Schina House

The Schina House in Craiova, nicknamed "The Little Louvre", is a historic architectural monument located near the central area of the city. The building is located on Calea Unirii, at no. 70, near Feraru House and opposite of Teodoru House. Built at the end of the 19th century in the Renaissance style, the house belonged to Dr. Constantin Schina, who is said to have been the chief physician of Craiova for a period of time.

Schina House was sold after 1943 by the descendants of the doctor to a Craiova lawyer named Popescu. Between 1979 and 1996, the Museum of History of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Gomoiu" functioned in the building, founded by prof. Dr. Mihail Şcheau based on the "Pharmacy History Collection" organized in 1963 by pharmacists Gheorghe Cismărescu (1900-1964) and Nicolae Zahacinschi (1919-1988). The core of the museum, donated by Dr. Viorica Gomoiu in 1972, consisted of museum pieces gathered during his life by the great physician and historian of medicine Victor Gomoiu. Among the collections of the museum were two works by Constantin Brâncuşi, " Écorché" (one of the four or five existing copies, and the second remaining in Craiova, apart from the one preserved at the Carol I National College) and the bust of General Carol Davila.

After 1996, lawyer Popescu's descendants claimed ownership of the building in which the museum was functioning. In 1997, they won the building in court, the collections of the museum being evacuated. The management of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova and the "Victor Gomoiu" Foundation decided to transfer the collections to the University of Targu Jiu in order to establish a medical faculty. The pieces are now located in the building of the Faculty of Medical Assistance, Dental Technique, Art and Physical Culture in Târgu Jiu.
Later, in the former Schina House functioned a research institute. Currently Schina House is privately owned.

Source: www.monumenteoltenia.ro
Photo: www.monumenteoltenia.ro