Ialomita County Museum

History

Ialomita County Museum was founded in the second half of the seventh decade of the XX th century, when, through the 15 February 1968 Law concerning the administrative-territorial organization, Ialomita county was reorganized with its county seat at Slobozia. At that time, the museum headquarters were in Calarasi, in a historical building, where it had an history-archaeological department.

In the winter of 1971 (28 December) the county administration decided to open a second department, in Slobozia, with a ethnographical profile. Now, the museum headquarters is also moved to Slobozia. The department worked in a new and modern building, the A building of the nowadays museum.

In the first years, the newly founded department organized ethnographical exhibitions which illustrate aspects of the village life in the Muntenia Plane. Between 1971 and 1974, the few members of the museum (Alexandru Vladareanu, Crisan Museteanu, Niculae Conovici, Razvan Ciuca, Nita Angelescu-the director) managed to gather an exquisite ethnographical collection of 8000 objects. These objects made possible to organize the main exhibit of the department. Opened to the public in 1974, „The popular culture from Iaomita” exhibition, showed in a chronological sequence the village life in Baragan in every form.

In 1981, the history and archaeology department from Calarasi was transformed in Calarasi County Museum, today The Lower Danube Museum and the department from Slobozia became the Ialomita County Museum. 

Meanwhile, through their activity, the experts had developed the museum′ s collections with a rich patrimony of archaeological, historical, numismatical, ethnographical and art collection, showing that the title of county culture institution is well earned.  In 1996 was inaugurating a new department: „The art and religious culture Institute Maia-Catargiu” from Maia village. This village was an old domain belonging to the Filipesti noblemen, taken by the Catargiu family. Here was built the Catargiu castle and the church. Nowadays only the church is still standing. It shelters the grave of the one who was the first prime-minister of the Romanian United Princedoms, Barbu Catargiu. 

The annulment of the main exhibition, in 2000, will represent a period of great struggle for the museum′s employees in order to rearrange and reopen it. With a major material benefit from the National History Museum of Romania, consisting in show cases, carpentry materials, textiles etc. Ialomita County Museum succeeded in a very short time to give back its exhibition to the main beneficiary, The Public.

On 1 December 2003, it was inaugurate the main exhibition „ The evolution of the human communities in the Ialomita Valley. Man and the river”. The exhibition valorizes the archaeological, historical and artistically patrimony gathered with a lot of hard work by the members of the museum. It also represents a scientific and educative ground for the various public. The history, the tradition and culture of these places can be revealed to any tourist travelling from any side of the country or even abroad.   

In 2002, the museum′s patrimony has enriched with a very important late XIX century monument, The Bolomey Mansion.

The museum′s collections are formed by approximate 25000 objects, which represent the cultural patrimony of Ialomita County, belonging to the National Cultural Patrimony. The museum includes the collections of various themes: archaeology, history, ethnography, art, „Nicolae and Zamfira Tuzlaru collection” (donated in 2001). 

The archaeological collection

Ialomita County Museum holds a valuable archaeological patrimony, as a result of systematical resources or hazardous findings. This collection consists in objects belonging to different historical times, from Neolithic to Late Medieval (XV-XVIII ct). Here we can find the oldest testimony of prehistoric fauna in Ialomita County, remains of Mammuthus Primigenius (300000 years), uncovered at Piscul Crasani and Fetesti –Vlasca.  

Most of those objects are exhibit today in „ The evolution of the human communities in the Ialomita Valley. Man and the river”.

The artifacts belonging to the calcolithic cultures (V-IV millennia B. C.) give us the opportunity of knowing the material and spiritual creation of the sedentary human communities, connected with the great civilization centers from the Balcanic Peninsula and Middle East.

From the Metal Age, remarkable is the bronze treasure from Dridu-Metereze (Hallstatt X-IX ct B.C.). Due to the high number (352 objects) and its diversity it is one of the most important antic discoveries in Romania.

Representative for the geto-dacic culture, are the artifacts discovered in the davae in the proximity of the river banks (Ialomita, Borcea): the rython and the solar designed fire place from Piscul Crasani, the pottery handmade or with a wheel from Stelnica-Gradistea Mare and Popina Bordusani. 

The Medieval Age (VIII-XVIII ct.) is represented by collections from Dridu, Targul de Floci, Platonesti.

The museum also detains a numismatic collection of Roman, Byzantine, Turkish, Bulgarian, Austro-Hungarian and Romanian bronze or silver coins.

From its beginning the museum was interested in enlarging its archaeological patrimony through the scientific resource and restoration on the archaeological site as: Bordusani-Popina, Saveni-La Movile (prehistory), Bucu-Popina (protohistory), Platonesti-Tumul, Stelnica-Gradistea Mare (the geto-dacic period), Platonesti-Necropola, Vladeni-Popina Blagodeasca (Dridu culture), Giurgeni-Orasul de Floci(the Medieval Age, the birth town of great Michael the Brave).

History collection

Extremely valuable is the museum archives, which contains documents belonging to personalities form Ialomita county, or whose activities were connected to these places, like Mihail Vulpescu- famous musician and passionate ethnologist , Apostol D. Culea- involved in the organization of the Romanian educational system or the well known chemist I. M. Dobrescu.

Ethnographical collection

This collection consists in a number of 6882 objects, from the next categories: folk costume, jewels, carpets, Romanian traditional pottery, various tools, traditional furnishings, musical instruments. 

The art and religious culture collection

Icons (religious paintings on wood) from the XVIII-XIX centuries, ritual vessel, religious books and clothing and parts from the original painting (fresco) of the Dridu-Sarindar church built in 1777, all of this can be found in the collection.

The art and religios culture collection Maia-Catargi is an unique collection, of great artistic value, which contains icons on wood, glass and metal, religious books, religious clothing, ritual vesseland other XVIII-XX century objects.

The art collection

This collection started to take shape in early 70s and consist in 1200 artworks, many of them being the work of famous artists like Corneliu Baba, Oscar Hah, Emil Ciocoiu, Sabin Balasa, Margareta Sterian, Horia Bernea etc. Here, we can also find works of  some Ialomita artists, such as Alexandru Deacu, Patru George and Maria Untanu.

The art collection „Nicolae and Zamfira Tuzlaru”

A very special and of a great value it contains many paintings and graphic artwork, made by artists well known like: Cojan, Labin, Darascu, Schweitzer-Cumpana, Sirato, H.H. Catargi, Piliuta, Ressu, Verona, Pheoebus, Steriade, Bask, Stoenescu, Iser, Brauner, Baba.

The development, restoration, preserving the patrimony objects and its record makes the main activity of the experts from the Ialomita County Museum.

The editorial work

In 1977 is published the first volume of Ialomita - Studii si Comunicari. In the same periode are opened some of the most important archaeological site: Piscul Crasani, Dridu and Orasul de Floci.

In 1984 is published the second volume of Ialomita, concerning especially topics of history of agriculture and tow more archaeological site are opened: Stelnica-Gradistea Mare (1985) and Bordusani-Popina (1986).
Until 2004 the fourth volume will be lanched and starting with 2005 a new collection will be open: Archaeological sites. Here will be published tow monographic studies: Orasul de Floci, un sat disparut din Muntenia medievala and Locuirea getica din partea de Nord a Popinei Bordusani.

A series of iconographical documents was also published, as a result of the efforts to valorize the photographical evidences made by Costica Acsinte. Another series of publications-Istorii, was launched in 2008 with the Jurnal.1913-1917, by the historical Georgeta Filitti .

A very important aspect is the development of cultural patrimony. One way to achieve that is trough exhibitions on various themes.  Beside the main exhibition „The evolution of the human communities in the Ialomita Valley, Man and the river”, the museum organizes a series of temporary or itinerant exhibitions such as: Ion Albesteanu, Aromanii, 1 Decembrie, Destine de martiri etc.
The scientific conferences, symposiums, round tables and book launchings was some of the activities which led to the consolidation of the museum cultural status in local and national scientifically environment.

To conclude, even if you are interested in local history, passionate of archaeology, traditions or art, Ialomita County Museum will be waiting for you with its gates wide opened. 

 

Muzeul Județean Ialomița
Biroul de Relații cu Publicul
Liliana Burlacu