Unique Old Transylvanian Houses in Bucharest Village Museum – Walking tour

Unique Old Transylvanian Houses in Bucharest Village Museum – Walking tour

“Dimitrie Gusti” National Village Museum The entrance ticket for adults costs 6 euros, 3 euros for students, and children under 6 are free Map of the museum Jurilovca – Tulcea 1898 The Jurilovca household, originating from the Black Sea coast near Lake Razelm, is a typical Lipovan ensemble from the late 19th century.

The museum showcases traditional Romanian village life. The museum extends to over 100,000 m2, and contains 123 authentic peasant settlements, 363 monuments and over 50,000 artefacts from around Romania. The village was a creation of the folklorist and sociologist Dimitrie Gusti

The necessary financial funds were provided by the Royal Cultural Foundation and in the presence of King Carol II of Romania the museum was inaugurated on 10 May 1936. At the time of its inauguration, it was the fourth open-air museum of Europe.

The museum initially was 4.5 ha in size with 33 authentic settlements that were transferred from the researched villages. Among them was the Maramures wooden church from Dragomirești, Maramures county. The building remains the central piece and is incorporated into the logo of the museum. You will see it later in the video.

Straja Household, Suceava county – 1760 Constructed in the second half of the 18th century, the dwelling of villager Petre Ursaciuc hails from northern Moldova, specifically from the village of Straja, nestled along the Suceava Valley This region is characterized by expansive pastures and forests, with the locals engaging in animal husbandry and wood processing.

The house is built using an archaic technique, featuring walls made of round pine logs joined at the ends, covered with a thin layer of clay and humus. The Fundu Moldovei household in Suceava, dating back to the early 20th century, showcases traditional rural life in the Bucovina region

The inhabitants, predominantly free peasants, engaged in traditional activities such as sheep and cattle herding, timber exploitation, and, to a lesser extent, cultivation of cereals and textile plants.

The house, constructed with notched fir logs, has a four-pitched roof covered with long shingles. Distinctive elements include the central porch and the broad veranda with pillars and a balustrade enclosed with planks. White-painted plaster surrounds the entrance door and windows.

The cat, in its lofty siesta spot on the roof, has issued a silent proclamation: disturb my nap at your own risk! Uh-oh, I’ve disturbed the cat’s beauty sleep. Now, the real question is: am I about to become a scratching post in its sleepy wrath?

The 19th-century dwelling from Audia, Neamț, displayed in a museum since 1957, belonged to villager Teodor Bălănescu. The property includes a five-room house and a barn with a unique hay loft.

The house, constructed with round spruce logs, features an open porch with elegantly shaped pillars and a decorative four-pitched roof. The inventory reflects the owners’ diverse activities, such as hunting, fishing, shepherding, and beekeeping.

The 19th-century homestead from Piatra Șoimului, Neamț County, is situated in a wooded hilly area. Residents were engaged in forestry, cork production, and agricultural activities. The house, built in the late 1800s, features a stone foundation, spruce log walls, and a distinctive four-pitched roof with rounded shingles.

Built in the early 19th century, Vasile Popa’s adobe in Răpciuni is a small, traditional dwelling moved to the museum in 1957 from a village near the Ceahlău Massif.

The house has a simple design with an open porch, untreated fir log walls, and a steeply pitched roof with wide eaves. Inside, a single room features plastered walls, a spruce plank ceiling, and a central hearth.

The church of Răpciuni, Neamț County, dating back to 1773, faced challenges during the 1950s-1960s hydroenergy developments of the Bistrița River, leading to the forced relocation of 22 villages. The Museum of the Village rescued the church in 1958 from submersion.

Cyrillic inscriptions on the porch, though nearly indecipherable, provide historical information, recalling events such as the Russo-Turkish War of 1828 and cholera epidemics in 1831 and 1865.

Zăpodeni, a 17th-century dwelling from Vaslui County, Romania, stands as a valuable representation of Moldavian vernacular architecture. Transferred to the museum in 1961, it is a single-cell house typical of the clăcași villages in the Moldavian plateau.

The Romoșel oil and must press, originating from Hunedoara County and dating back to 1922, was added to the museum’s collection in 2002. It was utilized in the village for extracting edible oil from various seeds like pumpkin, walnut, flax, and hemp, as well as for producing must from apples and grapes.

The process involved placing oil-bearing seeds in a circular trough, crushing them with a stone wheel rolled by hand or pulled by a horse. The resulting mixture was sifted to remove husks, and the remaining flour was combined with water, kneaded into a paste, and fried on a griddle.

This versatile installation was also used to produce apple must, which fermented into vinegar. Apples were crushed with the stone wheel, transferred to the press in a basket made of wooden slats, and pressed similarly to the oil extraction process. This method was also used for pressing grapes after maceration in a wooden vessel.

The household of Maria Dumitru in Curteni, representing the villages of free peasant landowners in the vineyard region of Central Moldavian Plateau, was added to the museum in 1959. It includes a house, chicken coop, and wine cellar.

The 1844-built house features burnt brick walls, a four-pitched thatched roof, and a distinctive interior with a stove wall separating and heating rooms. The “Căsoaia” (pantry) belonging to villager Ioniță Bucur from Paltin, a common agricultural annex in Vrancea settlements, dates back to the late 19th century and was brought to the museum in 1956.

Elevated on a foundation of mountain and river stones without binder, incorporating an underground cellar, the structure is adapted to the sloping terrain.

The “Oloiniţa” installation from Valea Mică – Zlatna, Alba County, dating back to the 19th century, was incorporated into the museum collection in 1967. It comprises four distinct components integral to the oil extraction process from oilseeds.

The mechanism involves a hydraulic wheel and splined shaft that drive hammers to crush seeds placed in the “pot”. The resulting flour is sifted, kneaded with water, and then fried on a metal tray integrated into the oven.

The Gura Râului installation complex located in the National Museum of the Village includes whirlwinds, a basket for thickening tendrils, a basket for pulling hair and a piua, each in a separate construction.

The Castranova small hause in Dolj, dating back to the 19th century, is a traditional dwelling dug into the ground, preserving the architectural style prevalent in the Oltenia region. Identified since the Neolithic period, brothels like this one persisted due to strong cultural traditions, harsh climate conditions, and historical threats.

It was transferred to the museum in 1949 and is one of the last of its kind in the village. The “T”-shaped plan includes four rooms, with a kitchen featuring various utensils and tools, a cellar showcasing agricultural items, and a living room adorned with decorative objects.

The brothel’s entrance is flanked by horse-head carvings for protection against dangers and evil spirits. This dwelling style provides warmth in winter and coolness in summer, making it an enduring part of the region’s heritage.

Exterior walls are made of massive oak furs lining an excavated pit, while inner walls are brick-built with sturdy forks supporting the main beam.

The gabled roof has a framework of oak splits covered with reeds, earth, and straw. The entrance porch is decorated with archaic motifs, including twisted ropes, solar circles, and rosettes, along with protective “horse head” cosorobes.

The authentic house of Gheorghe Beuran, dating from the early 19th century, was brought to the museum in 1936. Despite its small size, it represents the type of tall dwellings of wealthy peasants from northern Gorj and illustrates the popular version of fortified noble “towers” prevalent in Oltenia during the 18th-19th centuries.

Located in the middle of Transylvania, in the Aries Valley, the village of Sălciua de Jos is representative of the traditional architecture characteristic of the Apuseni Mountains from the beginning of the 19th century. The household of villager Ion Buta, dating back to 1815, was brought to the museum in 1936.

Constructed with fir beams on stone plinths, the house features a steeply pitched roof covered with “trodden” wheat straw, displaying archaic architectural forms preserved through challenging living conditions.

Household from the village of Drăguș, dating from the late 19th century, was moved to the Village Museum in 1936. Originating from “Tara Oltului” or “Tara Făgărașului,” it represents the distinctive folk architecture developed in the region

The house exhibits an asymmetric plan with a porch featuring shaped pillars and a perforated balustrade facing the yard. The house of Ana Emanoil from the village of Tilișca, dated 1847, was brought to the Village Museum in 1936, representing the life and folk art of transhumant sheep breeders in the mountainous Sibiu region.

The house of Mălian Grapini from the village of Şant, dating back to 1876, was transferred to the Village Museum in 1936 to depict the villages in Năsăud County during the 18th-19th centuries The house plan comprises a central awning flanked by two large rooms, each with a pantry on the backside.

The living room (“small house”) is functional with a complex heating system, including a free hearth with a chimney, an oven, and a stove. The guest room (“parade house”) is adorned with a dowry stacked to the ceiling, reflecting the family’s worth and the women’s value.

❗Important – turn on subtitles in your native language in the settings – “CC”
Explore the preserved architecture and immerse yourself in Romania’s cultural heritage. Experience the beauty of the past and present in this enchanting walking tour!

🔽Chapter Markers🔽
0:00 National Village Museum
0:21 Map of the museum
1:34 “Jurilovca, Tulcea” 1898
4:00 “Straja” household, “Suceava” 1760
4:31 “Voitinel” household, “Suceava”
5:43 “Fundu Moldovei, Suceava”
7:55 The sleeping cat
9:24 “Audia, Neamţ” hause, 19th century
11:00 “Piatra Soimului, Neamţ” County
11:38 “Radesti, Galati”
12:29 “Mastacan, Neamt”
13:58 “Răpciuni, Neamț”, 19th century
14:10 “Church Rapciuni, Neamț” 1773
15:56 “Zăpodeni, Vaslui” 17th century
17:21 “Romosel, Hunedoara”
21:25 “Curteni, Vaslui” House, 1844
23:10 “Paltin, Vrancea” house, 19th century
23:32 “Zlatna, Alba”, 19th century
26:33 “Jurilovca, Tulcea”
27:21 “Rasinari, Gura Raului, Sibiu”
27:57 “Gura Raului, Sibiu”
30:04 Farm birds
31:24 “La bariera” han
32:00 “Castranova, Dolj” 19th century
34:52 “Draghiceni, Olt” 19th century
37:01 “Curtisoara, Gorj” 19th century
40:25 “Salciua de jos, Alba”
42:10 “Clopotiva, Hunedoara”
42:43 “Dragus, Brasov”
45:17 Live drawing of houses
46:53 “Tilisca, Sibiu”
48:30 “Sant, Bistrita-Nasaud” 1876
51:33 “Moiseni, Satu Mare”
54:30 New Village
55:33 “Poienile Izei, Maramures”
56:08 “Dealu Frumos, Sibiu”
57:07 “Independenta, Constanta”
58:02 “Breaza, Suceava”
58:32 “Sebesu de jos, Sibiu”
58:50 “Cut, Alba” 1882
1:00:05 “Horezu, Valcea”
1:00:20 “Metes, Alba”
1:00:47 “Mosteni-Greci, Arges”
1:01:11 “Campulung Moldovenesc, Suceava”
1:01:44 “Valea Doftana, Prahova” 1946
1:03:00 “Ticleni, Gorj”
1:03:35 “Budieni, Gorj”
1:04:20 “Teșila, Prahova”
1:04:55 “Turea church, Cluj” 18th century
1:07:18 “Cernu, Bacau”
1:07:55 “Campanii de sus, Bihor”
1:08:35 “Spermezeu, Bistrita Nasaud”
1:09:18 “The Yellow Inn” Bucharest
1:10:08 “Soveja, Vrancea” 1927
1:10:45 Dance hall, “Alunis, Prahova”

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