The Village Museum from Valcea county is located at the exit from Râmnicu Vâlcea to Sibiu. The museum covers an area of 8 hectares and is organized around the abutment of Bujoreni, a fortified house and inhabited for short periods during the invasions. The Village Museum of Valcea county represents a return in time to the old traditions of yesteryear. The purpose of the museum is to reproduce a traditional Vâlcea village from more than 100 years ago.
The Village Museum of Valcea county – a place full of tradition
The Village Museum of Valcea county located in the open air, has all the socio-cultural institutions in its composition, specific to a traditional rural settlement. To recreate the conventional space of the past, the museum’s organizers took into account the following factors: the relief forms of the area, the hearth and its border with all the elements. All the constructions and households were located inside the village, being transferred from different localities of Vâlcea county.
The Village Museum of Valcea County is divided into four sectors as follows:
1. Socio-cultural sector
– The socio-cultural sector of monuments of public utility has in its composition the rural primary school from the beginning of the 20th century, from the time of Spiru Haret, a wooden church, built in 1785 and taken from the commune Nicolae Bălcescu and an inn from the end of the 19th century from the village of Saliște in the commune of Malaia. This sector is to be completed with a rural town hall and other objectives of architectural value.
Bogdan’s Inn, originally located on the shores of Lotrul, stands out for its massive architecture, being built of river stones. The inn has been powered by a mini-turbine powered by the river since 1900.
2. Household Sector
The Village Museum of Valcea county is an embodiment of ancient houses. Thus, inside the field we can see 42 homes and over 12,000 museum pieces. The whole territory inspires a traditional air. The occupations of the old peasants are also very well illustrated: agriculture, animal husbandry, blacksmithing and horseshoe workshops. Folk crafts and techniques draw us into the traditional world, away from technology and the crowds of big cities. Within the museum, one can notice the houses with gazebo from the ethnographic area Horezu (from the communes Măldărești, Stoenești, Bărbătești), the households specialized in viticulture, transferred from the area Drăgășani (villages Prundeni, Olteanca), in fruit growing (communes Alunuș, Tomșara) or in raising animals in the mountain area (Boișoara, Pascoaia-Brezoi villages).
In addition to housing, several outbuildings have been transferred to households: beds, sheds, haylofts, huts for storing agri-food products or for raising birds and animals.
Also, visit this wonderful museum that illustrates the life of the past. You will be able to enjoy visually the traditional Vâlcea gates that receive you in this universal.
3. Crafts sector – popular techniques
The handicrafts – folk techniques sector presents the procedures and folk techniques performed in the past. This category includes the following:
– techniques for processing raw materials needed for the construction of specific tools, vessels and various household objects
– methods used to obtain plant or animal products
– techniques used for processing vegetable or animal fibers
Also, within the museum were located a series of handicraft workshops: the pottery workshop in the center of Vladesti (20th century), the carpentry-carpentry workshop (20th century) in Șerbănești village, Salatrucel commune, the goat hair processing workshop 20th century), from Curtea village, Popești commune, as well as a blacksmith workshop from Prundeni commune.
4. Specialized Construction Sector
The specialized construction sector includes several units illustrating those from the traditional mountain village: road crosses, transferred from Govora-sat and Feteni localities, border fountains, beehives, a sheepfold transferred from Mount Smeurat, a vineyard transferred from the commune Scrambled eggs, watchtowers, etc.
Visiting hours:
- summer program: daily 10.00 – 18.00, closed on Mondays
- winter schedule: daily 9.00 – 17.00, closed on Mondays
The Village Museum of Valcea county is worth visiting all year round, being a magical land, where you will be able to discover a traditional village and still related to the life of the old peasants. After visiting the museum, you can enjoy one of the most delicious dishes of the Simfonia Restaurant, such as foie gras with miso sauce, flavored breadcrumbs, peaches and ginger bud.
Hotel Simfonia located in Râmnicu-Vâlcea is the ideal accommodation when traveling in the Vâlcea area, being a pleasant, welcoming place where the harmonious combination of luxury, comfort and elegance will delight the hearts of those it hosts.
