This summer, the first living museum in Romania will open in an isolated village in the Apuseni Mountains with 14 inhabitants, the village of Tecșești in Alba County. The Living Museum is an independent social entrepreneurship project of the Groove ON Association, started in December 2015.
The Living Museum in Tecșești is unique because it offers the public the opportunity to live in a space that reconstructs the history of these lands, from origins to the present – hence the name “living museum.”
The museum’s inhabitants will primarily come from the community passionate about the origins of the Romanian people, Dacian legends, ethnography, anthropology, and folklore, a community that also funds this project.
Currently, the museum is 30% functional, and to be completed, the project needs another 6,000 EUR, which Groove ON estimates it will raise by the end of February 2016.
The “La Origini – Muzeul Viu” project can be supported through the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform, with amounts ranging from 15 EUR to 1,000 EUR. Those who contribute receive in return access to various events and workshops held in Tecșești, or the opportunity to live for a period in the Living Museum, specifically to manage, work, and eat as in the old days.
The Living Museum in Tecșești will be divided into several sectors corresponding to different historical periods:
– it will reproduce circular and square dwellings from the Neolithic period with wooden structures, clay walls, and straw/reed roofs;
– the medieval period will be reflected by dug-in huts and stone dwellings, with a fortified watchtower;
– for the modern period, the village school, a 200-year-old house, and barns with high straw roofs will be restored;
– there will be a ceramic workshop with a kiln for firing clay;
– the experience of living in Tecșești will teach inhabitants to obtain various oils and ointments through the ancient cold-pressing method, from the time of the Dacians;
– there will also be a garden with vegetables, aromatic plants, mushrooms, fruit trees, and shrubs, based on permaculture principles – the food source for the Living Museum’s inhabitants;
– a pond and a basin will be set up for the spring that will supply water to the animal trough and the kitchen area;
To date, a clay house structure with a straw roof, a clay bread oven, and the foundations of the ecological garden have been built on the museum’s grounds. The museum is functional; in the last two years, various cultural activities, camps, and the Nedeia Festival have been organized, where the public could experience the lifestyle of our ancestors.
In the village of Tecșești, 14 elderly people live today, whereas in the 1950s, approximately 350 people lived there in an autarkic community, typical of the mountain villages inhabited by “mocani.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the first living museum in Romania located?
The Living Museum is located in the isolated village of Tecșești, Alba County, in the heart of the Apuseni Mountains.
What activities can visitors experience in Tecșești?
Visitors can learn ancient pottery techniques, cold-pressing oils, and live in dwellings that reconstruct various historical periods.
How is the Living Museum project funded?
The project is an independent initiative supported through crowdfunding on the Indiegogo platform and by a community passionate about ethnography.