Time is flying when you're busy and I almost forgot I have a bunch of photos from Fagaraș, when we visited the citadel at the beginning of September. So today I'd like to invite you to come with me and visit the museum of the citadel.
The citadel is situated in the heart of the town with the same name and dates back to the 14th century. You can read the history of this impressive medieval construction here.
The citadel had some permanent exhibitions, that were part of the castle's history and some temporary ones, that were related to Romanian culture and tradition and there was one art exhibition as well, I posted about that already.
This was the first room and when I saw it, gave me Versailles vibes, although the two structures can't really be compared. What makes them somewhat similar is the way these rooms are built. These rooms don't have separate entrances or exits, you go from room to room if you want to exit. Doors are aligned all. It may look extremely inconvenient today but imagine, the citadel was inhabited by nobles and they inhabited the whole citadel. Servants had to be invisible and were accommodated in different buildings.
As expected, the exhibited objects were objects from ancient times, discovered more or less accidentally. These objects are testimony of the past as documents don't last that long and I bet most of the manuscripts did not survive. This is a Roman parade mask from the 2nd - 3rd centuries AD.
Looking at these objects gives you an idea how life had been back in those times and maybe you can appreciate what you have today, even more.
This is a triptych altar from the Evangelical Church of Cinșor, from the middle of the 17th century.
Tombstone from the middle of the 17th century, belonging to Anna Gaspar. Even if it's broken, stones are forever.
Octoechos - one of the most significant cult books of the Oriental Christian Church. I've always loved old books, the older, the better. These however are off limits for the public, always under glass as paper can break easily. Imagine those times when these books were hand written and only available for a selected few, because the rest could not read. I can't really figure out if this was hand written, most likely was printed with those early printing techniques.
A bell from 1639, a candle holder from 1765 and a lock from the 18th century.
Silver cups from the 17th - 18th century, belonging to the upper class, nobles, as the poor only had ceramics or wooden cups. God thing I don't have to use a silver cup today :)
Medieval swords discovered during archeological excavations in the fortress, dating back to 13th - 14th century. Modern weapons are not lightweight either, but these ... you needed proper training and a lot of strength to handle these and fight for your life.
A snippet of the fortress's history.
What may seem to you like a bunch of old wood, is in fact beams and wood fragments from the ancient wood and earth fortress from the 12th - 13th century, before the current fortress was built. Do the math, how old these beams are. Back then wood was the primary building material, along with stone.
Coat of arms of Prince Gábor Bethlen (1613 - 1629)
This stone was discovered in 2020, during some of the renovation works. Knowing my country's history, it's a true miracle some of these artifacts survived. These are testimony of the past and we can consider ourselves lucky to have this much as the mass destruction that happened during communism left us without a lot of valuable buildings and artifacts.
Castles, fortresses had inventories, some of which survived till today. According to the fortress's inventory, there were a few stoves in those rooms that were inhabited and these tiles are the remains of those stoves. I've seen a few stoves from those times in some other areas of the country and can assure you, those were real works of art. Ceramic tiles were always very decorative.
Most likely it's safe to say the most common objects found at any archeological excavations are coins. These are from the 14th - 17th century.
What was I saying about those beautiful stoves? Look at this one. You could consider these part of the furniture. I'm not really a fan of heating with stoves, but would be happy to have one in my (imaginary for now) Alpine home, just as decoration.
What you see here is the rope makers' guild statute, from 1839. Imagine guild members needed to learn the statute and act accordingly. It is written in Latin.
Today we have safety deposit boxes and safes at home. Back then each guild had their own crate, in which they kept their valuables. The one above belonged to the shoemakers' guild and it is from the end of the 17th century.
This crate was the property of the Saxon tanners' guild from Fagaraș, from the middle of the 19th century.
The chest of the spinners, blacksmiths and upholsterers guild from around 1850. Looks like they had a shared chest, which seems pretty strange to me.
I took a photo of the door and the door handle. It's impossible to know how old the door really is, but the door handle looks authentic to me.
This was the section dedicated to times before the first world war. If you're interested in learning about the war period and other interesting artifacts, stay tuned for my upcoming posts.
My previous posts about the citadel:
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I don't know why I thought that you were from Hungary 😂 Now when I saw that you said: Given the history of my country.. I realized that you're from Romania!
The square/courtyard remind me of Wawel castle in Krakow. It's a bit bigger there, but the arches are similar and also on more floors...
Well, my case is a bit complicated, as I live in Romania, but my mother tongue is Hungarian 😁, so I consider myself Hungarian, but not from Hungary 😂. I bet you're more confused now, but if you check Transylvania's history, you will understand a bit better. Or not.
I know Wawel, have been there once as a kid and I see what you mean. Let me get you a link.
This is what I wrote in my post in September, so you're not wrong at all. I even tagged @blind-spot to confirm, or infirm it, but he successfully ignored my tag 😂🙈
You weren't wrong and no one else was wondering the sane thing, so I had nothing to do but stay silent 😜
I have many castles in my archive. I think I should share them on the chain. Of course Wawel and even Muiderslot with @delishtreats and Stefan.
Staying silent is not an option on Hive sir! 😜 Not for you anyway 😂
What are you waiting for? Written invitation?
I have to Google Oriental Christian Church to know more since you describe it as a cult book, I think they answer as a sect, that came out of the orthodox and roman Catholic Church, I might be wrong though, but that's how I see it.
Thanks for taking us through historical sites
I copied that from the label, so if they are wrong, I'm wrong too.
Wow 😍 love that stove with the blue and white tile! I know there's a lot of history in this post but I also like the photos like the long runner carpet with repeating doorways 👍. People in the US don't appreciate the attempts to destroy history. Maybe because our history doesn't go back that far.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes that stove. it's a real piece of art in my opinion.
I'm obsessed with such setups, when the space is narrowing till it ends. I can't help it, always take a bunch of photos. Here it was a bit difficult as people were moving around but lucky me, we were not in such a hurry, so I could take a decent shot.
What happened during communism was intentional and well planned. Now if you do such things, you go to jail. But back then there were other times.
I love museum, it gives me some new knowledge just by simply looking and reading. =D
I love museums too as you can learn a lot each time you visit one :)
So much art gathered in one place! Its state of conservation is admirable. The stove is beautiful 🥰. Thanks for sharing so much art. Happy Sunday.
Yes, archeologists did a great work restoring those items and keeping them safe.
If you like the stove, then we're four already 😃
What is clear is that everything made at that time was made to last.
I think things taste better in clay pots. I remember when I was a Romanian princess that my parents fought me because I didn't want to use the silver cups. 😁
Always wonderful these visits. Hey, I loved the photo of the connected rooms, with that long red carpet.
You're right about that.
🤣🤣🤣 Ok, so most likely I'm going to see your dress and personal items one day in one of the museums then. 😂
We're three so far then 😎
Hahaha... You must have already seen something. I'll have to check in detail to tell you what they are. 😅🤓
Nice post Erikah.
Thanks my friend, have a nice evening 😊
As time goes by, museums are increasingly being abandoned by many people, and this has become something of concern for human civilization. Not many governments pay attention to their past by presenting their historical journey.
Your posts about historical items from your visits to various museums have brought us to the glories of the past, and that will be a measure of how far we have progressed now.
Well, that may e true for where you live, but not there. In most of the European countries, museums are highly liked and supported by the government. Art and culture has to be supported.
What!? That's a stove? Wow! I definitely did not expect that. Super cool.
You're really into museums and history, every time I'm back here, it's the first if not the only posts I see of yours. It's pretty cool. Many think history is boring.
Ok, we're six now who like the stove 😁
We all have our preferences, some like these things, some don't, but that's the reason life is so colorful and it's ok.
Oh I totally agree. It's so OK.
It's a likable piece of art. Calling it a stove seems degrading 😄.
Seems very civil(ized) :)
Perhaps a shared chest isn't so complicated if there are all those codes everybody agrees to adhere to? It probably made things really simple, in fact!
I'm thinking we need to return to some of the old ways now. The world may do better. I'm not sure our (mostly Western) society is civil(ilzed) enough (yet) to muddle along on its own.
Super interesting and beautifully presented as always. I really enjoyed this one! Thank you <3
You're right, life was different back then and people were also different, we may not understand today.
Some people are already on their way of returning and most likely we could learn a lot from the past.
Many thanks for the nice comment @nickydee, it feels good to know you liked it. Have a nice evening 🤗
Yeah... I think back then communities were personal. Nowadays we are a global community and it's happened so fast that we've abandoned most of our social "structure" because there isn't one. Yet.
Traditions have been lost in the process.
But... we are catching up, I think? Seeing the impact of this now. That the internet has connected us all but, somehow, lost our connection has humans and isolated us even more in many ways. Interesting times!
Yes - I do love your posts! :D ❤️
They always inspire me. But then I'm the kind of person who goes to museums and galleries for fun!
Have a great Monday!
I like this museum, is very beautiful and full of cultural elements, and at the same time is quite simple.
Simple is good at time and this case proves it :)
What a beautiful walk you gave us through your blog in this museum. I love visiting it, it teaches us a lot about the people of the past. Their art, their custom, their culture and the refined side that it could have. We often imagine the period where people lived as without culture and refinement but often have this mistake about them. Museuming them allows us to see and better understand their civilizations which used the technologies of their time in conditions which were not necessarily in the best conditions. Unlike us, he really took the time to observe and analyze their observation before launching into something. The energy at that time that had to be deployed was so expensive that reflection took precedence over impatience.
Thank you for the trip you took me on, I really enjoyed it
Very interesting items, a real treasure. I like to explore historical places so I found it very interesting. The mask caught my attention because it is very old, people have always been imaginative. The stove looks very nice and classy. And it is fascinating that the wooden beams have been preserved for so long. Great experience.
The mask was a surprise to me too, but thinking back, they liked to hide their faces and it make sense. Ok, so now we're five, who like the stove 😁
The citadel museum looks big and beautiful on the inside. The red carpet that leads from door to door or let me say room to room beautifies the place. The photos are cool.
I'm glad you liked it.
Just knowing bits about these ancient artifacts is enough to make my day. The tombstone reminds me of the movie, The mummy
These tombstones were popular back then, or rather a must as appearances had to be kept. The wealthy has always had their standards.
Yes, they do. It depicts royalty in Egypt.
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What a fascinating place! The museum looks like it is full of interesting artifacts and exhibits. Thank you for sharing these photos and giving us a glimpse into the history of Fagaraș citadel.
it's nice to be able to see some relics of the past, actually there was an extraordinary era at that time that we don't know about, in fact there are still many relics that are quite old.