"Nicolae Frunteș" ethnographic, olympic and contemporary art museum

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"Nicolae Frunteș" ethnographic, olympic and contemporary art museum

"Nicolae Frunteș" ethnographic, olympic and contemporary art museum from Şirnea was established in 1964, its founder, after whom it was named, setting up the museum with the desire to organize the first tourist village in Romania which was actually accredited in 1968. During the first four years of its existence, the museum was hosted by the local school, then it was moved to the building of the former municipality hall. Starting with 2019, the new part of the museum is housed in three classrooms of the elementary school in Şirnea where about 700 items are exhibited, the rest of around 1500 items remaining in the old premises, currently closed, consisting of seven rooms organized as follows: history and legend, pastoral objects, traditional clothing, mountain house interior, the legend of Bran and Olympic hall, contemporary modern art, in memory of Nicolae Frunteș.

The three classrooms in the school building, dedicated to the new museum, are multi-themed, gathering different elements, as described below. The first room, on the right, exhibits traditional clothing (some of the costumes are over 100 years old), ceramic, wood and metal objects specific to the area, but also several portraits of locals. The most special items are a dowry chest from 1890, an alpine horn, used by the shepherds to communicate, as well as some tools used for the processing of wool and milk, traditional local activities.

In the next room we find the Olympic corner, with its central element – the torch which carried the flame at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, a trophy offered by the International Olympic Committee to Romania, in recognition for organizing in Şirnea, annually, for over 31 years, The Olympic Day. Contemporary modern art is also displayed in this room through the works of the “Prolog” painters’ group, as well as local history, an important item being the Resolution of 1918 signed by a group of Bran residents and by the mayor Nicolae Frunteș. The exhibition is completed by the wooden painted iconostasis of the local church dating back to 1800, the school desk and the abacus, but also by the beautifully reconditioned wood art items.

The corridor on the left, displaying other elements of local history, is dedicated to temporary exhibitions and leads to the last room, where visitors can learn more about the legend of Bran, with the 10 brothers, each of them being portrayed in a painting. Household objects can also be seen here, such as the ones used for flax and hemp, painted hallstands or a house window with wooden nails. More such items will be available to the public in the future, when the entire collection of the museum will be on display, in several more classrooms.

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