The "Amza Pellea" Memorial House

Constantin Brancusi is honored in a unique way in Craiova. The huge glass “egg” constructed in the courtyard of the Craiova Art Museum  represents an unparalleled construction in the artistic and architectural world, a real attraction for the enthusiasts of Brancusi's work, for those fascinated by modern art, as well as for those hunting spectacular objectives. The architect of the glass prism is the famous Dorin Stefan. He wanted to make an unprecedented project, a work on the border between sculpture and bold architecture. Dorin Ștefan was inspired by a sketch made by the great Constantin Brâncuși for the “Temple of Meditation”, a monument he had designed at the request of a Maharajah who wanted to build a mausoleum dedicated to the memory of his wife. In fact, the shape of the egg is found in many of the works of the famous sculptor. The idea of building a center dedicated to Brancusi was assumed by Dolj County Council, and the unique project of glass construction became a reality. The prism, 12 meters high, consists of slats and glass pillars weighing over 200 tons. Below the glass volume is a multifunctional underground pavilion, from inside which the access inside the “egg” is made, with an elevator that offers the perspective of another famous work of Brancusi, the Great Bird (Maiastra). The two overlapping structures, the gallery and the glass signal, form  a complete and complex interactive cultural objective: the “Constantin Brancusi” International Center.  Inside the pavilion there are exhibition spaces, but also areas that can host conferences and shows. At the heart of the concept of exhibition are the life and works of the great sculptor, and the way of presentation is an interactive one. Constantin Brancusi International Center was inaugurated in September 2022, offering Craiova a tourism product of international interest. Visitors have the opportunity to see both the attractive and interactive exhibitions of the center and the Jean Mihail Palace, a construction dating back to 1907 and hosting the Art Museum. Among the valuable exhibits of the museum there are also six Brancusi works: Miss Pogany, Ego, Kiss, Torso, Child's Head and Vitellius. 

Built between 1898 and 1907 in the middle of a city caught in the fever of the innovations of the early twentieth century, the Mihail Palace stands out by the execution details that have the distinction of a meticulously crafted jewellery. Thus, it reflects the exigencies and social status of one of the richest men of that time, and the ambition and the spirit of competition which helped him make a fortune. So, as Gh. Grigore Cantacuzino, nicknamed the "Nabob", in Bucharest and the royal advisor Vălimărescu, across the street, assigned the building of their houses to the famous architect Albert Galleron who had also made the projects of other important buildings in the Kingdom - the Romanian Athenaeum, Constantin Mihail could accept nothing less for himself. He contracted another famous name at the time, Paul Gottereau - the architect of the Royal Court and the creator of the Royal Palace, of the Palace of the "Carol I" University Foundation, the CEC Palace etc. Reflecting on the prevailing trend of the time, that of an eclecticism which successfully combined the rigor of the French academicism with late Baroque elements, the plan of the construction has many similarities with the plan of the Cheverny Palace in the Loire Valley, recognized as an example of architectural balance and elegance. The exterior details and the ornaments on the facade, the window frames and the ironwork of the balconies, prepare the viewer's eye for the exquisite grandeur hidden inside. In the hall of honour, in the reception lounges and in the music room, in the living rooms, but also in all other areas not necessarily having a specific destination for social events, the building materials were of the highest quality: Carrara marble, Murano crystal and Venetian mirrors, decorative ironwork, Lyon silk, gilded mouldings, furniture and art objects, generally purchased from Vienna with the aid of the rich Dumba family, with which Constantin Mihail was closely related. But not only these standards of luxury are impressive. We should also mention the skylights and the large windows, designed to provide the space with as much natural light as possible, and also the technical equipment used to provide comfort all around the house, all exceptional for that period of time, including electricity and the "Roman type" heating system with pipes inserted in the walls and floors. The Palace has 29 rooms (plus annexes) of which the most spectacular is the Hall of Mirrors Inaugurated in 1909 by the two sons, Nicolae and Jean - as Constantin Mihail had died the year before, the Palace began its representation mission, which was intended from the beginning. Jean Mihail was a cultivated man and a person with broad views. He had studied law in Paris, wanting to devote to a political career. Being a prominent member of the high society and part of the restrictive circle at the Royal Court, he hosts the royal family in his palace in 1913, at the inauguration of the monument "That's the music that I love", called so after the remark of Charles I when hearing the cannon shots that marked the start of the War of Independence in 1877. The monument was destroyed immediately after the communists come to power. Two years later, King Ferdinand and Princess Mary are welcomed at the palace together with General Averescu, who were coming to visit the Military Hospital in Craiova. In 1936, Jean Mihail, the last descendant of the family, dies, leaving his entire fortune to the Romanian state, by will. And it really was an impressive fortune considering that, during the economic crisis of 1929-1933, he guaranteed with it the loans contracted by the Romanian state from the foreign banks. His gesture reflects a high civic sense and a patriotism of the noblest kind – and this is why the building remained in the public consciousness as the Jean Mihail Palace. At the beginning of World War II, when Romania generously housed Polish refugees, the Polish President Ignacy Moscicki with his family and Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły - the chief commander of the Polish armed forces, were housed at the palace. Furthermore, here, in 1940, Romania and Bulgaria signed the Treaty of Craiova by which the Quadrilateral is ceded to Bulgaria. The palace was first opened to the public between the 24th and the 31st of October 1943, during the "Week of Oltenia" event under the patronage of the Royal Cultural Foundation and during which some of the works of Constantin Brancusi were exposed for the first time in Craiova, (Head of a boy, Head of a girl and The Kiss). From 1945 to 1950, the palace became the headquarters of ARLUS (Romanian Association for Tightening the Relations with the Soviet Union), and then of the Regional Committee of the RMP in Oltenia, whose secretary was Nicolae Ceausescu (probably out of sentimental reasons he later decided, after having become the General Secretary of the Communist Party and the President of the Romanian Socialist Republic, to preserve and restore the building after it had been severely damaged during the earthquake of 1977). Since 1954, following the decision of setting up an art collection, the building was transferred in the patrimony of the City People's Council heritage and became the headquarters of the Art Museum of Craiova. Part of the "Alexander and Aristia Aman” Pinacoteca was moved here, including, besides the library, furniture and paintings belonging to the Dutch, Flemish, Italian and French schools from the XVII-XIX century, paintings and graphics by Theodor Aman, Romanian and foreign decorative art. Its patrimony was extended during the interwar period through purchases made by the city and due to the donations from the great noble families of Craiova: Mihail, Romanescu, Cornetti, Glogoveanu etc. The acquisitions continued in the post-war period and transfers have been made from the National Museum of Art and the central state funds. Currently, the patrimony of the Museum consists of over 8,000 works of European and Romanian art. The collection includes the most important names of the Romanian painting and sculpture: Theodor Aman, Nicolae Grigorescu, Nicolae Tonitza, Ștefan Luchian, Gheorghe Petrașcu, Theodor Pallady, Eustațiu Stoenescu, Ion Țuculescu, Gheorge Anghel, Dimitrie Paciurea. The most valuable works of art from those held by the museum are six pieces from the works of the titan of the universal modern art, Constantin Brancusi: Vitellius, Head of a girl, Head of a boy, Torso Fragment (or Thigh), Miss Pogany and The Kiss.

Brief summary of the History-Archaeology In the XVII-XIX century, in the main building where the History-Archaeology Department within Oltenia Museum is located, there was a spring from where water carriers took drinkable water and sold it in the historical area of Craiova. The ground belonged to the Maica Precista Church from Dud, today called Madona Dudu. On the same ground, there was a part from an old and ancient forest, of which a small part is still preserved nowadays, in the park Mihai Bravu. The ground belonged to Brînduşa slum as well, which was divided by a bourn, merging Vâlcea Valey to one of the Jiu branches from those days. In front of the current building, there was a wooden footbridge which connected with the Dorobănţia slum, where people from Dorobănţia lived, who maintained order in Craiova and had military obligations as well. At the end of the XIX century, supported by a donation made to the Madona Dudu Foundation by a certain Preda, the municipality considered the idea of building an asylum. Under these terms, the project of the future building contained a yard with a closed interior and the windows were barred at a greater height than the usual buildings. The management of Craiova town, who received this land by donation, decided that building such a hospital would be inappropriate, as it was too close to the town centre. As a result, the hospital would be built in a location outside Craiova. With funds from the Ministry of Education, supplemented by funds from Craiova city hall, at the beginning of the XX century, the construction of its current residence began. The construction of the History-Archaeology Department building from Oltenia Museum, made after architect Fr. Billek’s plans, was finished in 1906 and inaugurated in the autumn of the same year, on the occasion of the 40 years anniversary celebration of the reign of king Carol I, building that served as an elementary school for boys and girls. This place also served as a shelter for orphan children, who had an opportunity to learn a profession. With funds collected on their own through different methods: objects handcrafted by pupils and sold by the “Doamnele Craiovene Committee” during holidays over the year, they would provide food for many poor pupils, all managed by the priests of the Madona Dudu church. In November 1940, the building was seriously damaged by an earthquake and the school was temporary transferred before further restoration. In 1948, all religious buildings and private schools were suppressed by the Communist regime. As a result, at the direct intervention of future scholar C.S. Nicolăescu-Plopşor and his colleague, Ştefan Voitec, at that time secretary of education, the building was granted to Oltenia Museum. In this location, the State archives, as well as archives of all Craiova museums, would be initially registered.

Bania House, a monument of medieval architecture and the oldest civil building in Craiova, was built in the late fifteenth century by the Craioveşti noblemen and it was rebuilt in 1699 by the prince martyr Constantin Brancoveanu. From the initial construction done by Craioveşti only part of the cellar is preserved. In the midst of history, the old foundation was burned many times, it passed through different dominations and administrations and "suffered" architectural changes, additions and deletions according to their needs. Thus, between 1718 - 1739, in Baniei House is based the austrian administration, which strengthens it for defense. In 1750, the building is transferred by ruler Grigore Ghica to the Diocese of Râmnic. Since 1850, the building became headquarters for various institutions of the city: Craiova’s Court, Buzeşti Brothers’ High School, the Local Seminar, the State Archives. Since 1933, the building will house the Museum of Oltenia until 1948, when its use is switched to the Metropolitan Church of Oltenia. Since 1966, the old brancovenian architectural monument hosts the Department of Ethnography from the Museum of Oltenia. The Department of Ethnography organizes: permanent and temporary exhibitions including ethnographic documentary valuables (of traditional and contemporary art from its property patrimony or belonging to other institutions), communication sessions, symposiums, meetings with field specialists, book launches, ethnographic film screenings and other para and meta-museum activities. The Department of Ethnography provides to the public: specialized information, bibliographies on the models and values of the culture and the traditional arts; specialized publications edited by the museum with ethno-folk specific, including the annual of Oltenia, Studies and Communications, Ethnography, and other publicity materials: leaflets, guidebooks, postcards, aso, contemporary traditional art objects (ceramics, icons, fabrics, painted eggs, musical instruments, aso.) and traditional art objects, for sale, at "The cartful of pots" store.

Inaugurated on December 2, 1923 under the title "Museum of Natural History Craiova", by the members of Craiova Scientific Circle managed by Prof. Marin Demetrescu, teacher of natural sciences, the museum became a department of Oltenia Regional Museum in 1928. On May 13, 1928 it was decided that the Museum of Natural History Craiova, having extended its management area to the collections of the Museum of Ethnography and Antiquities Dolj county during 1927, should "restrict the exploration area to Oltenia region" (Vincenz, 1928) and function under the title “Oltenia Regional Museum”, managed by Prof. Marin Demetrescu. At first, the Department of Natural Sciences was operational in the Prefecture building; between 1934 - 1948 the department moved to the current office of the Ethnography Department, and between 1949 - 1975 it was operational in the current office of the Archeology – History Department. During this period, the patrimony of the Department of Natural Sciences was opened for visitors under various exhibition forms until 1963, when the basic exhibition was introduced into the exhibition circuit, installed in the building ground floor at 44 Madona Dudu Street, performed according to a thematic project drafted by Prof. Dr. Ioan Firu. This exhibition was phased-out in the year 1975 to extend the basic exhibition of the Archeology – History Department. Between the years 1975 - 1986, in the absence of the required space, the exhibition within the Department of Natural Sciences closed and was followed by specific activities with the aim to complete, diversify, record and scientifically improve the museum patrimony. The new exhibition campaign began on March 13, 1986, on the building ground floor at 8 Popa Sapca Street where it also continues to be operational nowadays, when two temporary exhibitions have been introduced: “Butterflies – Flying Petals” and “Animal World”. The two exhibitions have been regularly followed by dozens of temporary exhibitions with the aim to renew the enhanced patrimony with museum pieces resulting from research activities performed by curators. At least four temporary exhibitions have been showed annually at the Department’s office, some of them being also exhibited in other museums in the country (Drobeta Turnu Severin, Timişoara, Târgu Mureş, Brăila, Curtea de Argeş, Suceava, Bacău, Bârlad, Bistriţa Năsăud etc). On September 18, 2008, the basic exhibition from the 1st floor has been opened and installed after implementing the project “Enhancing tourist attractiveness of Craiova municipality and Dolj county by installing the basic exhibition at the 1st floor of the Department of Natural Sciences within Oltenia Museum in Craiova”, submitted on December 16, 2002 within PHARE Program 2001 Economic and Social Cohesion – Non-refundable financing scheme for small infrastructure projects, by Dolj County Council, in partnership with Oltenia Museum – Department of Natural Sciences (photos 1-3). On February 22 2012 the basic paleontology exhibition “Oltenia – Terra fossilis” has also been introduced, installed at the building ground floor located in 8 Popa Şapcă Street.

The Henri Coanda Exhibition is hosted in the old town hall building, at the initiative of the Romanian Propaganda and Aeronautics History Association - Craiova Branch. There are two halls dedicated to the great scholar's memory, exhibiting objects related to his childhood partly spent in Perişor. In front of the museum was placed a bronze bust of Henri Coanda. Also in the yard of the museum you can see an IAR - 93 plane, one of the first Romanian flying machines to which the Romanian scientist contributed. The museum features a variety of ethnographic cultural objects. It can be visited upon request. Source: ghidulmuzeelor.cimec.ro

The "Museum of the Romanian Book and Exile" constitutes a unique, large-scale project, whose well-defined purpose is the reunification of Romanian culture with the cultural patrimony produced outside the country, from the post-war Romanian exile up to the present day. Its holdings include nearly 40 collections of immense value in terms of their content: The "Academician Basarab Nicolescu" Collection; The "Leonid Mămăligă" Collection; The "Neuilly Circle" Archive Collection; The "Hyperion Association" Archive Collection; The "Mircea Milcovitch and Maria Mesterou" Collection; The "Andrei Șerban" Collection; The "Paul Barbăneagră" Collection; The "Corneliu Șerban Popa" Collection; The "Vintilă Horia" Collection; The "Cicerone Poghirc" Collection; The "Andrei Codrescu" Collection; The "Carmen Firan and Andrei Sângeorzan" Donation; The "Victor Cupșa" Collection; The "Constantza Buzdugan" Donation; The "Bujor Nedelcovici" Collection; The "Cezar Vasiliu" Collection; The "Valeriu Veliman" Donation; The "Mircea Eliade" Collection; The "Emil Cioran" Collection; The "Ileana and Romulus Vulpescu" Collection; The "Șerban Viorel and Rodica Stănoiu" Donation; The "Academician Dan Berindei" Collection; The "Academician Dinu C. Giurescu" Collection; The "Academician Ștefan Ștefănescu" Donation; The "Romanian Institute/Romanian Library in Freiburg" Donation; The "George Banu" Collection; The "Dumitru Milcoveanu" Collection; The "Octav Calleya" Collection; The "Horia-Dinu Nicolaescu" Donation; The "Nicolas Adam" Collection; The "Ion Deaconescu" Donation; The "Aurora Cornu" Collection; The "Miron Kiropol" Collection; The "Grigore Arbore" Collection; The "Theodor Damian" Collection; The "George Roca" Collection; The "Romanian-American Academy of Arts and Sciences" Collection; The "Romanian Exile Memory at the National Romanian Television" Collection. The project emerged from the need to create an overview of Romanian spiritual creations, made beyond the country's borders during the communist regime. The uniqueness of the Museum's holdings lies within a formidable, remarkable diversity, easily noticeable, especially in terms of the fields represented, ranging from the humanities and social sciences, theology and music, to performing and visual arts, as well as the types of materials that make up each individual collection. When visiting a multitude of museum exhibits, one can observe handwritten dedications in highly valuable books, original manuscripts and documents from the libraries of the personalities represented in the Museum, thousands of pages of correspondence from famous exiled writers, presented for the first time to the Romanian public, as well as unique pieces of visual art in painting, sculpture, drawing, or engraving. The archives held in the museum's collection serve as a robust testimony, a documentary fresco of the cultural, scientific, and artistic activities undertaken by personalities of the Romanian exile. They also represent an invaluable research tool for all those concerned with the creations and memories of cultural figures who settled around the globe during the era dominated by Romanian communism. The museum's efforts, therefore, aim to popularize the works signed by prominent names of the Romanian exile which, up to now, have circulated for almost half a century solely outside the country's borders, with only a small portion being published and translated into Romanian.

In the courtyard on Mihail Kogălniceanu no 9, right next to the headquarters of “Alexandru and Aristia Aman” Dolj County Library, there is a small, yet history-rich building, namely the “Elena Farago” House, the oldest memorial house in Craiova. The two patrons of Craiova – the Alexandru and Aristia Aman couple – left the House by testament to be used as “residence for employees in the service of the library and the museum”. The poetess Elena Farago lived here since her naming as director of the “Alexandru and Aristia Aman” Foundation on September 1st 1921, until her passing away in January 1954. Due to the nature of the organised or hosted events, the current Memorial House had the allure of a true cultural salon, the meeting place of literary persons. The “Elena Farago” Memorial House hosts a permanent exhibition that includes 396 showpieces: furniture, personal belongings, books and reviews, as well as hundreds of original documents, photocopies, family photographs and correspondence. Each year thousands of children and young people, as well as persons interested in Elena Farago’s work and life visit the building.

Marincu Palace houses the Art and Ethnography Museum in Calafat. It was built between 1905-1907 by Ştefan Marincu, in memory of his daughter Marioara Marincu according to the plans of the architect Paul Gottereau. The works were supervised by the architect Constantin Rogalski. The exterior and interior decorations were made by construction engineer Pietro Adotti. As an architectural style, the recently rebuilt palace (2001-2002) belongs to the French neoclassicism with baroque and rococo accents and with influences of the Romanian architecture at the beginning of the 20th century. The edifice was introduced in the National Heritage, on the List of Historic Monuments, in 2003. It hosts collections and works by some great Romanian fine artists such as Nicolae Grigorescu, Henri Catargi or Theodor Pallady and sculptures by Ion Irimescu, Nicu Enea, George Demetrescu Mirea. The folk art collection of the museum includes traditional clothing and carpets, braids, tools and household items. In September 2012 a department dedicated to the history of Calafat was opened , with the important support of the Florentza and Ilie Marincu families, descendants of the family who built this palace and who made important donations to the museum, including the concert piano and the chandelier in The Great Hall of Mirrors. Source: www.monumenteoltenia.ro Photo source: www.monumenteoltenia.ro