in the permanent show are highly valuabe and unique, impressive for their keen worksmanship and simple beauty.
The idea of opening such a museum came around in 1920, when the Arts Ministry at that time offered the starting funding for an ethnographical institution to be opened in Cluj. Although the sum was by no means impressive by today's standards, it proved to be a good starting point. The proposal was made by Coriolan Petranu, at that time a high ranking official and general inspector of all Romanian museums. On May the 4th 1922 the "Prince Carol" Cultural Foundation appointed a comitee - George Valsan, Sextil Puscariu, Alexandru Lapedatu, Romulus Vuia, George Oprescu - to undertake the difficult task of founding the museum.
In June 1922 the museum was founded and from the very start the comitee decided that the new institution will cover all branches of ethnography, not only folk art but also tools, customs, everyday life, legends, stories, music, trying to bring together, in a single space, the esentials. Focusing on Romanian exhibits from all over the provinces, the curators also decided to pay special interest to the minorities ethnographical studies and collections, emphasising the connections and differences between them The starting collection had over 1200 objects and around 160 photographs, which was more than impressive at that time. The range of the exhibits was diverse : icons, folk art of all kinds, ceramics, textiles, household items, tools, some jewellery, collections of documents and images - mainly local stories and legends - and so on.
Some of the most important researchers of that time contributed to the project, many even donating some interesting pieces, while others further enriched the documents section of the museum. The very first director of the museum was professor Romulus Vuia, who actually lied down the future rules and regulations and did his best the grow the collections and interest of the museum. Since then, the Ethnographical Museum of Transylvania in Cluj-Napoca has never been closed, and has remained one of the most popular tourist objectives in the city, as well as one of the most prestigious cultural landmarks.
2008-04-16
