"Queen Maria" Municipal Museum Iași
Located in the old hearth of the city, an area where numerous historical monuments are found, positioned between the Barnovschi Church and the Church of St. John Zlatoust, the museum represents an important landmark in the history of Iași. Also in this area is the Beilic Square, the place of the beheading of the Lord of Moldavia, Grigore III Ghica, and to mark this event, a century later, in 1877 it was decided to arrange this space in the form of a public square where the cenotaph and bust of the former Lord were placed.
Housed in the house of the mayor Burchi-Zmeu, which was built at the beginning of the 19th century in the heart of the old city, the historical monument building, one of the few civil buildings that bear witness to the city's architectural past since the beginning of modernity, the "Regina Maria" Municipal Museum aims to present documents, art objects, old books, photographs and maps to the public.
The mystery of the walls, the symphony of color of a painting fragment located on the entrance vault, the verses on the Burchi family's tombstone, outline the antiquity of the area and the importance of the building for the city of Iași.
Historical
Iași – considered an open-air museum, completes its necklace of cultural buildings with a forgotten pearl but brought back to the present: the “Regina Maria” Municipal Museum of Iași. Between 2013 and 2015, the City Hall of Iași restored the house of the mayor Burchi-Zmeu with the aim of transforming it into a symbolic building for the cultural space of Iași, resuming the tradition of a city museum, abandoned during the interwar period. The Burchi-Zmeu House, today transformed into the headquarters of the Municipal Museum, was built at the beginning of the 19th century in the heart of the old city. Throughout its bicentennial existence, the building had a significant importance for local history. We mention that between 1880-1893 the Iași State Archives operated here and that after the Great War, Olga Sturdza, the great philanthropist, protector of the unfortunate and the war-afflicted, confidant of Queen Maria, bought the building in 1919 for the War Orphans Society.
After World War II, the Burchi-Zme House became the property of Iași City Hall, the space being assigned for the operation of several institutions, associations and foundations.
The arrangement of the "Regina Maria" Municipal Museum in a historical monument building, located in a historical area, is not accidental, as its purpose is to present important pages from the history and evolution of Iași.
After the restoration of the house of the mayor Burchi-Zmeu between 2013-2015, the City Hall of Iași wanted to transform it into a symbolic building for the cultural space of Iași, resuming the tradition of the first museum founded in 1920.
Between 2013 and 2015, the building underwent a new restoration, and since 2018 it has been the headquarters of the "Regina Maria" Municipal Museum of Iași. The Scientific Council of the Museum discussed and approved the main theme of the Museum. Based on this, the exhibition halls were arranged.
As a result of the efforts of the leadership of the Iași City Hall, the leadership of the "Regina Maria" Iași Municipal Museum and the Iași County Department of Culture, the Museum received the operating permit from the National Commission of Museums and Collections at the office meeting on 03.09.2020. At a difficult time for the country, when some museums were about to disappear, here in Iași a new museum is being established and in a short time manages to establish itself among the prestigious museums of Romania. A reverence to all those who made it possible for the Iași City Museum to exist again after 100 years, thus giving the possibility that the history of the city of the Seven Moldavian Hills be brought back to the consciousness of all those who will step, even for a short time, on the threshold of this cultural place.
To complete the Museum's activity, the institution received under administration two exhibition spaces through Decisions of the Local Council: "Dan Hatmanu" Art Galleries and "Dumitru I. Grumăzescu" Galleries, where cultural events are periodically held to mark important events for the city.
