The Most Popular Museums In Mures County

Since 1977, The International Council of Museums has been annually organizing various events, on the occasion of the International Museum Day, celebrated on May 18th. More than 30,000 members of more than 20,000 affiliated museums bring their contribution through various workshops, activities, publications, training programs and other initiatives to highlight the important role museums play in the community. Because museums are as much about the community as they are for the community. They reflect the multiculturalism of communities, facilitate and encourage intercultural exchange, mutual understanding and cooperation between people of different ages, occupation, gender, political orientation, religion, nationalities and cultures, thus having the power to transform the world around them. 

 

Museums are the repositories of the present of past generations, they keep alive the consciousness of historical time and preserve space in a real, tangible way. They represent a place where the past meets the present, a place of remembering, where the perceived space comes into contact with the conceived and lived space... and why not, they can even be a starting point for the future. 

 

As gateways to the discovery of past and present space-time, museums are essential in a community. In order to get an overview of the territory and its inhabitants, to be able to understand the vastness and depth of the social, historical, economic and cultural richness, a visit to the museum is always welcome. 

 

Thus, we propose a path that starts from a somewhat more generalized knowledge, in order to then move towards a knowledge based on a more in-depth understanding of several areas of the Mureş County. The adventure of museum exploration, the road from the macro to the micro universe of knowledge, can begin with the Mureş County Museum.

 

Mureş County Museum (Târgu Mureş)

The Regional Museum of Târgu Mureș was founded in 1957 and thus, only after the Second World War, the foundations of the institution of  Mureș County Museum were established by the decision of the Regional Party Committee and of the Regional People's Council. The first exhibition was opened in the space of the former Industrial Art Museum, located on no. 24, Horea street,  where the Natural Sciences Section is currently located. At the end of the 1970s, the Mureş County Museum presents itself as a true museum complex, with 4 functional departments and a conservation-restoration laboratory. 

It is currently one of the largest cultural institutions of Mureş County, with 3 basic functions including Heritage Administration, scientific research and openness to the community through the various cultural and educational activities carried out.

 

More than 200,000 cultural assets form the museum's current heritage. Part of this heritage is of national and international importance, while about 80% of its cultural assets are of regional and local relevance. We mention some important works that can be found in the Romanian and Hungarian Art Galleries, such as those signed by Tonitza, Munkácsy and Grigorescu, the Bronze Warehouse in Band, the Dacian Treasure in Sânger, the Fibula from Suseni and the Treasure in Mădăraş. 

 

The museum heritage is capitalized by organizing permanent exhibitions, national scientific communications' sessions, by publishing various articles and studies in specialized journals in Romania. The sections of the Mureş County Museum are:

 

Inaugurated in 1913, the Art Section is located in the building of the Palace of Culture, an emblematic building of Târgu Mureş. The art gallery, originally located in the left wing of the building, on the third floor, was extended in 2011 to the right wing. Visitors can thus enjoy the 2 galleries with permanent status, the Modern Hungarian Art Gallery and the Modern Romanian Art Gallery, along with the Ion Vlasiu Gallery, located in the same section of the right wing of the building. 

 

Located in the Toldalagi Palace, a monument dating back to the 18th century, its heritage includes valuable ethnographic collections consisting of folk costumes, ceramic and wooden objects, bone and metal pieces, interior textiles, religious objects, as well as  pieces of contemporary creation representative for all ethnographic areas in Mureş county. The ethnographic exhibitions are a faithful expression of the interculturality that characterizes the Mureş area. 

The Archaeology and History Section operates within Târgu Mureş' citadel, its exhibition offer focuses on the material culture and the built heritage, displaying aspects related to the history of the region and promoting its cultural heritage, without excluding those related to the modern and contemporary history.

Although it is currently closed for rehabilitation, it still hosts certain museum pedagogy programs. It is located in the building of the former Szekler Industrial Art Museum, built between 1890 and 1893, located on Horea street, no. 24. The building, designed by the architect Kiss István, was built in neoclassical style, combining Greek elements with elements specific to the Italian Renaissance. The beginnings of the Natural Sciences Section in Târgu Mureș date back to 1952 and it currently holds important collections of paleontology, mineralogy-petrology, invertebrate and vertebrate animals, inferior and superior plants, totalling approximately 60,000 pieces.

 

Once the big picture has been outlined, the discoveries can continue. Here are a number of suggestions regarding some museums that can help you crack the mysteries of the cultural micro-universe characteristic of the Mures county area.

 

History Museum (Sighişoara)

 

In the Clock Tower of Sighişoara's Fortress, a true symbol of the city and of Transylvania, operates the History Museum of Sighişoara, structured in collections grouped in thematic rooms such as archaeology, ethnography, pharmacy and medical instruments, crafts and guilds, Transylvanian ceramics, period clocks and horology elements, etc. It opened its doors in 1899, when Josef Bacon, a physician and passionate collector, took the initiative to become the first curator of the museum, which was then called Alt Schässburg (Old Sighişoara). The Clock Tower, where the museum operates, was built in Baroque style in 1677, has 6 levels and is 64 meters high. 

 

"Anton Badea" Ethnographic Museum (Reghin)

 

As the name suggests, the founder of the ethnographic collection of the museum was the researcher, ethnographer and curator Anton Badea. Initially, in 1960, the collection had 64 household items and various folk costumes, which until 1962 were stored in a hall of the House of Culture in Reghin. The first exhibition was organized in 1966, followed so far by more than 128 exhibitions. Over time, the museum has become a living space that offers visitors various cultural programs, closely related to the heritage owned and the cultural space it represents.

 

Village Museum (Vețca)

 

A peasant house with a porch and a Szekler gate, located on the Main Street, has been hosting since 1890 the Village Museum in Veţca. The parental home of Fekete Pal, artist and founder of the museum, has been renovated and populated with various exhibits. Visitors are greeted by a spacious courtyard and a veranda with objects of the last century, which invites them to enjoy the folk art objects inside the house, from furniture, clothing, consumer goods and wall rugs to clay sculptures made by the artist. 

 

Rhédey Castle (Sângeorgiu de Pădure)

 

Built by Count Rhédey László between 1807-1809 using some of the material from which the old castle was built, it is made up of 13 rooms, arranged around a U-shaped hall. The rooms are located both on the ground floor as well as on the first floor. The hall and ballroom ceilings are painted in Baroque style, while the rest of the rooms are painted white. Since autumn 2019, in the 5 chambers located upstairs, one can visit the exhibition entitled "Mysteria Residentiae Rhedey" which, with the help of modern technology, evokes the life of the Rhédey family and the tragic destiny of the Countess Claudia.

 

In addition to revealing us the roots of civilization, museums are also meant to help us better understand the mysteries of the world we live in, giving us the opportunity of mirroring ourselves in fragments of time and space otherwise inaccessible today. They also favor a sense of belonging to the community, thus strengthening the identity awareness. The museum is no longer just a space in which its contents can be observed and viewed, but one in which the public can live various real experiences. Many of the museums are nowadays undertaking a dynamic educational role, the visitor being thus invited to actively participate.

 

We kindly invite you to take advantage of every opportunity that allows you to take a peek into the dynamic and fascinating universe of museum spaces! The Night of Museums event is the perfect opportunity to do just that (May 14-15th, 2022).