ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF MUSEUMS

NO. 1 / 2017

NATIONAL INSTITUTe for cultural research and training 1 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin posuere efficitur tortor quis venenatis. Nam non dui elit. Donec congue ipsum et scelerisque volutpat. Pellentesque interdum malesuada neque non elementum. Morbi in nunc et massa ullamcorper commodo rutrum at neque. Fusce placerat aliquet malesuada. Phasellus non

NATIONAL INSTITUTe for cultural research and training

Editorial team - Virgil Ștefan Nițulescu, PhD – Editor-in-Chief - Raluca Iulia Capotă – peer-reviewer - Mircea Victor Angelescu – peer-reviewer

Editor: Bogdan Pălici Text processing: Aurora Pădureanu Correction: Radu Vasile Translation: Mina Fanea Iovanovici

Corresponding address: No. 22, Unirii Blvd., 2nd Floor, Sector 3, Postal Code 030833, Bucharest Tel: 021 891 91 03 | Fax: 021 893 31 75 | http://www.culturadata.ro/categorie-publicatii/revista-muzeelor/ www.facebook.com/RevistaMuzeelor

© National Institute for Cultural Research and Training ISSN 1220-1723 ISSN-L 1220-1723

Cover: The Resolution of the National Assembly from Alba Iulia, November 18th-December 1st, 1918 Source: The Archives of the National Museum of Romanian History) 2 NNo.O. 1/2017

ROMANIANTHE BUCHAREST JOURNAL MUNICIPALITY OF MUSEUM MUSEUMS

D I G I T I Z A T I O N

3 5 Virgil Ștefan Nițulescu – Editorial

Centennial of the Great Union 8 Alina Petrescu – Who will write our history? Romanian artists in the Great War 15 Florian Dumitrache – Ethnic Multiculturalism in Țara Bârsei (Land of Barsa). The Csángós of Lutheran Confession 29 Ana Pascu – The Communities of Jiu River Valley: Strategies, Narratives and Identity Museums 49 Cristina Claudia Popescu – National architectural identities at the museum of the “Ion Mincu” school of architecture and urban planning le of Content s of b le ta in bucharest 54 Marcel Otoiu, Mircea Dorobanțu – “Centennial trains” cultural project 64 Sorin-Mihai Constantinescu – A path of responsibility for heritage 71 Raluca Bem Neamu, Alexandra Zbuchea – I Wonder Why I (don’t) Love My Country an Acknowledged Project

European Year of Cultural Heritage 84 Ioan Denuț, Alexandra Sîngeorzan – Natural heritage versus cultural heritage 91 Dana Nicolae – The phenomenon of guided walking tours for locals in Bucharest - revealing the need to disseminate local narratives

Professional ethical codes and museum ethics 95 Alis Vasile – The statute of specialists in museums – between formation and regulation 99 Sorin-Mihai Constantinescu – Particularities of open museum ethics 106 Ana-Maria-Violeta Voloc – ICOM Code of Ethics and its applicability to museums 111 Valer Rus – Some ethical issues of Romanian museum management 116 Ioana Lidia Ilea – The Deaccessioning of Museum Cultural Assets. An Ethical Challenge for the Museum World 4 eDITORIAL Virgil Ștefan Nițulescu, PhD Editor-in-Chief

ABSTRACT

Though the ICOM Code of Ethics is very much invoked in Romania, it is, in fact, less known, proving the fact that there is still a lot to do, in the Romanian museums, in order to implement the principles of ICOM and to convince the Romanian authorities to comprehend the role of museums and of heritage in the contemporary Romanian society. One good occasion would be the time of 2018, when the European Union celebrates the European Year of Cultural Heritage and Romania celebrates one century from the Great Union (when all the Romanian provinces united, in 1918, in one national state).

Key-words: Romanian museums, ICOM Code of Ethics.

5 The International Council of Museums (ICOM) has trafficking in cultural goods, clandestine archaeological been established as the main international non- excavations, cultural goods destruction, emergency governmental organization ever since its creation in actions in case of natural disaster, and continuing 1946, as a successor of the International Museums with the requests for return of objects to their Office (1926-1945). Initially, the link between original communities, the requests for return of setting standards for museums on a universal basis stolen or seized goods to their rightful owners, and drawing up a deontological code of museum mediation of disputes on museum goods and the specialists did not seem very direct. However, immoral behaviour of some professionals in the following the adoption of the Convention on field. In the last few years, others have been added measures to be taken to ban and prevent illicit to these problems, including the deaccession (the import, export and transfer of property, adopted term is not yet acquired into Romanian, and we use by UNESCO on November 14, 1970 (which Romania this barbarism, from English) of cultural assets (in joined only in 1990), ICOM considered it necessary other words, the museum’s renunciation to some to adopt a number of resolutions in support of collected assets), the closure of some museums and those who were to implement the provisions of the financial pressures exerted on them. the Convention and who worked in museums. Undoubtedly, the museums had no way of remaining In a recently published volume, the well-known indifferent to cultural goods trafficking, they could American museologist Gary Edson even considered not lend credit, through their respectability, to those that among all the standards promoted by ICOM over dealing with this trafficking, because museums are the seven decades of existence, the Code of Ethics is the most well-known and influential in the museum not simple players in the culture market, but some world1. responsible organizations for educating citizens. In fact, in the same year, ICOM specified, in a document Unfortunately, Romania still lacks a version approved that became programmatic for the whole activity of by the Romanian National Committee ICOM of the the organization, that “market laws cannot become Code of Ethics. However, the document is quite the laws governing museums.” This was the nucleus well known (albeit too superficial and often only from which, in the years to come, a stream of thought declarative, in my opinion) in Romanian museums. was born in ICOM for the adoption of an ethical code Like any code, it also includes a set of rules to be of the profession, which only happened in November observed, mutually and willingly, by all members of 1986 at the Buenos Aires General Conference. The the museum community. The idea of ​​respecting a immediate effect of adopting the first Code of moral code is specific to liberal professions. In case of Ethics for Museums was the establishment of a violation of the provisions of such a code, the culprit Committee on Deontology (the current ETHCOM). should be punished in some way, up to the loss of This Committee constituted the laboratory where the right to practice the profession. While in the case the Council perfected the principles and definitions of physicians or psychologists, for example, there of the Code, up to its current form, adopted at the are colleagues in Romania who can sanction the Seoul General Conference in October 2004. deeds of a member of the profession who violated 1 Gary Edson, Unchanging Ethics in a Changing World, in Museums, Issues debated by ETHCOM cover a fairly wide range Ethics and Cultural Heritage, Edited by Bernice L. Murphy, London of museum-specific activities, ranging from illicit and New York: Routledge, 2016, p. 134. 6 the code of ethics, there is no such correspondent at the universal level. In addition, we should note that for museum staff. Thus, the only arbiter is the one specialized codes have already begun to appear, the outside the profession: the law. The great variety of first of which is for natural history museums, ratified specific functions in museums (from curators and in August 2013 by the Committee for Museums scholars to curators and drawers), as well as the and Natural History Collections (NATHIST). At the known lack of own organization, make it hard to imagine the establishment of a college of museums, same time, the International Council for Museums let’s say, in Romania. In the absence of such a body, and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM), an ICOM the request of compliance with the Code of Ethics affiliated organization, decided in November 2009 remains only a desideratum. Certainly, some of on the principles to be followed in the event of these provisions can become rules by including deaccession (with express application only to this them in normative acts, but in this case the noble type of museum, obviously). feeling of belonging to a particular profession and to a certain body of professionals is lost. As two Confronted with enough internal conflicts, with the American authors have said, “a professional is more daily struggle to obtain the necessary resources for than a person with skills and knowledge. To become the operation, with the claims of the credit officers, a professional, you need to devote your skills and with the obvious “detachment” displayed by the knowledge to promoting human dignity.2” In other resort Ministry regarding the fundamental problems words, a museum professional cannot be a simple employee who performs mechanical tasks. Working of the museums (of all museums) in Romania, the in a museum implies the existence of an inner community of specialists hopes that in 2018, when purpose to work for the benefit of the community, the European Union celebrates the European Year beyond statements and annual assessments made of Cultural Heritage, and Romania celebrates the by hierarchical superiors. 100th anniversary of the Great Union, there will be a greater interest on behalf of the society as a whole, Several recent cases recorded in Romanian museums, which brought to public knowledge the existence of for heritage and, therefore, for museums. If so, this fierce and painful conflicts in some of the museums will also depend on the attitude of those working in of the country, let us see a general picture, somewhat museums and who should be aware of the facts we bleaker than we suspected. In these conflicts, those said above about professionals. involved have made use of and abuse of appeals to respect professional ethics. Nothing entitles us to fairly and neutrally judge these conflicts in the absence of unanimously agreed provisions. On the Virgil Ștefan Nițulescu, PhD other hand, from the simple reading of the mutual Editor-in-Chief accusations we can understand how far the concerns [email protected] of colleagues in Romania are regarding the observance of the ethical codes in relation to the topics debated 2 Gregory R. Beabout, Daryl J. Wennemann, Applied Professional Ethics. A Developmental Approach for Use with Case Studies, Lanham: University Press, 1994, p. 27. 7 centennial of the Great Union

Figure 1. Exhibition of Artists Mobilized by the General Headquarters of the Army of Iasi (January 24, 1918) Who will write our history?

Romanian artists in the Great War

“Inter arma silent musae”

ABSTRACT

The National Museum of Art of Romania, Romanian Institute of Culture and, also, Museo Centrale del Risorgimento will organize, for the first time in Bucharest and also in Rome, an international exhibition, entitled Front-line Studio. Romanian Artists in the Great War that celebrates 100 years from the First World War. The exhibition will show, in the spaces dedicated to temporary activities of National Museum of Art of Romania and from Museo Centrale del Risorgimento (Complesso Vittoriano) in Rome, a new and valuable selection of 127 Romanian works of art, 25 artists and 53 documents made on the battle field, near the line between war and peace or in prison camps from National Museum of Art of Romania, National Museum of History, National Military Museum from Bucharest, Art Museum from Iasi and Art Museum from Ploiesti. Some of the most important Romanian artists who participated and suffered like soldiers were: Nicolae Tonitza, Ion Theodorescu-Sion, Stoica Dumitrescu, Aurel Baesu, Ionescu-Sin, Gheorghe Popovici, Francisc Șirato, Iosif Iser, Camil Ressu, Ștefan Dimitrescu, Dumitru Mățăoanu, Mihai Onofrei, Oscar Han, Dimitrie Paciurea, Ion Jalea, Cornel Medrea etc.

Key-words: Great War, Romanian artists, battle field, prison camp, Front-line Studio

8 Front Workshop. Romanian artists in the Great War a future Military Museum and we wanted to give the exhibition, opened on August 23, at the National Art public a fuller picture about the artistic evolution during Museum of Romania, reunites over 127 paintings, the First World War. sculptures, graphic works and documents of Romanian artists. Some of the valuable works exhibited in Another important aspect that we had to take into Bucharest were exhibited for a short period (November account was the demarcation of the two poles of 30 – December 3, 2017) at the Museo Centrale del artistic activity in the Romanian space: Bucharest, under Risorgimento in Rome. The partners of the National German occupation, continuing its pre-war exhibition Art Museum of Romania, involved in the organization activity, and Iasi, the former capital of Moldova, which of this project, were the Romanian Cultural Institute, had to face a veritable siege from the 300,000 refugees Accademia di Romania, I.C.C.R. Venice, as well as the and, despite the difficult conditions, became the capital Museo Centrale del Risorgimento. of the Romanian resistance. In this historical context, the title of “Who Will Write Our History?”, published in Announcing the anniversary of the commemoration of the Opinia newspaper (1917), becomes the motto of all the Centennial of the Great Union, the exhibition aimed Romanians who fight for national unity. to present the contribution of the mobilized artists to the realization of the great national ideal of the Romanians A decisive role in the epoch was also played by the by presenting their masterpieces, made during or School of Fine Arts in Iasi. This, besides hosting most after the war. Starting from the traumatic experiences of the exhibitions organized in Iasi, hosted the Great experienced by the artists on the front, the works were General Headquarters of the Army, sent artists to the selected from the patrimony of the National Museum front to portray the decisive moments of the Great War of Art of Romanian and later from the collections of and continued to carry out its regular youth training our partners, the Military National Museum “King activity. Ferdinand I”, “Moldova” National Museum Complex The precarious conditions in the capital of Moldova, its in Iasi, The National History Museum of Romania and transformation into the Romanian capital of war and, the Prahova County Museum “Ion Ionescu Quintus”, last but not least, the constant siege of the refugees corroborating this activity, quite difficult, with the led artists to open, especially in the first part of 1917, a search for some new documents. limited number of exhibitions. The Iasi salons, organized With some luck, we discovered at the “George Oprescu” in the four rooms of the School of Fine Arts, offered Institute of Art History the Catalogue of the Exhibition artists the opportunity to divide into two camps: the of the Mobilized Artists, organized on January 24, circle of academics around the professors Emanoil 1918 in Iasi, as well as the image with the mobilized Bardasare Panaiteanu and Gheorghe Popovici and the artists (figure 1). As the documentation advanced, we young generation of artists represented by Nicolae discovered the Circular Order through which the artists Tonitza, Ştefan Dimitrescu, Octav Băncilă, Camil Ressu, were summoned, we learned of the initiative of the Aurel Băşu and Adam Bălţatu, who revolted against General Army General Headquarters in Iasi to create academic conformism and wanted to paint in nature.

Who will write our history? The slogan of the young generation of Iasi intellectuals

At the end of 1916, Romania faces an unprecedented and especially to mobilize the demoralized population. situation in our modern history. After Bucharest was The drama of the refugees, who failed to reach their occupied by the Central Powers, the capital of Romania destination and died daily by the thousands, was moved to Iasi. Former capital of Moldova, this historic amplified by the harsh conditions of the weather, city suddenly becomes the Romanian capital of war famines, plagues, extinctive typhus1, as well as by a and is simply besieged by the thousands of refugees terrible railway accident. Although this episode has who had left from the way of the invaders. Along with been difficult to overcome, it is important that it has the population, the Royal Family, the Government not shaken the Romanians’ belief in national unity, and the Romanian Parliament are taking refuge in this their ability to be solidary, or their power to recover small town, from where they try to lead the state, to and to start all over again. restore the army that has suffered irremediable losses, 1 Moldovan (1919), 16 9 In these years, Iasi becomes a real capital of war, from Committee for Refugees, the Family of Fighters Society, where all the efforts of national resistance, as well as the War Impaired Society, the Society for the Protection those of rebuilding the historical boundaries of Great of Orphans of War, etc. Women in Moldova gathered Romania, will be coordinated. Deprived of the old times food, clothing and money through public queries for the brilliance2 and incapable to accommodate too many wounded, refugees, orphans and their families. Besides refugees, Iaşi has assumed and completed the difficult these remarkable women, famous actresses such as task of being the core of the state, of hosting the most Maria Filotti, Elvira Popescu, Mărioara Popescu and important state institutions, and of taking important Maria Bulfinski also participated in this activity. decisions for maintaining national integrity. During these two difficult years3 (November 1916 - November 1918), Several Transylvanian refugees, located in Iasi, have the population of Iaşi grew significantly from 75,000 established the National Committee of Romanian to 300,0004, without taking into account the military, Emigrants from Austria-Hungary. The Committee, medical or diplomatic missions staying in the capital of elected at the meeting in the Spiridon Hall, consisted of Moldova and contributing significantly to our national 12 Transylvanian and Bucovinian refugees from Moldova. reunification. We can also mention, in this political context, At this meeting, the poet Octavian Goga declared: “The that many Russian troops settled their headquarters in liberation of Ardeal is achieved only by sacrifice on the Iasi. In order to discuss the issue of union with the rest part of all the Transylvanians ... We declare war on the of the country, delegates from Bessarabia and Bucovina Austro-Hungarian monarchy in order to unite Ardeal to will arrive in Iasi, and there will be discussions ahead the motherland, to Romania.” The Committee together of the achievement of the grand project. The problem with three members of the government, signed the of union becomes the historical work of all Romanians declaration of war against Austria-Hungary, a statement 5 everywhere. Achieving the effective union becomes later transmitted by Ion IC Bratianu to Vienne. a matter of time, and Iasi will do all it can to reach this In the summer of 1917, the first battalions of great goal. The city, which has become the last bastion of Transylvanian and Bucovinian volunteers consisted of national resistance, is suffocated by too many refugees. Iasi refugees. In June, the population of Iasi welcomed The precarious conditions in which they were forced to with enthusiasm the Transylvanian volunteer troops, live led to the appearance and spread of typhus. Queen who were returning from Russia. Painter Alexis Maria mentions in the War Journal (1916-1917) that she Macedonski depicted a battalion of Transylvanians in a lived for two weeks in the city’s train station because painting presented at the Mobilized Artists Exhibition. she had no place to go. In those years of poverty, famine and cold, Queen Maria played a decisive role in the Culture and art people, who were then in Moldova, reunification of Romania and was the soul of the heroic played a special role in mobilizing the population and resistance of Iasi, which was rightly called the “Capital of encouraging it through press articles, organized concerts Romanian Resistance”. for the wounded, the plays played at the National Theatre in Iasi and, last but not least, through the works of art Women’s support for the mobilization of the population made on the front. In his memoirs, I. Duca wrote: “Our has not been neglected at all. In several localities in artists were going through hospitals, uttering patriotic Moldova, with the support of Queen Maria, commissions, verses in front of sick people, singing songs, performing committees and charitable societies appeared: concerts.” the National Red Cross Committees, the Regional In these hard times, the press was a moral support 2 Corneliu Moldovan described in the winter of 1916, Iaşi: “Before because it promoted the confidence that all obstacles it was a dead city, (...) the ghost of the glorious Capital of the past reflects in the air the glory and majesty for so many centuries of glory could be overcome and that Romanians, thanks to their and bravery, and without realizing you were purifying your soul in light sacrificial spirit, would write a glorious page in their history. and godliness, adjusting your steps to the suggestive rhythm of prayer. Some newspapers that appeared in Bucharest moved to This is how I remember the Iaşi of the school years, when my young soul got drunk by the monotonous reverie of the picturesque Iasi. Among them is the Neamul românesc, newspaper, twilight seen from the Copou hill, but now I no longer recognize it. where Nicolae Iorga wrote. Other newspapers already “Moldovan (1919), 14. existing in Iasi, such as Opinia, Mișcarea and Evenimentul, 3 Iaşi during the war: “The war wiped out its silence, silenced the memories and troubled its sleepiness (...). Some of them just intensified their activity, were a balance factor in the barely moving, leaning on a crutch or a weapon, seem like ghosts, society of the past, and turned their attention towards so transparent and frightening ... Moldovan (1919), 14-15 4 Moldovan (1919), 15-16. 5 Deac, Toacă (1978), 204 10 sacrifice of peace and happiness to succeed in the ideal that you shed light upon.”6

In the first half of 1917, the intelligentsia of the past set its talents and qualities in the service of the realization of the great national ideal, the union of all Romanians. Some of the most important personalities of the time, Nicolae Iorga and George Enescu7, made donations, charitable acts and morally supported soldiers wounded in the war, their widows and orphaned children. A number of festivals, theatre performances and concerts were organized in the National Theatre Hall in Iasi, in honour of the Allies. A series of personalities of cultural and artistic life were to attend these events, which mainly involved works of historical and moral character.

The first festival, organized in Iasi, was - as Mr. I.G. Duca wrote - the Romanian-Russian8 festival and this was not a coincidence. Several Russian regiments were stationed in Iasi. The historical pieces that were staged at the National Theatre led to the idea of the union and the recapture of the Romanian origins. Thus, immediately after the retreat in Iasi, the playsApus de Soare (Sunset) by Barbu Ştefănescu Delavrancea, with C. Nottara in the role of Stephen the Great and Învierea lui Ștefan cel Mare (The Resurrection of Stephen the Great) by Nicolae Iorga9 were staged. In the New Year wishes written by Nicolae Iorga and read by C. Nottara, the confidence in Figure 2. Octav Băncilă, composition entitledPax the realization of the great national ideal is stated: “The Year Coming / On Clear Wings / With Promise / About Victory / Great Victory / Holy Vengeance / To Make Us Again/One Country / To Raise / Our Nation to Grow.”10 the mobilization of the population. Under the guidance of the writer Mihail Sadoveanu, a new publication would Not even painters have been indifferent to the general be published, Romania (February 1917-March 1918), efforts to mobilize the population. Tonitza published in which called itself «the organ of the national defense», Iasiul newspaper on July 7, 1915 issue, some eloquent was addressed to all Romanians and called for solidarity. remarks about the fighting spirit of his colleague Octav Băncilă and his obvious interest in the social themes. From all the publications of the time, it is worth pointing The emergence of such an image was not a coincidence, out that the newspaper Opinia launches the most because the war had begun and was to most Romanians famous slogan of the age, which, after the publication an imminent danger. In a showcase on Cuza Voda of the article, will be embraced by all the citizens of Iasi. Square in Iasi, he exhibits a composition entitled Pax The Question Who Will Write Our History, addressed (figure 2), depicting a strong worker breaking a sword. to all young intellectuals in 1917, receives an answer: According to Tonitza, this work can be considered, on «You will write it with great and uplifting deeds, with the the one hand, the first allegory of the war symbolized by abnegation and sacrifice of our being for the perfecting of the sword, and on the other, the first image expressing a great and holy ideal, with the deprivations of a painful wandering life that rises to martyrdom, with the sacrifice 6 Deac, Toacă (1978), 204-211 of your wealth and labour for years, all facts that cannot 7 Duca (1981), 20: “In this respect, George Enescu was the most tireless. be covered up so that the truth would be darkened. It Withour respite, everywhere, he used his talent for the needs of the country.” will be written, with all its deeds, by a whole courageous 8 Duca (1981), 20. army, and by the whole world, who wanted to offer the 9 Deac, Toacă (1978), 210. 10 Deac, Toacă (1978), 210-211. 11 the revolt against the war. Thus, a series of exhibitions took place, beginning with the end of 1917, which aim to achieve, with limited material and artistic means, true images of the struggle for the reunification of the Great Romania. Created at the beginning of 1917, the canvas of Stefan Dumitrescu The Dead from Casin (fig.3) was firstly considered by Costin Petrescu, as a member of the jury of the Exhibition of the Mobilized Artists, a masterpiece of the Romanian painting and a genuine documentary depicting the horrors of First World War. A few months later, the exhibition of the Romanian Art group, founded by Ştefan Dimitrescu, Camil Ressu and Nicolae Tonitza, was opened in Iaşi.

Figure 3. Ștefan Dimitrescu, The Dead from Casin

The Beginning of the Russian Revolution in Iasi (1917)

In January 1916, many Russian troops arrive in Iaşi in All the plans of the Russian army were thwarted by the a «wild march of fanfare», rhythmically moving their assassination of Tsar Nicholas II, by the Russian revolution hands and humming songs of bravery, making you think of the autumn of 1917, and by the occupation by the about the village choirs of the Volga steps. Angry that the German and Austro-Hungarian troops of Bucovina and dwellers of Iasi were not welcoming, the Russian soldiers Galicia. Defeated and demoralized, the Russian troops - took everything they could from the shops or the grain led by the new Bolshevik leaders Ivan Ilici Lenin and Lev stores: toilet water bottles, food and grain reserves. Davidovich Trotsky - had to sign the Brest-Litovsk Peace When they did not organize parties, the Russian soldiers Treaty on March 3, 1918 and accept the dissolution - like genuine merchants - sold various commodities in of the former Tsarist Empire. Under these conditions, the market: tobacco, sugar, socks, boots, olives, fur hats, the secret treaty signed with Romania was no longer thread, tea, cans, soap, butter and icons.11 The soldiers valid, and neither the Russian troops could defend the did not carry weapons and ammunition with them, territories where they stood. as these were transported in the carts12 that followed them. This is how our “Allies” presented themselves, On the Russian front, the Russian revolution - as who promised to defend Moldova from any threat of Romanian painter Aurel Popp wrote - was received 13 the Central Powers. Camil Ressu painted several works by the Russian soldiers with joy and enthusiasm. . with the Russian troops stationed during this time on After the revolution began, the Russian troops became the streets of Iaşi and provoked chaos. “shepherdless flocks”, they forgot the military discipline, wanted to exterminate the bourgeoisie and proclaim 11 “... Each soldier wore a small bazaar on his back, which he usually the sovereignty of “raspublic”. The Bolshevik Revolution, installed in the market. He sold tobacco, sugar, socks, cisterns, olives, for soldiers or for ordinary people, was a rescue in the hats, threads, tea, cans, soap, butter, icons - in a word, whatever you face of “horror and terror of human wickedness”14. wanted ... For one liter of alcohol he was able to get rid of his shoes immediately , even though in the end the need forced him to steal a friend’s shoes. When he finished his trade, he went to his homeland to supply or devastated the shop of a poor Jew ... “ 13 Zaharia (2014), 2. 12 Moldovan (1919), 16-17. 14 Zaharia (2014), 2. 12 Bucharest and Iasi. Exhibition activity of Romanian artists during the war

Romania’s entry into the Great War on August 15, While many exhibitions opened in Bucharest, during the 1916 ended a long period of cultural effervescence entire year of 1917, there are only a few personal exhibitions and artistic prosperity. While during the period of of the painters O. Briese and Aurel Vintilescu, where rustic neutrality a lot of exhibitions were organized and there scenes and landscapes were exhibited. The most important were still commissioners willing to invest in works of event of the year was the collective exhibition, prepared art, at the beginning of the war and especially after the by the Great General Headquarters of the Romanian Army, withdrawal in Moldova, a profound political, economic with the works of the Romanian artists mobilized on the and social crisis followed. The unfavourable conditions front “to execute, by nature, various emotional scenes of in Moldova - famine, demographic excess and poor the war.” After a long period of delays, the exhibition will means of subsistence - have made it impossible for open on January 24, 1918, in the four rooms of the School some time to organize exhibitions in Iaşi, and artists of Belle-Arts in Iasi, with 70 paintings, sculptures, sketches mobilized on the front to perform works on the and drawings from the front. theme of battling. In Bucharest, under German rule, the exhibition activity was quite rich, similar to the Numerous artists participate in this event, which is one preceding the war. Occupants, who considered distinguished by the approach of large subjects, made themselves true protectors of the arts, tried to attract with modest materials. Among the painters and sculptors the sympathy and goodwill of the Bucharest population who exhibit - either scenes on the front, or landscapes, by establishing a climate of normality. Thus, after the sketches and miniatures – it is worth remembering: exhibition of Bulgarians Dimitrie Panceff and Radomir Nicolae Mantu, Camil Ressu, Dumitrescu Stoica, Mandoff in April 1917, exhibiting works on the front Traian Cornescu, Alexis Macedonski, Dumitru Hîrlescu, or romantic landscapes with ruins, an exhibition Constantin Petrescu-Dragoe, Petre Remus Troteanu, of works of German art belonging to Romanian Alexandru Poitevin Scheletti, Ștefan Dimitrescu, Ionescu collectors and almost monthly personal exhibitions Doru, Aurel Băeșu, O. Briese, Alexandru Călinescu, Oscar of Romanian artists followed: I. Muntenescu, Maria Han, Cornel Medrea, Ion Mateescu, Richard Hette, Ciurdea-Steurer, Iosif Steurer, B’Arg (Ion Bărbulescu), Alexandru Severin, Aurel Chiciu and T. Gh. Tomescu. Atanasescu, Ion Țincu, Alexandru Henția, Pan Ioanid, With the conclusion of Peace in Bucharest in April 1918, Adela Jean, H. Aescher, P. Ceneri, Aspasia Mavrogheni, Iasi organizes not less than 41 personal exhibitions of Ludovic Basarab, Gheorghe Sîrbu, Petre Troteanu, O. the following artists: Adam Bălțatu, Gh. Chirovici, V. I. Cantini, Zamphiropol-Dall, Coconiade, W. Hugo. If the Popa, A. Băeșu, N. N. Beldiceanu, N. Mantu, B’Arg, Horia works exhibited by artists in the personal exhibitions Niculescu, Richard Hette, Elena Adamovici, Iosif Steurer, were mediocre, the same cannot be said about the Iosif Ross, Max H. Maxy, Iosif Iser, Max W. Arnold, collective exhibition opened on September 1, 1917, Alexandru Moscu, Ion Iordănescu, Gh. Cosmovici, in the “Nicolae Grigorescu” halls of the Romanian Gh. Popovici, Mihai Onofrei, Alexandru Călinescu, Ion Athenaeum Palace, where the members of the Artistic Mateescu, Olga Greceanu, Constantin Artachino, Oscar Youths were present: G. D. Mirea, Nicolae Vermont, Han, O. Briese, Paul Verona, Alice Sfințescu, Maria Ștefan Popescu, Jean Al. Steriadi, Cecilia Cuțescu- Fărcășanu, D. Brătescu, Paul Scorțescu, Horațiu Dimitriu, Storck, Ipolit Strîmbu, Gheorghe Petrașcu, Ary Aurel Chiciu and Lucian Grigorescu. These personal Murnu, Constantin Aricescu, Nina Arbore, Dumitru exhibitions included, among other things, works on Paciurea, Frederic Storck. The organizing committee the front and were organized, with the support of N. D. of this exhibition included H. Braune, the director of Cocea, who considered himself a true protector of the Munich Pinacoteca, the German painter Dzialis and arts, in the two rooms of the Omul Liber newspaper in the Romanian artists: G. D. Mirea, J. Al. Steriadi and 18 Lăpuşneanu Street. Frederic Storck.

The Romanian Art Association. The creed of a new generation of artists

On March 9, 1918, the painter Ştefan Dimitrescu Dărăscu, Ion Theodorescu-Sion, Camil Ressu and signed, along with several colleagues of the Oscar Han), the “twinning document” of the generation that had been on the front (Nicolae Romanian Art Association in his personal home 13 Figure 4. The opening of the exhibition Figure 5. The opening of the exhibition

from Iasi. After only a month, the members of the itself. The emergence of the social theme, due to the association, who were joined by Dimitrie Paciurea artists’ compassion over the discontents of the humble, and Nicolae Tonitza, opened their first exhibition in is not accidental. Therefore, Romanian interwar art a shop in Iasi, on 18 Lapusneanu Street, and their will be characterized by the return to tradition, the intention was to give a response to the conformism repositioning of the artist towards his purpose, and an of the Young Artist Exhibitions in Bucharest. unprecedented artistic revival.

Registered in the annals of the Romanian Art Society Selective references as its first manifestation15, , the exhibition included the works of artists Traian Cornescu, Nicolae Dărăscu, Brezianu, B., “Gruparea Arta Română (1918-1926)”, Ștefan Dimitrescu, Ionescu-Doru, Oscar Han, Iosif Iser, S.C.I.A., series Arta Plastică, TOM 11, No. 1 (1964), Alexis Macedonski, Dimitrie Paciurea, Theodor Pallady, p. 144 Camil Ressu, Ion Theodorescu-Sion, Nicolae Tonitza și Deac A., Toacă I., 1978. Lupta poporului român împotriva Francisc Șirato. The first collective event in Iasi, after the cotropitorilor (The struggle of the Romanian people Mobilized Artists Exhibition, was a unique opportunity against the invaders) 1916-1918, Bucharest: Editura for artists to exhibit their works created on the front, but Militară, p. 204-211 also a first attempt to lay the foundations of a genuine Romanian style.16 Many of the chroniclers considered Duca, I. G., “1917 –first months”, Flacăra, no. 13 (March 26, that this artistic society refreshed the artistic life of the 1981), p. 20 early years after the war and gave it a new breath. Moldovan, C., “Iașii”, Luceafărul, no. 1 (1919), p. 14-17

The creations of the Romanian artists, inspired by the Oprea, P., 1969. Societăți artistice bucureștene cruel and ruthless reality of the war, contributed to the (Bucharest Artistic Societies), Bucharest: Meridiane abandonment of the sterile academic style promoted by Publishing House the School of Fine Arts in Iasi in the pre-war period. The Oprea, P., 1975. Peregrinări în arta românească (Wandering study of the ancient models in the welcoming interiors in Romanian Art), Bucharest: Litera Publishing House of the workshops is replaced by an art more anchored Zaharia, A. “Pictorul Aurel Popp, fotografii din Primul in reality, by new stylistic landmarks inspired by the Război Mondial” (Painter Aurel Pop, pictures of World traditional artistic heritage, by the attempt to setup War I), Informația Zilei, August 17, 2014, p. 2 a genuine national style, and a much richer thematic repertoire. The inspirational sources of these works, whether paintings, sculptures or graphic works, become Alina Petrescu, the reality, and the centre of gravity is the human being Curator, The National Museum of Art of Romania, 15 Brezianu (1964), 144. [email protected] 16 Oprea, P. (1975). 14 Figure 1. Csángós from Săcele on St. Michael’ s celebration day

Ethnic Multiculturalism in Țara Bârsei (Land of Barsa). The Csángós of Lutheran Confession

Profiling the cultural aesthetic values of the village mind the contribution of the ethnic minorities to the world and of all the tools that have contributed to overarching national cultural values. their realization, from concept (customs, beliefs, personal experiences, superstitions) to methodology The Lippovan Russians and the Szeklers were the first (techniques, means) is the purpose of any folk art minorities represented in the open air exhibition of museum. Moreover, the knowledge of the ethnicity, the Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum, and the efforts with all its varied and elaborate national forms, undertaken by the museum management and inter-regional influences and current modernization its specialized staff during the last ten years have trends, whose contribution to the national folk materialized in bringing, reconstructing and exposing culture is indisputable, advocates the need to enrich four more ethnic households (Transylvanian Saxon, and research further the minority cultural heritage Hutsul, Tatar and Jewish households, respectively), held by the relevant cultural institutions. along with tangible and intangible assets belonging each of the four ethnic minorities in question. The Since the first post-Gustian researches undertaken Csángó community also enjoyed much attention from by the Village Museum in Bucharest, this aspect has the Village Museum in Bucharest, which has carried been an important reference point when organizing out projects specifically dedicated to discovering the an outdoor ethnographic museum as such. When heritage of the Csángó ethno-cultural group. This the great scholar Dimitrie Gusti defined the new article deals with a less known branch of this ethnic ethnocultural space, inaugurated in Bucharest in group, that of the Lutheran Csángós in Săcele, Braşov 1936, as a “school of knowledge about and love for County. our village and its peasant”, he no doubt had also in

15 Historic and Ethnographic Background

In the 13th century, the south-eastern borders of Transylvania, represented by Țara Bârsei (Land of Barsa) (with Apaţa in the north, Vlădeni in the east and Prejmer in the west), were enclosing the part of the Romanian territory that was then under the Hungarian kingship ruling. This contiguous territory was a permanent concern of the Hungarian kingdom, which was worried about the absence of a local military force to defend St. Stephen’s crown from the danger posed by the steppe populations, which were constantly on the move. This so called “limes” was bordering the region known as Cumania, meaning the north-eastern part of what was later to become Walachia. The colonization by Szeklers Figure 2. Household in Cernatu, Săcele – Csángó girls, and Saxons of some parts of the Transylvanian region 1905 (Budapest Archives, inv. no. 101880) did not solve the problem, with the Hungarian crown focusing on reaching an understanding with the Teuton Romanian countries: with Wallachia, via the Bran, Rucăr, Order soldier-monks, who had both the military and Timiş and Teleajen roads; with Transylvania, via the the missionary power to defend that border, facilitating Fagaras and Ghimbav passes; with Moldova, through the process of converting the population from the the Ghimas and Oituz roads.3 colonized areas to Catholicism. Thus, the Țara Bârsei, named after the stream Bârsa, becomes, in its German Trade favored the economic development of the city version, the Burzenland. Established there in 1211, the of Brasov and encouraged cultural advancement by Teutonic Knights organized their administrative and cultivating people’s interest and taste in art, music and military center at Feldioara, a fortress whose ruins are theater. Religious practice followed suit, under the still in place today. In 1211, Țara Bârsei covered broadly guidance of scholars like Ioan Honterus and Deacon the lands stretching between the Bârsa River and Coresi, with the former promoting successfully the Hallemeag, with the village of Săcele, which was to be Lutheran Reformation among (and not only) the extensively colonized by the Csángós, was outside the Transylvanian Saxon community) and setting up the first printing press house in Braşov, followed by the founding borders of these lands.1 of the first gymnasium in the city, in 1544, and the latter The most important town in Bârsa Land is Brasov, printing books, in Slavonic, at first, and later in Romanian, whose existence was documented as far back as in mid for the Christian Romanians, a fact that, beyond its 13th century. The Comitatus Braschoviensis – a status religious consequences, also contributed to enriching held until 1377, when the town was included inthe people’s knowledge in general. To serve the printing Alba County - had a diverse ethnic composition, where house, a paper mill was also built in Brasov, which was the native population (free peasants and peasants the first paper mill in Southeast Europe. under the thralldom of royal and noble estates) lived Starting from the end of the seventeenth century, together with Szeklers, Hungarians, Transylvanian the Habsburg ruling and the organization of border Saxons, Slavic minorities and... Changos.2 Thanks to regiments for the defense of south-eastern borders its strategic geographic positioning and its relative will hinder the trade of goods between Transylvania defensive power conferred both by the natural and other Romanian countries, thereby favoring the landscape and by manmade walls, Brașov was soon import of goods from the Austrian Empire. Braşov loses to become an important fair market, frequented by some of its economic privileges and experiences the merchants of various origins (Armenians, Wallachians, intensification of the feudal pressures, which leads to Szeklers, Moldavians, Transylvanian Saxons, Greeks frequent social upheavals that will continue until the etc.). The many roads and mountain passes of the Land second half of the nineteenth century. During this time, of Barsa were ensuring its connection with all the other the Romanian merchants are acquiring more and more

1 Țara Bârsei, Academiei Române Publishing House, Bucharest, 1972, p. 63. 3 R. Manolescu, Wallachia and Moldova Trade with Brașov (14th-16th 2 Ibidem, p. 50. Cent.), Bucharest, 1965, pp. 30 and the next. 16 of the commercial capital of the city, the Romanian language is increasingly promoted, with supporters of the economic growth of the city of Brasov being seconded by the actions of the many cultural promoters of those times.4

Săcele – A Concise History

Lying along the southern border of the Barsa Land, Săcele locality was initially encompassing the following seven villages: Baciu, Turcheș, Cernatu, Satulung, Târlungeni, Figure 3. House in Turcheș, Săcele, with verandah facing Zizin și Purcăreni. Today, Săcele comprises only the first the courtyard four of the villages mentioned above, since in 1950 the the hidden enemy that depopulated Europe during village of Târlungeni became an independent commune, the medieval and the modern epochs. made up of the villages of Purcareni and Zizin. 4 Urbanization, which started at the turn of the nineteenth The villages that later formed the town of Săcele are century, makes Săcele into one of the most important mentioned in a document dated May 16, 1366, when cultural and spiritual centers in the Bârsa Land. the Hungarian crown, through King Louis I of Anjou, Romanian and confessional schools and monumental offers as a gift to his trusted friend, count Stanislaw churches are built now (St. Nicholas church in the village “and his descendants”5 the four villages mentioned of Baciu; St. Archangels Michael and Gabriel church in above. The toponym Săcele will appear mentioned Satulung; The Assumption of Virgin Mary in the villages of in historic documents about a century later, in the Turcheş, Satulung and Cernatu; the Lutheran Evangelical letters sent by the Wallachian Prince, Vlad Călugărul Churches in the villages of Turcheş, Baciu, Satulung and (Vlad the Monk), to the magistrate of Braşov. The great Cernatu; the Reformed Church in Satulung; St. Michael Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga believes that the Roman Catholic Church in the village of Turcheş). As early name Săcele signifies the large number of villages that as the beginning of the modern era, the Bârsan locality were to become part of the locality, with the toponym was already boasting impressive achievements such as presumably deriving from the word “sătucele” or electric lighting, the first suburban railroad in Romania “saktyle” (small villages). (in 1892), connecting Brasov and Satulung, and the first local credit institution – the Săcelean People’s Bank Shepherding was the main occupation of the first (1925). The history of Săcele speaks not only about the villae valachicales inhabitants of these lands, called inhabitants’ back-breaking work, but also about their in the official papers of the time, followed by sacrifices on the reunion war front, recorded for eternity agriculture, craftsmanship, and trade. “Mocanii”, the on the funerary monuments erected in their honor. inhabitants of Săcele, were famous not only as hard- working people, but also as fervent supporters of Today, Săcele presents itself as a locality with a diverse their community development. As the area was ruled confessional composition of the population (Orthodox, by the Hungarian administration, its development Roman Catholics, Reformed, Pentecostals, Lutherans depended on the social tranquility; however, the etc.) and with an economy dominated by industry, villages of Săcele were not spared natural disasters commerce and tourism. The potential of the locality as a and their many consequences. For example, in the tourist attraction resides in the beauty of its landscapes, first half of the sixteenth century, frequent floods which offer many recreation and leisure opportunities destroyed the crops, causing hunger and plague to people fond of excursions, nature and adrenalin or epidemics that would reoccur until the end of the to those who simply enjoy the tranquility of the valleys century. The plague epidemic of 1718-1719 killed of the Southern Carpathians. Landmarks like the Seven 3000 people out of the 11,000 inhabitants of Săcele Stairs Canyon, the Tamina, the Limestone Waterfall, the at the time. The road cross in the village of Cernatu, Big Rock Peak and the Bunloc Hill (for gliding fans) and built in 1719, under which 400 victims of the plague the Ice Cave, near the Ciucas and Piatra Mare massifs, epidemic victims were buried, stands as a proof of as well as the closeness to the famous mountain resorts of Poiana Braşov, Râşnov, Predeal and Bran, are all 4 N. Dunăre, Țara Bârsei, Bucharest, 1972, vol. I, p. 55. 5 Formulas often used in the appropriation papers of that period. inviting nature-loving tourists to visit the region. 17 The Changos – Origin and Spirituality

Any scientific work aimed at studying an ethnic is also widely attributed to the Csángós by the persons community has to inevitably go through the history interviewed under this study, although the historic of its origin, before proceeding to observing the documents refer to two distinct waves of colonizers transformations, customs, spirituality, or material traces, of the Seven Villages: the Hungarians in 1456 and the all depending on the research topic being approached. Szeklers in 1562, who came from the Land of Barsa to Yet, when it comes to Csángós, whose origin still remains escape serfdom. Here, they enjoyed the status of border a mystery, we will not speak in any of these terms. guards, leading a way of life specific to free people, Firstly, because neither the Hungarian nor the Romanian though obliged to pay the tithe (dijmă - decima).7 historians have provided us with enough arguments to The right to use the mill, the right to possess and use demonstrate their theories, while dismissing other, and weapons and the right to seek remedy in court without secondly, the matter in question is beyond the scope the feudal lord’s intermediation were all advantages of our research, which is why an opinion going in or that attracted the Csángós to these places. contrary to the direction mentioned above, which is From the Csángó community we find out that the based on the same arguments, would be redundant.6 Csángós are presumably a mixture of Szeklers, Pechenegs Therefore, our ethnological approach will be focused on and Cumanas, resulting from their cohabitation before the considerations dealing with ascertaining the ethnic their establishment in Săcele as guards of the Olt River, consciousness of the group under consideration, without Siret River and Eastern Carpathians borders.8 attempting to deliver a point of view as to the origin of Scientific the Csángós in the study area, based on the researches research does not dismiss this possibility, arguing that carried out, especially in a context where the distinction the Csángó’s sibilant utterance might be a proof of such 9 between confessional beliefs and national affiliation is origin. We further find out from the Csángós interviewed often blurred. that these “guardians” of the Hungarian border did not necessarily designate a combat unit, as their task was Back in the fourteenth century, when Săcele was first basically that of warning the population of the presence mentioned in official documents, no reference was of a foreign enemy by firing their guns repeatedly10 and made Csángós as part of the population of the locality. tolling the church bells; in fact, the word “ceango” means A century later, however, as we understand from a bell-ringer, i.e. the one who warns about an enemy document issued by King Ladislaus V, dated May 6, 1456, invasion, which explains the Csángós’ role as border the Romanians from the villages of Cernatu, Satulung, guards.11 This meaning of the word cannot be found in Turcheş and Baciu, who were undesirable to the Arpad the specialized historiography, which claims instead that state, were replaced by the Magyars who came to the the word “ceangău” is allegedly the badly pronounced area from Alba County, looking for easier work. The Romanian version of the corresponding Hungarian word, “substitution” did not mean that the Romanians were as the Romanians were in the process of magyarization, literally displaced by the Magyars, insofar as the former and that the verb csángani (to mix, to half-breed) is were reportedly still the main taxpayers to the fiscal either attributed to the Romanian speakers of altered administration of Braşov, but that the Romanians were Hungarian language12, or is believed to originate from probably replaced from what was a strategic Romanian the word Csángó (wanderer, nomad), a nickname given institution to the Hungarian kingdom: the frontier guard to a population practicing the transhumance. This latter (plăieșie). The frontier guardian function the villages of assertion is contradicted not only by the respondents’ the Săcele sub-zone was in charge of was taken over by answers to the interviews, but also by documents, the Csángós, who where soon made serfs of the Bran according to which the Csángós from Săcele were more Castle. Besides the Hungarian origin, the Slavic origin 7 The building of the ethnographic museum in Sacele functioned, from 6 For further information on this issue, see: Petru Râmneamţu, The the mid-fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, as a place to collect the issue of Romanians’ iradiation from Transylvania the Romanian tithe. The building is still called by the locals “Casa dijmelor” (the tithe Principalities, Cluj, 1946; Joseph Petru M. Pol, The origin of Catholic house). population in Moldova and the Franciscans, their pastors for centuries, 8 Kovacs Lehel, profesor, Satulung, interviewed on 22.09.2017. Săbăoani-Roman, 1942; Györffi Istvan, A Molduai csangar, Budapest, 9 Dumitru Mărtinaș, The origin of ceangăi from Moldova, Bucharest, 1917; N. Iorga, The privileges of șangăi from Târgu Ocna, Vălenii de 1985, p. 16. Munte, 1910; Dumitru Mărtinaş,The origin of ceangăi from Moldova, 10 Sipos Istvan, jewelery artisan, Satulung, interviewed on 22.09.2017. Bucharest, 1985; Ştefan Csapu, The origin of ceangăi and their 11 Veres Emese, etnographer, Budapesta museum, Baciu village, settlement in Sacele villages, in “Plaiuri Săcelene” magazine, no. 81, interviewed on 21.09.2017. Brasov, 2014 12 Dumitru Mărtinaș, op.cit., p. 29. 18 involved in agriculture than in shepherding. Sovago as a Romanian, I’ve had difficulties in gaining the trust (salt ore cutter) and Csámog or Csomago (“ciomag” of a woman from the Csángó community. I was only = bat) are other nicknames attributed to the Csángós, sure of that when she decided to show me her chest and are related to occupations that may rather connect of family jewelry; at first, I thought she was doing that to the Mocan (“mocani”) community in the study just to show off, but soon after I understood that it was area (“ciomag” = shepherd’s bat). Y According to Y. actually a sign that I’d become a trustworthy person to Wichmann13 the name “ceangău” originates from those her, someone she could confide in totally and without Szeklers who chose to leave their community and settle any fears. It was a gesture of friendship, sincerity and down in areas inhabited by Romanians, but Bakó Géza a proof of her feeling safe.”18 One of the few tense comes with a remark that cannot be ignored, namely moments between the Csángós and the Romanians that while Szeklers were never called Hungarians (or by in Săcele occurred reportedly during the Revolution of any other names), but Szeklers only, the Csángós are 1848, when, carried away by the swirl of the nationalist referred to in the documents of the time as Hungarians.14 grievances of the revolutionary movement, the two communities separated into two adverse groups. But For the sake of consistency, we will formally accept this the episode was forgotten shortly after and the two latter argument, all the more that it is consistent with populations resumed their peaceful cohabitation. the views of all the Csángós interviewed in the villages of Săcele: “We were Catholic Magyars, we are Hungarians We can sum up the considerations about origin of of evangelical Lutheran confession; we adopted the the Csángós in Săcele and their inter-ethnic and inter- Reformation under pressure, we speak the standard confessional symbiosis by paraphrasing their priests: Hungarian language, unlike the Moldavian Csángós, we are primarily Hungarians and Csángós secondarily; who speak altered Hungarian, and from which we differ we have coexisted well with our neighbors and want to by our traditional costumes and our religion; we have do the same in the future, while trying to preserve our lived and still live in harmony with the Romanians from cultural identity. these places”. This cohabitation is almost peremptory Catholics at the time of their settlement in the Land and it is perhaps most important in the context of of Barsa, the Csángós adopted the Protestant religion our research, revealing a peaceful cohabitation, free shortly after the Reform. The Reform spread rapidly, of the nationalistic antagonisms stemming from fake influencing the belief of many Christians in Europe. patriotism. Here are some of the statements of Sacelan Csángós: “The Csángós’ relations of with the other In 1542, after the death of the Roman Catholic bishop inhabitants of this area have been good; today, there of Alba-Iulia, Ioan Statilco, who was also in charge with are many mixed marriages, though in the past we were the Saxon churches, Johannes Honterus, a great scholar 15 seen as a secluded community” ; “Csángós are a closed and humanist, seizes the moment and starts to spread community; they help one another, they visit one other, Lutheranism among the Saxons and the Hungarians in but they aren’t very close to those from outside their Transylvania. Honterus requests the elimination of a community, though they interact with them, often discriminatory measure that was keeping a large mass 16 engaging in trading activities with the Romanians” ; of Christians in ignorance, insisting on the importance “Csángós have always been in good relations with the of the sermon and the worship in the national 17 other inhabitants of Săcele, regardless of ethnicity” ; language of the faithful, thus combating the abuses of “Csángós are extremely diligent and they can be very Catholic priests during the Catholic ritual.19 Thus, the open, though they don’t trust outsiders too much. I, year 1542 may be called “the year of Lutheranism” in Transylvania. It is the year when Honterus becomes 13 Wichmann, Wörterbuch des ungarischen Moldauer Nordcsángó the parish of Braşov, the year when the clergy from - und des Hétfaluer Csángódialektes nebst grammatikalischen Aufzeichnungen und Texten aus dem Nordcsángódialekt, publicat the Barsa Land convenes in large numbers in Brasov de Bálint Csűry și Artturi Kannisto, „Lexica Societatis Finno- to lay the foundations for the organization of the new Ugricae”, IV, Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura Helsinki, 1936. Saxon church, and the year when the first evangelical 14 Bakó Géza, „Contributions to the issue of ceangăi origin”, Studii și articole de istorie 4 (1962). sermon ever in Transylvania is held at the Black Church. 15 Barko Etelka, pensioner, aged 81, Baciu village; Veres Emese, Three years later, Lutheranism was already in place in etnographer, museum in Budapesta, aged 51, Baciu village, 21.09.2017. all the Saxon communities, who eventually declared 16 Czimbor Izabella, 51, Baciu village, interviewed on 20.09.2017. 17 Kovacs Lehel, university professor, Satulung; the same opinions are expressed by other csangos, as for example from Sipos Istvan, jewelery 18 Pantea Dorottya, Baciu village. artisan, Satulung; Daneș Cornelia, interviewed on 22.09.2017. 19 Dragoescu Constantin, op.cit., p. 511. 19 their religious unity at Mediaș.20 Unlike the Saxons, who were supporters of Luther’s ideas, the majority of Hungarians became followers of Jean Calvin, except for the Csángós in Săcele, who adopted Lutheranism, under the Saxon pressure, as the Saxons were the upper class. However, the conversion of Csángós must be seen more like the result of the influence exercised by the Saxon priests preaching in churches, and not necessarily as a consequence of economic or social privileges. It was basically a confirmation of or compliance with the cuius regio eius religio principle. The Lutheran Church had a positive effect on the Csángós, trying to help them find themselves, discover their origins, find their purpose in the future and maintain their community homogeneous, Figure 4. Csángós attending a church service says priest Koradi Levente.21 Church in the village of Baciu, the foundation of which The Csángós of Săcele have one church in each of was built in 1811; The Lutheran Evangelical Church in the four villages: the Lutheran Evangelical-Lutheran the village of Cernatu. All these churches are places Church in Satulung, whose construction started in of worship that are impressive by their high towers, the summer of 1895, being consecrated four years their heavy bells, the simplicity of their iconostasis later; The Lutheran Evangelical Church in the village and the beauty of pipe organs, for the purchase of of Turcheş, put into service in 1885; The Evangelical which Csángó believers made great financial efforts.

Occupations

Agriculture and animal husbandry were the main lime kilning, clay kneading and wheeling and tannery.22 occupations of the Csángós from Săcele; according During the cold season, when the agricultural work was to what both the members of the Hungarian cultural over, the Csángós switched to manufacturing wicker minority and the Romanians in this area use to say. While baskets, which they used in the household. Almost the Moan community were engaged in shepherding, anything that needed storing was placed in a wicker being up on the mountains with their herds for two basket, “tailored” to serve a specific purpose. Thus, one thirds of a year, the Csángós cultivated the land close could find in a Csángó household wicker baskets for to the Braşov border, called Bleschdörfer Feld (the keeping firewood, laundry, bread, fruit, grain, alms and Romanians’ field, which indicates the early presence of bee hives. The baskets were made of hornbeam twigs, the Romanians in the area), contributing to a mutually rattan or wicker. Unpeeled and sturdier twigs were used advantageous cohabitation. From the Mocans, the for to make baskets for keeping bulkier objects, whereas Csángós obtained raw wool and processed wool products, boil-peeled ones were used for the baskets intended to as well as foodstuffs specific to the sheepfold, while the hold more delicate objects. A scissors and a knife were Mocan women, who stayed back home and cared for the the tools used by the housekeeper to manufacture household while their husbands were grazing their hers household items, says Csaby István. up on the mountains, bought agricultural products from Closely linked to logging and pottery making, the the Csángós. 20 21 Csángós began to engage intensively in the carriage of Crafts were, initially, the Saxon monopoly, with the goods, starting from the late 19th century. They carried Csángós dedicated solely to toiling their lands, buying forest wood to their people, but mostly to wood buyers handicraft objects from the Saxons in Brasov. Later, from Brasov, Bucharest and even from Vienna. Csángós’ however, the Csángós, too, became good craftsmen, carts (carriages) were very sturdy and large and were learning the craft of pottery, weaving, woodworking, made to travel on any road and could carry loads of up to five tons.23 Historian Balasz Orban recounts that, 20 See Somesan Maria, The beginnings of the Romanian Church United with Rome, Bucharest, 1999.. 22 Barko Etelko, pensioner, 81, Baciu village; Veres Emese, etnographer, 21 Koradi Levente, priest, the Evangelical Church in the village of Budapest museum, Baciu village.. Baciu, interviewed on 24.09.2017. 23 Kovacs Lehel, university professor, Satulung. 20 in the late nineteenth century, more than one third of the carriers in the Land of Barsa were Csángós from the villages of Săcele, who were transporting wood and all kinds of goods “along and across the country, in large carts, hauled by eight or ten horses”24. The same historian also tells us how a few Csángós from Săcele (Szorny Andras, Martis Koroly, Szos Ianos and Martis Istvan) travelled with their carts to as far as Lipsca (Leipzig), Germany, and how two brothers, Istvan and Ianos Köpe, from Satulung village, even got to transport food and ammunition to the Romanian Army during the War of Independence. It seems that the Csángós were thriving from this occupation, a fact proven, Figure 5. Mrs. Pasztori Anna sewing traditional bonnets for example, by the generous donation made by the of Săcele, who went to work in the big Wallachian city.26 prosperous Köpe brothers to the Evangelical Church in We are told that the Csángós in Săcele were also famous Satulung, consisting of a clock worth 1,600 crowns.25 Yet, for their mason skills. When forest exploitation was agriculture continued to be the main occupation of the restricted by the city of Brasov, the Csángós had to learn Hungarian cultural minority of the place, with many of other trades, such masonry and carpentry. The best those involved in merchandise transportation buying bricklayers who worked in Bucharest, erecting nice brick lands with the money earned from the trade. buildings, were Sacelean Csángós. Today, only a few of The first coachmen in Bucharest in the second half of the Csángós in Săcele work as farmers or craftsmen, the the nineteenth century were Csángós from the villages rest being employees in the public service sector.27

Architecture 24 25 26 27 Revolution. However, things did not change much in the The vernacular Secelean architecture is somewhat tributary household architecture in the years immediately following to the typology of the Bârsan area, with households whose the enactment of the imperial decision. Mrs. Barko Etelka, structure is a telltale of the Saxon influence. Houses and a Csanco woman from Turcheş village (Săcele), tells us annexes are built on relatively narrow strips of land, which that, because of the lack of money, both the Csángós and is why the dwellings are placed perpendicular to the road the Mocans (Romanians), faced with the impossibility to axis. Where the land parcel was not long enough to allow rebuild their houses according to the order, covered them the building of the outhouses in the house tail, then the with less flammable materials, plating and plastering the outhouses were built parallel to the street, separating the wooden walls.28 courtyard from the garden. The first houses had only two rooms, a single window, The Csángó household does not differ significantly from facing the street, with the bed in the room facing the street the other dwellings in the area, save for a few peculiarities, positioned opposite from the windowed wall, to protect which we will deal in more detail with later. The traditional the dwellers from air draught and from the glittering houses were made of wood, with walls made of long, sunlight during the day. Besides, when sitting on the bed, dovetail-jointed logs (German log joining system), glued one could see through the window the main gate of the with clay and painted in light colors (white or navy). The household, just in case. If we take this description for roof was covered with shingles. This type of dwelling was granted, as it was made to us by Kovacs Lehel, a Csángó preserved until the end of the 19th century, even though, man from Săcele, we may say that, in the period under by an imperial decree issued in 1850, the Gubernius had consideration (XVII-XVIII centuries), the front room of ordered that all the houses should be made of stone and the Csángó household was not yet considered the “tidy brick. Emperor Franz Joseph I took this decision after room”, a status the room will acquire in the 19th century the devastating fires caused by the fights of the 1848 and maintain ever since. Later on, the Csángó started to

24 See Albumul Săcele, 2014, p. 32. build three-room wood houses, with two windows on 25 Ibidem. the front wall. Brick houses appeared in 1850 and had 26 Veres Emese, etnographer, Budapest museum, Baciu village. 27 Album Săcele, 2014, p. 34. 28 Barko Etelka, pensioner, aged 81, Baciu village. 21 Figure 6. Csángó household barn (Turcheș, Săcele)

two windows, a skylight and stucco ornaments on the the frontispiece of the Romanian houses from the four frontispiece, placed on a narrow strip on the wall facing Sacelean villages are most often decorated with Christian the road. Around the year 1890, Csángó houses were symbols, like the icon of a saint and the Christian cross, built with three windows on the wall facing the road; the decorations on the frontispieces of Csángó houses the window facing the courtyard was a bit narrower, are in the shape of the pomegranate (the symbol of being, in fact, a porch window, a brand new architectural wealth and fertility) and of a pile iron (indicating Csángó’s element for the period. In contrast to the Saxon houses, traditional occupations). Csángó (and the Mocan) dwellings had extremely thick walls. For example, the house of Duța Ștefan, a Csángó The urbanization of the area has radically altered the man from the village of Satulung, built in 1862 by his interior of the Csángó house to the point where one can grandfather, has walls about 70 cm thick. The foundation learn how the traditional house looked like only from is made of carved stone and the walls are built of crushed what one is told by the locals. Thus, we understand that, stone mixed with brick fragments. The upper part of the from a planimetric point of view, the Csángó dwelling ceiling, made of thick wood logs, is planked and covered used have three rooms: the so called “neat room”, the with a layer of clay plastering about 10 cm thick.29 verandah and the pantry. Inside the “neat room” (tiszta szaba), which was, presumably, as of end of the eighteenth The structure of the house roofs in the villages of Săcele century, the front room facing the road, the Csángós has not changed much in terms of their shape, still used to keep their valuables and their most beautiful maintaining the two-slope form. The roofing material has pieces of furniture. With the flooring made of planks of nevertheless evolved from simple straw bundles (“jipi”), resinous wood, the room with a view to the road was a to shingles and finally to roof tiles. Initially, roof tiles were telltale of the artistic taste and the degree of wealth of angled, then rounded on one edge (like fish scales) and the family. The raised bed captured the attention as soon finally, after the building of the tile factory in Târlungeni, as you entered the neat room; pillows and all kinds of rectangular).30 As for the roof structure, the trapezoidal linen, which could no longer fit into the traditional chest, part from under the pinion, originally made of wood were stacked in a big pile onto the bed, reminding of the boards and later of brick, is enlarged, to make room old tradition of exposing the unmarried young woman’s to some ornamental stucco, designed to enhance the dowry. The furniture included one (rarely two) benches beauty of the overall architectonic of the house. While placed along the wall or under the window, a dowry chest placed by the bedside, the “stinghia” (slat) with “cancee”, 29 Duța Ștefan, Satulung, interviewed on 23.09.2017. 30 Sipos Istvan, jewelery artisan, Satulung. the “păreschiul” (wall cabinet) (called “armăroi” by the 22 Figure 7. Csángó household cellar (Turcheș, Săcele) Figure 8. Wicket door, Satulung, Săcele

Saxons and “firida” by the Mocans), a table and chairs furniture in a Csángó house, and especially the dowry and, later, the chest of drawers. The room was so rarely chests, are painted in. The furniture is richly ornamented used by the family that the Csángós used to say that they with colorful flower and fowl motifs, painted on a only entered it “with the priest’s blessing.” contrasting colored background. As for the linen, the most embellished pieces of cloths are the pillowcases The verandah was the space where all the household and the wall rugs, followed by the tablecloths and the activity took place, serving as both a kitchen and a living bed covers. Born in a Csángó family from the village of room. Two-thirds of the space was occupied by the Baciu, Czimbor Izabella weaves on a loom various cloths beds/ benches and the traditional fireplace with built-in and items of traditional folk costumes, while teaching chimney (the latter was to be replaced by the brick or the craft to primary school children, in her attempt to terracotta stove, starting from the 20th century). The prevent the vanishing of the weaving tradition. She says other pieces of the furniture in the verandah were simple that the weaving starts from a drawn pattern. She shows and comfortable, so that they were easy to handle during us some the most popular motifs to decorate the woven the daily house chores, while the walls were embellished fabrics: the star with 8 to 12 corners, the wheat spice, with various hand-woven and sewn fabrics (cloths and the tulip (in stylized form ), the bay leaf and the rooster’s wall rugs). From the verandah you could enter the cellar. crest.32 Once, besides the motifs mentioned above, Compared to the Saxon cellars, where the cellar could sometimes the weaver added a stylishly sewn lettering, be accessed from the outside, Csángó cellars had an reading, for example, “play and work”, “the woman who indoor access door, which made them good hiding places loves her husband cooks for him” etc.33 Without making in those troubled times.31 The cellars were large size, a tradition of the embroidering craft, the Csángós specific to this type of dwelling, with multiple domes sometimes embroidered their linen with motifs like the (“bolțișoare”) brick ceilings. Here, the family used to lamb, the peacock or the tree of life. keep food reserves, while the foodstuff for every day use were kept in the pantry, which was the third room of the A typical Csángó household comprised the animal stable, house. the shed for keeping the firewood and the tools, the hay shed and the summer kitchen. Unlike Saxons, Csángós As far as the Csángós’ aesthetic taste is concerned, this did not build their livestock stable next to and under the is nowadays better illustrated by their colorful furniture, same roof with the hay, but as an outbuilding erected in which contrasts with their woven cloths, whose coloring the prolongation of their house, along with the shed for is somewhat austere. Brownish-red, yellowish-ocher, blue and green are the colors in which most pieces of 32 Czimbor Izabella, Baciu village. 31 Pasztori Anna, Duta Stefan. 33 Pasztori Anna, Turcheș village 23 all the households without exception had a walnut tree, which they usually planted near their barn.35 The gateways of a Csángó household, similar to the Saxons’, in terms their masonry structure, were neatly crafted, had massive solid wood pillars and a two-slope, “pagoda” like roof, which was covered with shingles, and a wicket made of thick planks, bearing resemblance with the entrance doors of the Orthodox churches in Eastern Europe. The gateway pillars were the most richly adorned parts, with carved and notched motifs symbolizing the sun (the rosette – the symbol of light and warmth), the rope (symbolizing man’s spiritual aspirations and the connection between heaven and earth) and the tree of Figure 9. Dowry chest life (the symbol of endless fertility). In most cases, the year when the gate was also engraved on each gate pillar. firewood and tools. In the backyard, they used to build The iron door lock and handle added a distinguishing a barn, which was a truly imposing outbuilding, covered feature to the gate architectural ensemble. Csángós’ with a tent-like roof, where they kept their wheat chaff, gates resembled the Mocans’, with either community the hay, the grain and their cart. The barn was high claiming to be the originator of this architectural style. 34 enough to allow a thresher to go inside. The barn had Although historiographers record the existence of gates two partitions and had a large entrance in the middle. of this type in Mocan ethno-cultural area, the Csángós On one side of the barn, there was the wheat peal pit are still claiming that they were the first to build such (wheat peel is very rich in vitamins and therefore is an gates and that they later made them for the Romanians extremely healthy sort of animal feed). In the evening, on request. the Changos put some wheat peel in a big bucket, mixed it with hot water, let it like that over the night and fed The traditional water wells are missing from the Csángó their livestock on the nourishing mixture in the morning. household, and not only. We find out that, since 1890, On the other side of the barn, the Changos used to keep the inhabitants of the seven Secelean villages have been the straw resulting from reaping the wheat bundles with supplied with running water, following investments the thresher. made in building the water supply system by a Csángó man, who got rich doing business in Bucharest. As such, The summer kitchen was small and located across the household water wells and community wells are absent house. The summer kitchen was housing the bread oven from the area under consideration. and the kitchenware. The Csángós say that, in the past,

Traditional Folk Costumes

The traditional folk costume is the most specific item of any nation and also the most difficult to preserve in all its authenticity, in a constantly modernizing world, heavily influenced by multicultural or, more recently, quasi-generalized trends. And Csángó folk costume is no exception to this rule, which explains why its ancient particularities could not be preserved, due, partly, to the Saxon influence. 34 35

Women’s shirts were made of white, pleated cloth and embroidered in red or yellow color, depending on woman’s age and status: the red-colored embroidery

34 Pasztori Anna, Turcheș village. 35 Kovacs Lehel, Csaby Istvan et al. Figure 10. A “Ceapsa” and a hair bun coil 24 Figure 11. Precious buckle – Barko Etelko

Figure 13. Csángó women dress in their festive clothes

Figure 12. Precious buckle and belts made by Csángó craftsman Sipos Istvan was for unmarried girls, whereas the yellow-colored one, for the young, unmarried women. Old women always wore black clothing. One of the oldest and most original Csángó traditional garments was the dress, made of a very large and pleated piece of cloth - hámosrokolya.

Underneath, the Csángó woman wore a white shirt, with sleeves embroidered in cross stitched patterns, using the so called “lost road” stitching technique. On festive days, she wore a laced linen apron, a scarf, a handkerchief at her girdle and bag made of leather/linen/ cotton, also decorated with cross-stitches. After Confirmation (after proving their knowledge of Lutheran religion and their admission with full rights among adults – which happened at age of 16, for girls, and at the age of 18, for boys), the girls wore the red ribbon they received as a gift from their godmother on the Confirmation day. Figure 14. Mrs. Anna Pasztori’s maternal (left) and paternal (right) grandmothers, Săcele 25 Figure 15. Csángós dressed in traditional folk costumes Figure 16. Barko Etelka dressed in a folk costume

an ornament, used to wear a bow-knot made of fabric, instead of the expensive piece of jewelry, just to keep up with the fashion, a habit commonly encountered in the Three Villages. Mrs. Anna Pásztori confirms Mr. Barkó’s recount by showing us her wedding precious buckle and delivering us the same inheritance narrative: “My father sold 60 acres of land (hold) to buy this jewel for me.” The girl used to crochet and embroider their “căița” (headpiece), which she was to put on her head on her wedding night, embellishing it with colored motifs symbolizing the four elements (fire, water, air, and earth). The embroidered black velvet ribbon, the multicolored strips and the silk veil, fixed with beautifully ornamented needles, all reflected yet another Saxon influence. The headpiece (cap) had red colored tie-straps; a black ribbon was worn on top of the cap, symbolizing the worries the girl was expected to experience in her life as a married woman. The women wore shoelace boots. The bride wore a white dress made of laced cloth, a tulle-sleeve shirt, a tulle apron and a waistcoat.36 Csángó man’s traditional clothing consisted of a white Figure 17. Mrs. Pasztori Anna’s sister dressed in a folk costume shirt, ornamented with yellow-colored embroidery The married woman wore a “csepesz” or “ceapsă” (a on the sleeves and the neckband and with red tassels cap) on her head, over her hair bun, starting from her (if a single man) or yellow tassels (if a married man) or first night as a married woman. When she married, a girl white tassels (if an old men). The trousers (“cioareci”) received a black velvet ribbon, nicely embroidered with were white, cut from one single piece of cloth, and the flowery motifs, from the bridegroom, and, if the girl was shirt was worn over the trousers, but it was shorter (well from a wealthy family, she received from her parents, above the knee) compared to the Mocan shirt, which as a marriage gift, the “paftaua” (a precious buckle) was knee-long.37 Over the shirt, the man wore a black (“kösöntyű”) and the “brâul” (girdle) (“bogláros öv”), vest, a brown belt (dészű) with leather inserts, a hat of which were very expensive adornments the Csángós the same color and long boots.38 used to buy from the Saxons in Brasov. But, as Mrs. Etelka From studies by ethnographer Lajos Kolumbán, we find Barkó tells us, only the wealthy family could afford to buy out that the customs and the traditional clothing of the this kind of wedding adornments for their girl dowry, paying as much as the price of a pair of oxen for them.37 36 Etelka Barko, aged 81, Baciu village. 37 Pasztori Anna, pensioner, Turcheș village. She also tells less wealthy girls, who did not afford such 38 Geczi Gellert, Turcheș village. 26 Figure 18. Sipos family dressed in festive garments, in front of Figure 19. Csángós dressed in folk costumes, the Lutheran Evangelical church in Turcheș village waiting for the priest in front of the church people in the Land of Barsa show mixed influences from the Lutheran Csángós looks more like the folk costumes the Saxons, the Mocans and the Csángós of Săcele, as worn by the Transylvanian Saxons, under whose political result of their long cohabitation. We believe that, while, and religious influence the Csángós were for a long time. for example, Csángós’ traditional dance “borița” shows Most of the original Csángó garments have been lost some similarities with the Romanian dance “călușarul” for good, given that the dead were, by custom, buried and with other Balkan dances, the traditional clothing of dressed in folk costumes.

Customs

Among the few old customs that today’s Csángós can remember, the “Boriţa” or “dansul borițașilor” dance, which was danced at end of December, is the most frequently mentioned. Dressed in white shirts and wearing two leather straps, decorated with buttons and crossed on their shoulders, black trousers, black waistcoat, long boots (leather sandals, in the past) and bells tied on their thighs, with heads covered with sheepskin hats adorned with multicolored ribbons, the “borita” dancers were celebrating through their dance the start of a new nature cycle. The dancers held in their right hand the so called “borițe” (fir tree, in the Slavic language), which symbolized the tree of life and of endless fertility, except for four lads in the group, called “nunți” (or “kuka”), who wore masks and pantomimed the Figure 20. The “Borița” dance – the older version dance; the most pathetic of the mimes was “sacrificed” and then resuscitated, signifying the continuous rebirth Also on Easter, as Sipos Istvan remembers, the men took of seasons, nature and life. Kovacs Lehel says the roots of their children with them to perform the “sprinkling” this custom are very old and go back to ancient Central ritual. The custom was that the children, accompanied Asia. Romulus Vuia argues that the Romanian influence by their parents (especially by their fathers), paid a in the case of this dance is noticeable mainly in the way visit to their relatives. Once at their relatives’ house, the dancers are dressed and that their costume and the children recited a poem about the Easter bunny the dance itself are a variant of the Romanian “Căluș” and then sprinkled all the women in the house with dance.39 perfume. After that, the hosts gave the children small sums of money, chocolate bars or cakes, and a glass of 39 Sipos Istvan, pensioner, Satulung. 27 References Bakó Géza, „Contributions to the issue of ceangăi origin”, Studii și articole de istorie 4 (1962). Dumitru Mărtinaș, The origin of ceangăi from Moldova, Bucharest, 1985. Györffi Istvan, A molduai csangar, Budapest, 1917. Săcele Municipality, Tourism guide, 2011. Săcele Municipality, Săcele Album, 2014. N. Iorga, The privileges of șangăi from Târgu Ocna, Vălenii de Munte, 1910. Petru Râmneamțu, The issue of Romanians’ iradiation from Transylvania the Romanian Principalities, Figure 21. The “Borița” dance – the newer version Cluj, 1946. brandy or wine to their father.40 St. Michael’s religious R. Manolescu, Wallachia and Moldova Trade with th th celebration is the day when the Csángós celebrate the Brașov (14 -16 Cent.), Bucharest, 1965. foundation of the first church with this patron saint, Romulus Vuia, Ethnography and Folklore Studies, built by them in the village of Cernatu. The locality was Bucharest, 1975. originally called Sfântul Mihail (Villa Sancti Michaelis), Somesan Maria, The beginnings of the Romanian Church with first documentary attestation of the church dating United with Rome, Bucharest, 1999. back to 1427. Dressed in folk costumes and festive Ștefan Csapu, The origin of ceangăi and their clothes, the Csángós march through the streets of settlement in Sacele villages, în revista „Plaiuri Săcele, attend the church service, dance in the central Săcelene”, nr. 81, Brașov, 2014. square and organize fruit cake baking contests. Țara Bârsei, Academiei Române Publishing House * (coord. N. Dunăre), vol. I, Bucharest, 1972.

Despite historical controversies, social inequalities and differences of ethnicity or religion that have influenced Respondents the history of the inhabitants of the Land of Barsa, the Balint Magda, 86, Turcheș. Csángós in the villages of Săcele today are nice people, Barko Etelka, 81, Baciu. who go about their every day business, showing a Csaby Istvan, pensioner, Satulung. genuine interest in strengthening their community Csukas Karoly, wood craftsman, Satulung. and preserving their cultural and spiritual values. They Czimbor Izabella, 51, Baciu. cohabitate in harmony with the Romanians, without Daneș Cornelia, Cernatu. bursts of false nationalism. Accounting for 20.16% of Dombi Eniko, macramé artisan, Cernatu. the local population in 2011, of which 12.55% are of Geczi Gelert, Baciu. the Reformed Confession41, the Hungarian minority Godri Anna, artisan, egg speckle-painting, Cernatu. in Săcele tries to make itself socially and culturally Goța Ștefan, 71, Satulung. known to the word. The Csángós of Barsa Association, Korodi Levente, priest, Turcheș. founded in 1990, has been supporting this objective Kovacs Lehel, teacher, Cernatu. all along, by promoting the Hungarian education and Pasztori Anna, pensioner, Turcheș. the preservation of traditions, customs and the way Sipos Istvan, artisan jeweller, Satulung. of life of the Csángós in the region, even though the Stela Picioruș, 94, Satulung. limited financial resources needed to support this goal Szasz Agnes, pensioner, Turcheș. have so far put the Foundation’s capacity to meet its Veres Emese, 51, Baciu. objectives to a difficult test. Florian Dumitrache “Dimitrie Gusti” National Village Museum 40 See Ethnography and folklore studies, Bucharest, 1975. [email protected] 41 The National Institute of Statistics in Romania, July, 2013. 28 Figure 1. Petroșani in 1898 (postcard) The Communities of Jiu River Valley: Strategies, Narratives and Identity Museums

ABSTRACT

The rapid increase in population of Valea Jiului after 1840 has caused tense relations between the natives (the Romanian peasants) and the new-comers (the foreign miners). The city dwellers were called “barabe” or “venituri” by the shepherds, and the shepherds were called “momârlani” by the city inhabitants. In order to preserve their identity properly, the groups have organized themselves in relatively closed communities, having their own culture, but this did not stop them from sharing a common history and culture. The strategies that the shepherd communities use to affirm their identity include enhancing the value of the cultural heritage (architecture, costume, customs, lifestyle, traditions), while the city dwellers enhance the value of the mining history and the prosperity that this has brought to the area. The Mineriads from the `90 have affected Valea Jiului’s image at a national level. Currently, the mines are closing one by one, increasing poverty and depopulation and turning an area rich in natural and cultural resources into a marginal one. Maybe this is why the social actors from Valea Jiului, no matter the community they belong to, are now acting free-willingly, but constantly and on multiple ways (mass-media, internet, by enhancing the local cultural heritage) to build a positive identity for Valea Jiului. One important type of action is the use of narrative constitution of identity. Another way is the organization oflocal ethnographic museums.

Key-words: identity narratives, local ethnographic museum, the narrative constitution of identity, cultural heritage, museum of society

29 Research Background

What most Romanians know about the Jiu Valley The serfs were given plots of land to build their houses, a Depression, surrounded by the Șureanu, Parâng, piece of agricultural land and grassland, being requested Vâlcan and Retezat Mountains, with about 120,000 to give their landlords a share of their crops and of their inhabitants today, most is that it is a beautiful region for livestock in exchange. Colonization happened slowly, tourists to visit and a coal mining area, whose economic with the names of these localities appearing mentioned importance has been declining in recent years, and for the first time in official documents as late asthe the cradle of the mineriads that overshadowed the eighteenth century. The serfs mingled peacefully with history of the 1990s. But the Jiu Valley is more than the small local population of shepherds, who were also that: the region is populated by rural communities, of Romanian origin. whose traditional culture is still well-preserved, which have evolved alongside multiethnic and multicultural After serfdom abolition in 1848, the former serfs became mining communities, whose interactions with one owners of the lands they redeemed from the Hațegan another have helped them to better define their own landowners. However, most of the lands continued to be identity during more than 160 years of shared history. still in the hands of the noblemen from Țara Hațegului, who leased them to the former colonizers.5 The harsh living conditions have made of the Jiu Valley a sparsely populated area up until the nineteenth After 1840, the economic and ethnic situation of century. Archeological discoveries in the Jiu Valley the Jiu Valley changed radically. Coal mines in the (Dacian and Roman coins, from the days of Emperors region captured the attention of the noblemen Hadrian, Constantine the Great, Constantius and in the Austro-Hungarian Empire with an interest Julian, an iron lantern dating back from the VII-VIII1 in coal mining. Surface pit coal mining started centuries) prove that the ancient inhabitants of Dacia simultaneously at Petrosani, Petrila and Vulcan coal continued to live in the region after Emperor Aurelian’s mines. In 1845, the region witnesses the first large Retreat in 276 AD. inflow of foreign miners coming from all over the Empire (Polish, Hungarian, Slovak, German, Austrian, Along with the Transylvanian principalities, the Jiu Valley Croatian, Romanian miners and their families). In was also included in the Hungarian Kingdom in the 1857, Petroşani commune had already about 850 period between the eleventh and the twelfth century. inhabitants. The Petroşani-Simeria railway was built After 1691 and until 1918, Transylvania belonged to the (between 1867 and 1870) and coal mining started Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. growing steadily. While in 1868 the Mines and Furnace Society in Brasov (“Societatea Brașoveană”) In the fifteenth century, Cândea family, who later took had no more than 65 workers, in 1870 it reached the name of Kendeffy, lived and owned estates in the 300 workers, who arrived in the region with their Jiu Valley, given that, in 1438, their donations were families. Thus, Petroşani became the core of the 2 acknowledged by a diploma granted by King Sigismund. mining region (around 1890).6 (Figure 1) Another document, dating back to the year 1493, mentioned a “Romanian tax” (oláh adó) the Romanian Foreign miners’ immigration to the Jiu Valley shepherds in the Jiu Valley were obliged to pay to the generated tense relations between the natives (the local landlords.3 Romanian peasants) and the newcomers (the foreign miners). Due to ethnic, lifestyle, cultural, civilization The noble families from Țara Hațegului sent serfs and language differences between the two communities, the first generations of foreign miners from the villages of Livadia, Valea Lupului, Paros, Râu were hardly accepted by locals. Moreover, abusive Bărbat, Petros, Uric and Hobița to live on the estates in expropriations by mining companies for mining the Jiu Valley. Once there, the serfs set up the human development purposes widened the difference settlements of Livezeni, Lupeni, Paroșeni, Bărbăteni, between the two types of human settlements. Petroșeni (Petroșani), Uricani and Hobiceni respectively.4 Spatial polarization favored, right from the start, the emergence of two distinct communities, which chose 1 Stanca (1996), 14. 2 Ibid., 31. 3 Ibid., 34. 5 Ibid., 48. 4 Ibid., 41. 6 Ibid., 55. 30 to live separately from each other: the peasants, be called momarlan and the barabe continued to be who lived in villages scattered on the highlands, called barabe, regardless of the village or the town breeding farm animals; from an ethnic point of view, they lived in. That is why we will treat them here as the peasants were a homogeneous group of native two distinct communities, leaving aside their inner Romanians. Mining companies, on the other hand, segmentation into smaller groupings. cramped the miners’ households down in the valleys, setting up miners’ colonies. Soon, the gap between However, historical, social and economic conditions these two communities took the form of nicknames: have gradually forced the two communities to interact the locals started to call the miners “barabe” or and share a common history. ”Momârlanii” and “vinituri”, while the miners called the shepherds „barabele” have engaged into elaborate relationships “momârlani”. with one another, fact that has influenced to a great extent the construction of their identity, to the point At the beginning, the community of “barabe” was where strategies and cultural responses have been mostly made up of miners of various ethnicities. generated, whose traces are present even today. For Later on, the community grew constantly, following example, the”momarlans”, who had lived in relatively the coming into the area of wood choppers, closed communities until 30 years ago, have strongly carpenters, merchants, teachers, public servants, asserted their love for their traditional heritage, doctors etc. Even though the community of barabe making it into their personal identity trait. As a comprised and still comprises today some smaller relatively recent consequence, private “museums” groupings, gathered together based on their ethnic have appeared in the Jiu Valley, which are, in fact, origin (Hungarians, Poles, Czechs, Jews, in addition collections of ethnographic objects belonging to the to Romanians coming from Moldavia, Oltenia momarlans and reflecting the local culture of their Maramures etc.), “momârlanii” have constantly last one hundred years. regarded them as a homogeneous group. The rural vs urban separation could not influence the identity The way the relationships between momarlans and construction either: the “momarlan” continued to barabe have evolved and their cultural consequences is the topic of this essay.

Theoretical Clarifications

A group is defined in relation to itself and to others. identities (however multiple and changing) by locating Intercommunity relationships reflect identity themselves or being located within a repertoire of constructions and how each community sees the invented stories; that “experience” is constituted other communities. In turn, these intercommunity through narratives; that people make sense of what has relationships are mirrored by the narratives through happened and is happening to them by attempting to which identity constructions are updated, occupying a assemble or in some way to integrate these happenings significant place in their themes. within one or more narratives; and that people are guided to act in certain ways, and not others, on the basis To analyze the way collective identities in the Jiu of the projections, expectations, and memories derived Valley have been constructed, we will examine several from a multiplicity but ultimately limited repertoire of narrative identities of the communities involved, from available social, public, and cultural narratives.”8 the point of view of the relational setting approach proposed by Margaret R. Somers. The American scholar differentiates four different dimensions of narratives, two of which interfere with Redefining the concept of narrativity in the context of identity construction: the ontological narratives and the sociology, Margaret R. Somers argues that “it is through public narratives. Ontological narratives are the stories narrativity that we come to know, to understand, that social actors use to make sense of - indeed, to act to make sense of the social world, and it is through in - their lives. Ontological narratives are used to define narratives and narrativity that we constitute our social who we are. People act or do not act in part according 7 identities.” . According to Somers “social life is itself to how they understand their place in any number of storied and that narrative is an ontological condition given narratives – however fragmented, contradictory, of social life. Their (scholars’ o.n.) research is showing or partial. Ontological narratives are, above all, social us that stories guide action; that people construct and interpersonal. Although psychologists are typically

7 Somers (1994), 606. 8 Ibid., 614. 31 biased toward the individual sources of narrative, public narratives and social practices. As such it isa even they recognize the degree to which ontological relational matrix, a social network. Identity-formation narratives can only exist interpersonally in the course of takes shape within these relational settings of contested social and structural interactions over time. To be sure, but patterned relations among narratives, people and agents adjust stories to fit their own identities, and, institutions.”11 conversely, they will tailor “reality” to fit their stories.9 Yet social actors are not free to fabricate narratives Public narratives are those narratives attached to at will: each group of people has a limited repertoire cultural and institutional formations larger than the of available representations and stories. Hence, the single individual. Public narratives range from the importance of constructing new public narratives and narratives of one’s family, to those of the workplace symbolic representations that do not continue the (organizational myths), church etc.10 long tradition. Writing counter-narratives is a crucial strategy when one’s identity is not expressed in the Narratives are mediated through the enormous dominant public ones. It is not surprising then that spectrum of social and political institutions and practices the narratives of excluded voices reveal “alternative that constitute our social world. People’s experiences as values” since narratives “articulate social realities not workers, for example, are inextricably interconnected seen by those who live at ease in a world of privilege.”12 with the larger matrix of relations that shaped their lives, their regional location, the practical workings of the The existence of this strategy can be proven in the legal system, family patterns - as well as the particular case of the “momârlani”, who have invented and are stories (gender, local community, ethnicity etc.) used to spreading around numerous identity narratives by account for the events happening to them. which they try to explain the names of “momarlani” and “barabe”. Momârlanii were a minority dominated That is why the author proposes substituting the term by the large miners’ group ever since the settlement “society” by the term “relational setting”. A relational of the first colonies (given that miners were supported setting is a pattern of relationships among institutions, by mining companies and by state policy).

Methodology 9 10 11 12 the existence of some strategies (whether consciously Identity construction in the Jiu Valley began more applied or not) designed to reconstruct the identity of than 160 years ago and continues to these days. To the Jiu Valley, severely affected by the miners’ revolts better understand the political, historical, economic (the Mineriads) of the 1990s and 1991, in the current and social background in which local communities context of mine closures and economic depression, were formed and how the names of “momarlani” and coupled with a decline in miners’ self-esteem. “barabe” appeared, I have studied reports, testimonies, documents, journals and interviews, which, fortunately, The information I have gathered from the documentary have been republished recently.13 The large number sources examined was compared and corroborated of historians, journalists, sociologists and teachers in with the analysis of a series of narrative identities the area, who has got involved, in the recent years, in recorded through interview and participatory the rediscovery of local history and heritage suggests observations conducted over the period 2008-2017 under the research projects carried out at the National 9 Ibid., 618 10 Ibid., 619. Folk Museum. Respondents were both momarlani and 11 Ibid., 626. barabe. I chose to first of all collect identity narratives 12 Ibid., 631. from the momarlans, perhaps because the first projects 13 See in particular the documents, reports, documents and information extracted from archives and the periodicals of the times, republished were dedicated specifically to their communities. As in several volumes by Marian Boboc, a journalist from Petrosani, since the research progressed, I have come to the conclusion 2006, and the site http://valeajiului.blogspot.ro, where the historians that the identity narratives I have personally recorded Dumitru-Ioan Puscas and Florin Mugurel upload documents, pictures, interviews, memories and historical data regarding, primarily, the coal are known equally by momarlans and barabe and that, mining, and secondary the life of momarlans. As far as the momarlans though they are certainly not the only ones, they are are concerned, several local ethnography books have been published probably the most widespread. in the last years, the most productive author being Dumitru Gălăţanu- Jieţ, who has the advantage of knowing from the inside the customs he describes. 32 The First Conflicts 17 Driven by a keen sense of private ownership, passed on taken 1928 by an anonymous journalist , to a 70-year from their forefathers, the locals were unhappy with old momarlan from B., Pătru Vasilie, the villager was the quick urbanization and with the foreigners’ coming denouncing the abuses of those times, explaining how to settle down in their region, which is why the locals mine company executives were often expropriating the called the miners “aliens”, i.e. newcomers, as opposed peasants for what they claimed to be the interest of the to the “native villages”, which is how they still like to call mines, while, in fact, the executives misappropriated the themselves.14 The high speed of town development, lands in their interest only to sell the hay harvests back the varied population and the different lifestyles, all to the expropriated people who, obviously, were getting contributed to the shepherds’ tendency to keep their short of the hay they needed to feed their farm animals. distance from the foreigners and to get into as little At the same time, the interviewed man was complaining contact with them as possible. that mine leaders were bringing in foreigners to work at Yet, the distance between the two communities was the mines, instead of hiring the natives to compensate soon to turn into conflict. First, there was an economic them for land expropriations, and blamed it all on ethnic conflict with the coal mining companies and then with identity: “the mine manager himself is a foreigner, that’s the Hungarian authorities. The first mining companies why he favors his own people. And when he does not in the Jiu Valley, which were owned by imperial noble find any of his people in Ardeal, he brings them with a families and were mainly run by Hungarian and German passport from across the border, from Hungary or from 18 engineers, bought land for coal exploitation from the Germany, leaving us no chance to earn our living.” nobility owing lands there, as well as from the free The momarlans compared their harsh living conditions peasants. Documents from those times speak about to that of the miners, which seemed thriving, in peasants’ lands being purchased for peanuts and contrast. The miners were given houses and low-priced their grasslands being requisitioned by force with the food, while momarlans were deprived of the lands help of gendarmes and brokerage companies. Mining they needed to survive. The same villager, Pătru Vasilie, companies deprived villagers of their forest lands, to get tells the interviewer: “You see, we, Romanians, didn’t the timber the companies needed for their coal mines, get any job at Werk, because the company leaders and gradually expropriated villagers of the highland used to bring in and hire only Szeklers from outside plots. In the span of only ten years, the peasants found Transylvania, letting them live in nice houses made themselves confined to the small pieces of land around of stones and providing them with plenty of ham and their households on the hillsides.15 As mining business bread at very small prices [...]. While we, Romanians, grew faster and faster, the Hungarian state enacted a the rightful owners of the local lands [...] were forced to law stipulating that lands could be expropriated for very live from hand to mouth. We had to work as hard and small prices. In 1868 the state itself started to exploit as much as we could, for peanuts…”19 the coal in the Jiu Valley. To do that, the state needed free land to build mine workers’ colonies, so it made a It is not surprising that eventually the injustices and purchase offer to peasant landowners from Petrosani, abuses suffered by the locals kindled their hatred against who declined it. As a result, the state approved the the barabes. And the old feelings of frustration are still forced expropriation of the lands in question and the lingering in the hearts of the oldest of the momarlans, Mining Society settled abusively on the expropriated who are even now complaining about how miners stole lands, leaving the peasants no other choice than to their lands: “They still hold a grudge against mines, 16 agree to sell their lands for the price set by the state. mainly the momarlans who have survived to these days and who keep saying things like “that damn mine, it Momarlan peasants were left with only enough stole our lands!” So, you see, they can’t let go of the hayfields and forests to cover their every day living past, not even after all this time…”20 needs. Therefore, they eventually got impoverished by abusive expropriations. For example, in an interview 17 „Talking to a peasant from Jiu River Valley”, Avântul (1928), apud Boboc (2017), 179-195. 14 Gălățanu-Jieț (2005), 14. 18 Ibid., 184. 15 Stanca (1996), 56. 19 Ibid., 181. 16 Ibid., 60. 20 Interview with I. A., a barabă, Câmpu lui Neag, 2017. 33 Amid the rising social tensions, an ethnic conflict Mines Society, he succeeded to build a new church in inevitably broke out between the native Romanians 1900.21 and the newcomers (mostly foreigners). Peasants and miners did not speak the same language and, as Once the construction of churches started, the conflict such, they could not understand one another for many broke out, but not among religions, but between the decades on end. Generally, the momarlans did not get momarlans and the barabes. When the momarlans to learn a foreign language, not even the Hungarian took up building the Orthodox Church in Petrosani, the language, which was the language of the administration Orthodox Romanian miners offered to help them, but until 1918. As it happened in different other parts of the momarlans declined their help violently. As a result, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the fact that the natives the old wooden church was maintained in service for could not or rather did not want to speak the official the barabes. The same thing happened in the town of language was not a sign of intellectual inability, but a Lupeni upon the building of Greek-Catholic church. It strategy for the natives to survive and preserve their seems that in this latter case the united church bishop identity through hard times. Vasile Hossu intervened and urged the united locals to accept the help of miners of the same religion. The event The religious conflict as well shows how tense the is recounted by the Greek-Catholic priest, N. Brânzeu.22 relationship between peasants and miners was. Momarlans had been Orthodox for a long time. However, The mayor of the town of Lupeni explains in an the pressures exercised by the imperial administration interview to journalist I T. Munteanu, in 1929, how in the 18th century and in early nineteenth century Romanians, being pretty unaware of the differences forced the momarlans living on the western bank of the among religions, used to resort to the nearest priest, Jiu River to convert to the Greek Catholic religion. The whether orthodox or Greek Catholic; the only thing communities on the Eastern bank of the river however that mattered to them was that the priest was 23 chose to stick to the Orthodox religion, supported, Romanian. presumably, by the monks at the Lainici Monastery, After 1918, the Romanian administration started located on the Jiu Valley. Among the barabes, the to implement a policy meant to mitigate conflicts, Romanian miners were mostly Orthodox, whereas the leaving the Hungarian and the German executives and other ethnics were of different other religions: Catholic, public servants in office, in spite of the fact that many Reformed, Evangelical, Unitarian etc. Romanian miners were unhappy with the arrangement. None of the religious cults had its church, because The administration’s reasons for doing that were both Hungary did not encourage the construction of practical – the lack of Romanian specialists – and political, churches. People used to pray in chapels improvised in as the country needed peace to start its recovery in their homes or inside administrative buildings. the aftermath of the WWI and after Transylvania’s union with Romania.24 A positive effect of this policy The mining companies eventually donated money for was the increased number of momarlans being hired the building of churches and the first churches were by the mines. At first, momarlans were employed to erected after the year 1860: the Lutheran church in carry out auxiliary works, such as construction works 1892; the Roman Catholic Church in 1887; in 1888, on the colony site, transportation by carriage towed the Reformed Church. The Unitarians, who were fewer by farm animals. Of course, they were paid less than in number, built their first church in 1909. The Greek the miners, but enjoyed more freedom and had access Catholic Church was built in Petroşani in 1871, having as to low-priced food. In summer, the momarlans left the its first churchgoers the Romanian miners coming to the area from different regions of the country. All the united 21 Ibid., 67-68. Romanian workers gathered around the united priest 22 N. Brânzeu, Povestea Văii Jiului de dr. Nicolae Brânzeu, prepozit capitular, first published in Gazeta Jiului in 1926, and later in and, with help of the Mining Society, manage to finish Avântul, reverential issue, 1938, apud Boboc (2017), p. 69-95. the building of the United Romanian Church in 1888. 23 Journalist I. T. Munteanu conducted an investigation in the Jiu Valley following an incident: a group of miners killed a gendarmerie The Orthodox in Petrosani remained without a priest in officer on January 5, 1929. He publishes the results ofthe investigation in the sequel, under the name În ținutul diamantului 1870. It was not until 1876 that the priest Avram Stanca negru (In the Black Diamond Land, in the newspaper Ultima Oră, in managed to organize the Orthodox believers and, with January 1929. The text is included in Boboc (2017), 70-102. great efforts and with no help from the State or the 24 ”Talking to a peasant from Jiu River Valley” (1928), apud Boboc (2017), 185. 34 mine to do their household chores: hay harvesting, Uricani, the mine was opened in 1947. Among others, animal grazing and wood chopping. Momarlans never a skilled miner from the Lupeni mine was hired by the gave up animal husbandry and working their lands. Uricani mine to train the mine workers. His name was Mine work was a second job, a source of extra income. Alexandru Zăpadă and he was a momarlan. Soon, he The momarlan women also contributed to the family’s became a role model for many people in Uricani, as the income by selling dairy products, meat, eggs and berries first momarlan miner in Uricani, marking the change in to barabes, either directly or in the marketplace, a habit the mentality of the momarlan community: from that that has been maintained until today, when many point on, all momarlans would seek to have at least one townspeople have what they call “subscriptions” to the miner in the family (father or son), to make sure they farm products sold to them by momarlan women. have a steady source of income, while the rest of the household members continued to breed sheep and In the wake of the Second World War, the momarlans cattle and live in the old traditional way. started to gradually engage in mining. In the town of

The Miners’ Perspective

Miners’ life was harsh: hard mining work, a lot of work were down there in the mine things had to go smoothly. accidents, mostly in the early decades, small salary, And the fact that miners’ started socializing with one frequent labor conflicts with the mine leadership and another outside work hours had a positive impact on the constant risk of layoffs. Therefore, miners got on their working relationships. When you hang out with strike. One of the strikes, the Lupeni miners’ strike of someone every Sunday afternoon, a bond inevitably August 6, 1929, was bloody repressed. establishes between you and that person.” 25 Most interviews of that time show that ethnic differences Under the circumstances and being constantly mattered very little to urban people. Mixed marriages confronted with the imminent risk of death at the were quite frequent at the time. mine, miners of any ethnic origin, lifestyle, culture and language, eventually became very close to one another, Miners, too, held peasants in low regard, considering especially those who were team co-workers. They them “primitive”, “incapable to adapt themselves to the started to help one another and often spent their free major industry the miners were building”.26 time together, going out on family picnicking, a habit that had been preserved until the 1989 Revolution: “In Miners enjoyed the benefits of a civilized life. Even if they remember my father playing cards at our place, with his paid low wages, mining companies provided miners with co-workers. Things weren’t the same anymore. Mine fringe benefits: lower-priced food, solid houses made team was made of miners of all origins: Romanians, of brick on the miners’ compound, cultural centers, Hungarians, Oltenians, Moldavians and Germans ... The called “casinos”, fitted with a theater hall, a library and work down the mine was so hard that it didn’t matter a showroom, as well as public baths, schools and places anymore who was of what ethnicity, all differences of worship. This explains, in part, why miners looked faded away. Down there, in the mine pit, we had to stick down on the shepherd peasants who, dressed as they together like a team, we were thrown out. That’s how were in their archaic, rough clothes, appeared to them things were going on in my times. Even if sometimes we as primitive human beings. And that kind of attitude got into a fight or two when at the surface, when we towards the momarlans has survived to our days.

The Narratives of Identity

27 The terms “momârlan” and “barabă” are considered by highlanders of Țara Hațegului”. 25 26 all inhabitants of the Jiu Valley to be the verbalization of This meaning of this term does no longer appear in the scorn the two communities felt for each other. the Romanian Language Explanatory Dictionary (DEX), The term appears as a regionalism in Transylvania and where the word momârlan is defined as follows: meant “a clodhopper, a simpleton; an epithet used by 25 Interview with G. N., a barabă, Petrila, 2017. the lowlanders in the Jiu valley when referring to the 26 Interview with P. U., a barabă, Uricani, 2017. 27 Candrea (1931), 797. 35 Momarlan1 (momârlane): 1. a mound of earth made the Internet also promote the locals’ narrative identities by earthworms; 1. a bundle of straws or rags used as a by means of monographs and history papers. It is an border marking. “enigma” of the Jiu Valley, frequently brought to the attention of the public. And the fact that most of these Momarlan2 (momarlani): 1. fool, bad mannered, bumpkin; 2. the name of a folk dance. 28 narratives claim that the terms were invented by the communities when referring to each other is important It seems that the inhabitants of the Jiu Valley have and proves how strong their mutual influence on their noticed the omission from DEX of their identity name, identity construction was. fact that has stirred their interest in finding out where their name comes from. Without claiming to have exhausted the rich local material, below is a presentation of the explanations According to the Dictionary of Archaic Words and I recorded during my own research in the region: Regionalisms the word momarlan is a regionalism and between 2008 and 2017, I have recorded many narrative means „highlander, a peasant from the mountains”, yet identities, many of which I later found in written sources. 29 without specifying the exact whereabouts. It seems By the year 1926, nobody knew anymore where the that, in ancient times, the momarlan shepherds used to terms “momarlani” and “barabe” came from. N. Brânzeu make a kind of stone piles to mark the boundaries of states that the word “barabă” does not come from the their properties or to serve as guiding signings in finding biblical name Barabas, but perhaps from the word their way up and down the mountains, called “momâi” “Bauarbeiter”, which means “construction worker”.30 or “momârle”. There are still such stone mounds on the Parâng Mountains. Today, the habit is lost. However, it Some say that the locals called the newcomers “barberi” is hard to believe that the miners, newly arrived in the from the German word “bahnarbeiter” = “railway worker.” area, had known anything about the specific landmarks The newcomers used to call the natives “maradványi” of the locals. (“remains, remnants”, which meant, if interpreted in a romanticized key, “descendants of the Dacians and The word ”barabă” is missing from the DEX, I.A. Candrea the Romans”). However, because the transformation dictionary and The Romanian Dictionary of Archaic from “maradványi” to “momarlani” is not linguistically Words and Regionalisms referred to above. credible, some assume that the natives must have heard the townspeople calling them maradványi and adapted Every community constructs a number of narrative the word to sound closer to the Romanian language identities to represent themselves in front of others and phonetics. to satisfy their own need for self-esteem. The absence of reliable information about the origin of these words, Others say the names were given to the local peasants coupled with shear curiosity and the frustration caused by the Italians working in the region, who, presumably, by the scarcity of documentary evidence available thought that the native peasants looked very much like have prompted the locals to invent a large number of the inhabitants of Marmolada (a mountainous region narrative identities, whereby they make more or less in Italy): “No, the Magyars had been here before 1850, credible assumptions about the origin of their name, so “momârlan” does not come from the Hungarian using all available sources of information, including “maradvány”. It comes from the name of the inhabitants dictionaries. It is not the reliability of the explanation or of Marmolada, a region in northern Italy, and was given of the information that interests us here, but the very to the locals by the Italian workers, who, when seeing the existence of these narratives, which are known by all the locals, exclaimed «oh, they look like our Marmolans!», inhabitants of the Jiu Valley. It is worth specifying that meaning like the Italian highlanders, wearing sheepskins the originators of these narratives are hard to establish; and breeding sheep herds. And the Italians called them it might just as well be historians, ethnologists and “mormârlani” or “marmolani”, meaning “natives” [...] various other scientists from the Jiu Valley, or the locals “Jieni” is how all inhabitants of the Jiu Valley were called, themselves. Fact is that, no matter who invented them, but the word “momarlani” referred strictly to the native today these narrative identities are appropriated by all population. All the inhabitants of the Jiu Valley were called the locals, who speak about them often and in particular “jieni”, even those from Târgu Jiu, all of them were called when they come in contact with outsiders. The press and “Jieni”, including those living downstream the Jiu River.”31

28 DEX, 647. 30 Brânzeu (1926), apud Boboc (2017), 73-74. 29 Bulgăr, Constantinescu-Dobridor (2000), 198. 31 Interview with P. U., a barabă, Uricani, 2017. 36 Some others believe that the “aliens” who settled Valley miners in Bucharest, during the 1990s (called down in region resembled the natives with the Mineriads). Because for generations on end they have scarecrows: “A «momârla» is a kind of scarecrow, considered themselves a minority, the momarlans used to keep away crows, wild animals and stuff like have developed identity strategies to make themselves that. Yes, that’s what momârlan means and that’s recognized as a well-established group with an identity why many [momârlans] hate it [to be called by this name. This is a clear example of how the need to legitimize name].”32 It is also believed that “barabă” comes one’s own identity increases in relation to others. A joke from the name of engineer Walter Barabek, Silesian that is commonly known in the Valley is very relevant of origin, who designed and built the railway. for that: the saying goes that one day a momarlan goes to Bucharest to sell his sheep cheese. Once at the Another common explanation is that the name “barabă” marketplace, he hears a fellow marketer shouting “Come comes from the word “barabulă”, a Moldavian regionalism and buy my Sibian cheese! Come and buy my Sibian for “potato,” meaning, derisively, “potato eaters”. cheese! Another folk was inviting people to buy cheese from his own homeland. Seeing that, the momarlan Most narratives of identity suggest that the two names starts to shout: «Common, come and buy Momarlan have a pejorative connotation and that this is the cheese!» At that point, an elegantly dressed gentleman reason why they generated tensions between the two goes to the momarlan and says to him: «Mister, don’t communities: “I think they were called like that because mind me asking, but, you see, I’ve travelled the world, they were considered a little archaic, if not downright but I’ve never heard of such thing as momarlan cheese. primitive, by the strangers who came here.”33 What kind of animal is that, the momarlan?» The large number of narratives and the way each narrator Narrative identities in the Jiu Valley are not a matter of accepts or rejects one explanation or another prove not name definitions only. Their scope is much larger than only how widely spread and popular the narratives are, that. Another series highlights the profound cultural but also the deep interest of the locals in legitimizing differences that separate communities today, which their nicknames, seen as part of their identity: “Indeed, are stemming from their completely different lifestyles. Bahnarbeiter means railway worker, but I doubt that the Often this difference takes the form of disputes and term barabă originates from the Jiu Valley. Mitu Gălăţan sometimes even the form of mutual accusations. from Petrila has talked to a man from the Apuseni Mountains and learnt that the word “barabă” was also For example, the barabes claim the momarlans are known there and that it meant «villagers who left their incapable to appreciate urban culture and to support homes to work on the mountains or in the forest.» I’ve it when they are in executive positions: “The Local also heard the term last year, when I travelled to Năsăud Council [of Petrila, a mining town] is dominated by to attend to the Folk Costume Parade. There, was talking them [momarlans], all of it, from local administration to to a man from Liviu Rebreanu, a locality in Năsăud and, at the mayor hall, all is full of momarlans. They’re like an some point, I told him “By the way, I’m a momârlan, not enclave, you can’t get through to them. And that’s not a barabă”. And he was like «Oh, I see, you mean you’re fair, you see, because it’s the barabes who generated a mine worker!» «Do you know the meaning of this the cultural values, and now it is the momarlans word?», I asked him. «Yes, he said, it means the people controlling and deciding on these values. And, boy, who came to Valea Jiului to work at the mines.» That’s they’re so reluctant to culture! Give them a book to 34 what the word “barabă” means in Năsăud.” read and they’d react as if they were electrocuted!”35 The momarlans who are members of the Petrila Another reason for the momarlans’ high interest in local council are accused of supporting only the their narrative identities is the fact that their community traditional culture by, for example, inviting only the has lived virtually unknown until recently and they are Junii Petrileni folk dancers to perform at the various therefore well aware of their lack of visibility at national local cultural events. level. Jiu Valley had been represented, ever since the beginning of the coal mining industry, by miners and However, the townspeople use to characterize momarlans miners only, up until the violent demonstrations of Jiu based on cultural criteria and the urban way of life, which, obviously, are in stark contrast with the traditional 32 Interview with L. M., momarlan woman, Slătinioara, 2014. culture: “I’ve had momarlan co-workers and, trust me, 33 Interview with P. U., barabă, Uricani, 2017. 34 Interview with I. A., barabă, Uricani, 2017. 35 Interview with I. B., a barabă, Petrila, 2017. 37 they’d never travel outside Petrila, not even once in their The old mentality, which relies on inherited values, seems lifetime; they used to spend all their holidays up on the to be despised by the barabes: “They [the momarlans] mountain, where they bred their cows and stuff like that. perpetuate the old-fashioned mentality: they go like: this One of them went to the seaside once and when he saw is my forefather’s way of life, so I’ll stick to it no matter the sea he was like «Wow, this is one hell of a pond!» We what!”39 laughed out heads off when hearing that! No wonder they’re narrow-minded, when all they know is going to Consequently, it is not surprising that, although there work and then back home!”36 We understand from the are no open conflicts between the two cultural groups, interview above that the momarlans’ approach to work another common theme in the series of narrative identities was also disapproved by the town dwellers. Miners, like is the old animosity between them. For example, even townspeople in general, normally work six to eight hours if miners in general were appreciated for their solidarity, a day, so it is not surprising that they have difficulties in they were not truly willing to accept their “momarlan” co- accepting a lifestyle that is dedicated entirely to livestock workers as members of their team, while the momarlans breeding and to working without weekends or holidays. were probably unwilling to integrate in the team either. That was also one of the reasons why marriages between For example, a respondent recounts: “it’s been there for barabes and momarlans were quite rare, because, once ever, I mean this friction between the barabes and the 40 a member of the traditional momarlan household, the momarlans, and the friction continued at the mine, too.” baraba man or woman had to accept to live the pastoral It is reported that even at the mine, during the way of life of his/her spouse: “Mixed marriages have Communist times, the momarlans managed to stay happened only in recent year. Some thirty years ago, somewhat separate from the town miners; and not it was rare for an outsider to become a member of the necessarily for reasons of identity, but rather for momarlan community. The outsider was expected to practical reasons: reportedly, momarlans used to learn to dance the momarlan dances [traditional folk arrange, through their relatives and friends and by dances], to cook the momarlan kind of meal, and all that! offering “gifts” (lamb meat, sheep cheese), to be Momarlans tell me that momarlan women are beautiful hired to do easier jobs at the mine, like signalmen, and ask me why I don’t marry one. And I say to them for instance, because they had to remain fit for their «Yeah, I know they’re good looking, but, you see, their household work, when they went back home. In parents expect their son-in-law to be able to handle their other words, town miners thought the momarlans cow and sheep herds, and I’m not good at this kind of “were coming to the mine to take a break from their things!»”37 house chores”.41 Apparently, this practice of the And even when the mixed marriage proves to be a momarlans generated frustrations and disapproval long-lasting and happy one, the “outsiders” who join among the other miners, which kept the animosity the momarlan community by marriage would still feel between the two communities alive. reticent to mingle with the rest of the community, a On the other hand, in their narratives, the shepherds reticence which, in their view, comes from the fact that are blaming townspeople for trespassing their momarlans are unwilling to accept changes: “I’ve always property. Momarlans’ lands stretch over large regarded them as two distinct entities: the townspeople areas and are not always fenced. Every momarlan and the villagers. They [momarlans] are representing the knows the exact boundaries of his or her lands, but archaic world, a closed universe an outsider can hardly the barabes use to climb the mountain and pick penetrate into. I’ve been married with a momarlan fruits from trees, probably unaware that they are woman for some years now, and I’ve always felt that trespassing on momarlan’s private property. This [reticence], even if there are more mixed families today state of fact is revealed by the following anecdotic than in my time and momarlans seem to have grown narrative: accustomed to marrying outside their community, since they’ve started working at the mines. In fact, it’s the “The saying goes that momarlans got mad when you momarlans’ reluctance to change that explains why the happened to trespass their lands. One day, a momarlan mine management was unwilling to hire them from the goes out mowing his land. While he was mowing, he start.”38

36 Interview with P. G., momârlan, Slătinioara, 2008. 39 Interview with G. N., a barabă, Petrila, 2017. 37 Interview with I. B., barabă, Petrila, 2017. 40 Interview with I. B., a barabă, Petrila, 2017. 38 Interview with P. U., a barabă, Uricani, 2017. 41 Idem. 38 sees a Moldavian carrying a lap full of stolen plums. Identity Construction Issues And the momarlan shouts “Hey, you, what’s that you’re carrying in your lap?” “Perje!”, answers the The recounts presented above reveal the way the Moldavian [the Moldavian regionalism for “plums”]. relations between momarlans and barabes have “Ah, ok, you’re lucky you don’t carry “prune” (plums), influenced the identity constructions of the two else I’d have cut your head off!” That’s because, you communities. One can notice that this essays has see, there are many strangers, usually barabes, who focused on momarlans so far, and that is because, come here, pick our fruits and off they go! And, yes, during my field research, I have seen that, on the that pisses us, the momarlans, off!.42 The narrative one hand, the momarlans are more concerned about has an anecdotal structure, in which the catch is that their identity and their interactions with the barabes; the momarlan does not know the meaning of the on the other hand, the momarlans are fewer in Moldovan regionalism „perjă” for the standard word number and are organized into homogeneous rural „prună” (“plum”). However, the explanation given by communities, which are real memory-communities the respondent at the end of her account reveals the where people know one another well (by their identity function of the narrative. nicknames, surnames, descendants, ascendants and their address); and everyone knows that everybody In Communist times, the informers of the secret police in the community knows everything about him or her also contributed to the cold relationships between the (a transparent society); all community members are momarlan miners and their co-workers. The momarlans in verbal contact with one another; all of them are were afraid to speak freely with their co-workers for also in a ritual contact.45 Indeed, closer relationships fear that any one of them could be an informer and among community members also have a bearing could report to the secret police that momarlans’ on the identity construction. Moreover, as I have were sometimes stealthily slaughtering lambs for food, explained before, the momarlans have represented in times when farmers were forbidden to do that. the “minority” voice for a long time in the Jiu Valley A Momarlan miner recounts: “I go to the mine, one and they are now trying to overcome this inferiority. evening, and one of the higher-ups comes to me [...] and Of course, some amount of bias should be taken takes me aside, for a talk in private, he says. At the time, into consideration, too, given the way the field my mom had a calf and was planning to cut it [...] . And investigation was conducted; however, the number the boss goes like this «Don’t you happen to have a calf of narrative identities recorded was large enough to to slaughter? I’d like to buy it, you know, cause I need allow me draw up a few general conclusions. to do this and that with the meat…». And I say to him «No, I don’t have any calf. Besides, slaughtering farm Leaving aside the way the two communities see animals is forbidden». He couldn’t fool me, so I didn’t each another, the question is how each community fall in his trap… I sensed he was one of them [informers] sees itself. But this idea is much to complex to be and planned to expose me and make me come up with exhaustively dealt with in this article, so I will refer the calf and then have me locked up and beaten. He strictly to the community of momarlans. During wanted to catch me off guard, you see? But God helped their 160 years of common history shared with the me out. Later, I discovered who the guy really was. One barabes, the momarlans have resisted the pressure day I went to the forest to cut fir trees for Christmas [...] exerted on them by gathering together in rather and there he was, as the officer on duty!”43 closed communities, sticking to their traditional culture and living primarily from animal husbandry, The fact that some of the mine executives had grown as the only steady activity they could possibly engage accustomed to receiving and even requesting bribes from in up on the steeply mountains and in harsh climate momarlan miners worsened the relationships between conditions and their only source of self-sustenance. the momarlans and the rest of the miners: “One of them [momarlans – o.n.] once told that he had sold his sheep Narratives from the Communist era are also revealing herd, because he’d got sick of being forced by the mine the attachment of the momarlans to their traditional executives to provide them with farm cheese, lamb meat way of life. The Communist period brought about etc.”44 major changes for the momarlans. The Communists expropriated the momarlans of most of their lands, 42 Interview with L. M., a momârlan woman, Slătinioara, 2014. 43 Interview with P. G., a momârlan, Popi, 2017. 44 Interview with C. S., a barabă, Popi, 2017. 45 S. Golopenția (2001), 36-37. 39 Neag recounts how her father, a momarlan, was expropriated of his land, when the mine was opened in Câmpu lui Neag, and was forced to move and live in a collective building, which had no doors, no windows, no plumbing and no heating whatsoever. He [her father] mounted the doors and windows, deposited some of his belongings inside the apartment and left to live on a hut on his land, outside the village, where he could continue the animal husbandry tradition. There, he managed to build a proper house much later, against all Figure 2. Momârlani and barabe at Nedeia Sânpetrului odds.47 Others, however, were not (Slătinioara, 2014) as lucky as the man in the narrative above, so they had opening up new mines, forcing the momarlans to move to eventually move to live in apartment buildings. But, and live in apartment buildings. Some of the expropriated after the 1989 Revolution, some of them managed, after momarlans refused to live in blocks of flats, so they built many tribulations, to recover their lands and return to new houses or moved their old house on the small piece their old houses. Though they are aware that the ground of land they had been left with after expropriations. beneath their old houses is unstable and that the houses might collapse at any time, they are determined to go One such narrative is particularly touching. It describes on with their lives as before and breed their animals. how, when the mine in Câmpu lui Neag was opened, the whole village had to be displaced, even the cemetery, To momarlans, animal husbandry is not just a way of and how villagers refused to leave their homes. earning their living, because it takes a lot of hard work to breed sheep. It is not a simple matter of tradition – “[That] happened after the `80s. In `83 or `84. either. It is more a matter of a work well done and a – “Is it true that the mayor himself got on the duly properly accomplished. A former momarlan miner, bulldozer, because the bulldozer driver refused to dig when asked why he continued breeding sheep while out the cemetery?” he also worked and got paid as a miner, he explains: “Well, it was a bit difficult [to be a miner and a sheep – Yes, it-s true. And not only on the bulldozer, but on breeder]. Yes, I was paid by the mine, but, you know, a panzer, too, to determine the villagers to get out of breeding animals was so rewarding! Seeing the animals their houses. But they refused to abandon their homes. in your courtyard was so nice! When I had my sheep, – The communists started to take off the house roofs my backyard was full of little lambs jumping around while people were still inside. and my kids were playing with them, and it was all so – The villagers were forced to leave behind all they had, wonderful; it’s a pity people don’t care about this kind of and that hurt their souls. They cried: “How dare you things anymore these days! [...] Do I like this kind of life? pulling down my house?” But, you know, the order [...]. Of course I do! I’ve told my son «Listen to me, son, was given by the high-and-mighty, so villagers had to if you ask your child to do some work around the house, be moved out and forced to live in apartment buildings don’t forget to reward him. You shouldn’t deprive the [...] The cemetery was moved there, where the current child of the satisfaction of his work, else the child starts church now stands. Everyone in the village had to come hating looking after the cows, sheep and all that, and and pick them [their ancestors’ bones] up.”46 he’ll even hate looking at them! And I keep telling my son «Listen, if you want to make your child love the farm The state paid very little or no compensation at all to work, he must get to feel that love in his heart and enjoy the displaced locals. A respondent from Câmpu lui what he does! » I’ve seen my uncles and my parents,

46 Interview with I. A. and P. U., barabe, Uricani, 2017. 47 Interview with V. M., a momârlan woman, Câmpu lui Neag, 2017. 40 they whistled happily while they worked on the farm! I animals. Besides, working at the mine was an attractive remember myself wondering « Why are they so happy? opportunity for the majority of the active population; » It was a cheerful world; they went out looking after as such, few people in the region chose to practice the sheep first thing in the morning, even in the harsh other trades, for which reason the traditional crafts and winter weather, cleaning after them and feeding them various other trades, which might have proven useful on hay. And my folks were whistling lightheartedly and today, have disappeared with time: were cheerful while they did that [...].”48 “There are no crafts, not anymore, craftsmen disappeared Identities are constructed gradually. They are fluid as the mining grew and, at some point in time, everyone and are constantly changing under the influence of around was engaged in coal mining. This way, they’ve social, economic and political conditions. While some gradually got used to earning easy money and have facts, events, stereotypes, psychological reactions, abandoned their traditions. Now, it’s hard to revive the representations etc. are preserved as such for a longer old arts and crafts, cause there are no craftsmen to teach time by the collective memory and are shaping the young people how to do this and that [...] We, momarlans, identity construction, others are constantly changing in we had been shepherds for generations, before we response to external pressures, and the whole process started to work as miners and saw that we could earn an can be long and painful. easy buck from mining work. Industrialization hit us like a ton of bricks, I tell you. It’s the industrialization that made In recent years, the economic recession witnessed by us abandon our ancient way of life. We thought «why the Jiu Valley affected the momarlans as well. First of should we bother looking after sheep herds from dusk all, the population is aging and livestock husbandry is to dawn, up on the mountain, when we can simply go no longer a source of decent income. The momarlans to work for eight hours down in the mine and then go to breed less and less animals on their lands and mostly for bed! » Industrialization disintegrated us as a traditional their own household needs, because, due to the closure community; it caused this fracture between us and our of the mines in the region, the miners’ purchasing past.”50 power has declined and they can no longer afford to buy farm products from the momarlans. It is a fact that the And yet, momarlans aged 60 and over still hope that prosperity of the townspeople has a direct influence on things will change for the better. And that is proven the peasant’s welfare. There are no milk, cheese, leather by the way they still strive to breed their animals in or wool collection centers, only a few companies that are the old fashioned way and by their stubborn refusal involved in exporting such products and which purchase to sell their lands, despite the fact that their children them for ridiculously low and discouraging prices. The only have long established themselves in distant cities, far steady income sources for the momarlans are the state from their homeland. A momarlan explains: “No man subsidies and, if they are former miners, their pensions. in his right mind should sell his land [...] the world out there is in turmoil. You never know… anything Because of that, the pastoral lifestyle is in danger, and bad can happen any time, and if you don’t have a so is the know-how this ancient occupation involves. safe place to turn to, then what? [...] I’ve met a man While in the past parents ensured the continuity of the from Cimpa. He owned so many plots of land, that traditional animal husbandry occupation by teaching he lost count. He told me he had harvested twelve their children how to handle the household work and haystacks from one single plot! He even owned an trained them in animal husbandry, nowadays children entire hill! And one day another fellow goes to that in the momarlan community simply refuse to stay back man and says to him «Listen, if you want to sell land, 49 home and breed animals. I’m ready to buy, cause I need to…”. But the wealthy land owner cut him short saying: “What?!? To sell Yet, for many momarlans, the new socio-economic my land? I sell no land, man, I buy land!»”51 conditions are not the only ones to blame for the present state of affairs. There are shepherds who still As a result of the changes brought about by the think that the mine, while it helped them thrive, did a Communist era, when animal husbandry was left in great deal of harm to them, by providing them with an the care of the adult villagers, the younger generation easier way to make money as an alternative to breeding of momarlans has gradually started to interact more

48 Interview with P. G., a momarlan, Popi, 2017. 50 Interview with V. C., a momârlan, Petroșani, 2014. 49 Interview with P. U., a barabă, Uricani, 2017. 51 Interview with P. G., a momârlan, Popi, 2017. 41 Figure 3. The Momarlan’s Museum: the wedding Figure 4. The Momarlan’s Museum: the work and more with the other communities in the region, In 2015, I attended a “nedeia” (folk gathering) in the making friends and getting married outside their own village of Jieţ. “Nedeia” is a traditional custom of the community. Today, the older generation is no longer momarlan community: a celebration of the dead, held keen to see their children married to someone who on Easter days, where the villagers gather together is skilled in animal husbandry. Many momarlans live on the eastern bank of Jiu River to eat specific dishes, in apartment buildings today; there are more and listen to local folk music and watching folk dances. more mixed marriages between momarlans and town On the western side of the Jiu River, this custom was dwellers, be they Romanians, Hungarians or members once a single village party, with music and dance, of other ethnic groups; the young people go to work but it has disappeared in recent years. I was warned abroad. A momarlan woman boasted with her four sons, not to use the word “momarlan”, because the locals saying: “they’re all doing very well in England; they have take it personally and attach a vexatious mockery good jobs, nice houses and all the rest.”52 Even the names connotation to the word. of “momarlan” and “barabă” are now used jokingly and have lost much of their offensive connotation, keeping The “barabe” may also attend the “nedeia”, because the identity-related significance instead. However, the hospitality makes the law. The momarlans and the offensive connotation would resurface whenever a fight barabe are easy to differentiate from one another by the starts between a momarlan and a baraba. clothes they wear at the folk party. The momarlans come dressed in their traditional folk costume or carry at least How do these changes influence the identity of the one piece of their traditional garment: women wear a group? The momarlan is no longer the man who lives in folk blouse (“ie”) or carry a hand-woven bag, while men the village breeding animals. But the way the collective wear hats and shepherd’s bats. The townspeople come identity of the momarlans evolves will be much clearly dressed in elegant clothes. The local folk costume is an noticeable in the next few years. For the moment, what identity mark to momarlans and they use to say that we can see is how the 50 to 60-year-old (and younger wearing it is a sign of love for the momarlan culture. people as well) momarlans try to slow down the pace of (Figure 2) change by promoting traditional momarlan customs and boosting their self-esteem. The festive folk gatherings Lately, in response to the recommendations of the on the Eastern Jiu River, which had disappeared by the European Union’s cultural policies, the mayoralties 1989 Revolution, have been resumed; local Christmas have resumed the momarlan customs, turning them customs are reviving. There are private folk museums into local festivals: the “Nedei” day, the town fair days and people restarted weaving traditional folk costumes, etc., which is a good and a bad thing at the same time, though if they would wear them on festive days only. because the townspeople do not feel represented by Unfortunately, some reinvented customs (like sewing the grassroots culture of the momarlans and their bees, milk measuring) are somehow still showing traces feeling of discontent might rekindle old conflicts. And of the overly festive Cântarea României mass festival neither are the momarlans happy to see mayoralties from the Communist epoch. taking control over their customs.

52 Interview with R. D., momârlan woman, Petroşani, 2017. 42 Identity Museums

and Ethnographic Complex, of the “Livezeni 1” Parish (Petroşani), the “Forefathers’ Message” Ethnographic and Local History School Museum (in Uricani), the Momarlan’s Village Museum in Câmpu lui Neag, housed by the “Retezat” BB house. As one can see, there are plenty of private museums in a relatively small area, all of which have the purpose of displaying the traditional way of life of the peasants of the Jiu Valley. All these museums were assembled after the year 2000, although the collection of objects has started much earlier, in some cases.

On the other hand, the Romanian Installer Museum was opened in 2016 in Petroșani, designed and made by the graphic artist Ion Barbu, who also rehabilitated the “I. D. Sârbu” Memorial House in Petrila; the artist opened also a museum, called the Mother’s Museum, in Petrila, and managed to recover the historic building that once accommodated the Petrila mine pumping station, where he set up the “Pompadou” Center. All these endeavors are part of a chain of cultural initiatives of great originality, which nevertheless go beyond the scope of this study. Even if, through his initiatives, Ion Barbu seeks to raise the cultural level of the inhabitants of Petrila, he does not necessarily do that via an identity perspective. In contrast, the ethnographic museums mentioned above may be considered the result of an identity promotion strategy, though this is not their only purpose.

When trying to define the private museums specified Figure 5. Traditional cross, with a vertical arm made of above, we should remember that, in France, after stone and a horizontal arm made of wood (“St. Varvara” the Second World War, several types of museums Church) appeared, whose activity was subject to community acceptance: eco-museums, museums of ethnology Under the circumstances, the promotion of the and folk art, technical and industrial museums, natural traditional momarlan culture that is currently taking park museums, regional museums, memorial museums place in the Jiu Valley can be interpreted in a number of of history, site or outdoor museums and maritime ways: a) as a strategy of the momarlan communities to museums, which were all generically called “society highlight their own identity and make their voice heard museums”. There have been permanent tensions louder at national level; b) as a response of tradition between the museums of society and the classic art lovers from any community to the intensive process and history museums, run by the well-established of globalization, now that the population is aging, the museology rules. The former category of museums elderly die and the young people show little or no distinguishes itself from the classical museums by their interest in preserving and passing over the traditional being attached to a territory whose cultural expressions heritage; and c) as a resource for tourism development. they bring to the fore. Their museology resorts, apart Today, there are several so called “private museums” In from the classical display of objects and documents, the Jiu Valley, which are, in fact, collections of momarlan to various media and to inviting a wider participation ethnographic objects: the Momarlan’s Museum (in the of the inhabitants of the heritage community. A large village of Slătinioara, Petroşani), the “St. Varvara” Church number of these society museums would illustrate the

43 Figure 6. Museum-house, “St. Varvara” Church (interior) Figure 7. Museum-house , St. Varvara” Church (pițărăi flag) natural environment by composing a picture revealing a seeing the rapid decline of the momarlan community territory and its landscape, a community and its ways of and feeling sorry for the discarded or destroyed objects life. In other words, they evoke small rural or semi-rural which once belonged to the world of their parents and communities of the pre-industrial era, which respected to their childhood, have felt the need to collect and the natural environment and advocated the human preserve them. To them, traditional objects represent values. Museology put into practice is based on the the past, with all its significances and its values. following four dimensions: the search for authenticity (the “genuine”) in its human and material dimension; In 2005, Lucretia Mălinesc and Petru Gălăţan inherited the passion for the particular, including for the curious an old wooden house, built in the architectural style of and the rare; the cult of historical patina; the attention the place and located in the courtyard of the house they paid to the detail as a revelator of a society that has live in. The old house belonged to an aunt, who begged vanished or is concealed by the modernity.53 the couple not to demolish her when she was dead, so they promised her to turn the old house into a museum. These museums are created or reinvented around The two momarlans explain: “This house, here, was my the concept of local identity and are of a particular aunt’s, who kept telling us « I’m sure you’ll pull down my importance to local culture, succeeding in highlighting house, when I’m dead [...] ». «No, we won’t! », I said lifestyles, habits, customs, cultural practices and to her, « We’ll turn it into a museum! » And my auntie knowledge and the relationship between the people laughed and said «What the hell is a museum? » « Well, and their territory, which are otherwise hardly visible a museum is…», and I explained to her what a museum to outsiders. In addition, they are a big opportunity was and she was like «Ok, then, fine with me, I like the for cultural tourism as an alternative tourist attraction, idea!» and said «If you do that, I promise not to haunt which, in addition to being less intrusive, facilitates a this place when I’m dead, else, mind my words, I’ll come better and a more “genuine” contact with the local back from the grave to tease you! » Of course, she was culture. joking, perhaps because she thought the museum idea was a joke, too!” (Lucretia Mălinesc) The ethnographic museums in the Jiu Valley, as well as other museums from around the country (tens of such And the two spouses kept their promise. The house, museums are already registered at the National Heritage made up of two rooms and a porch, now accommodates Institute), fall within the scope of the “ society museum” a large collection of folk artifacts, along with industrially definition. manufactured objects, because Lucretia Mălinesc has preserved all the objects belonging to the old woman, The first and largest of these museums is theMomarlan’s from icons and images, to pieces of furniture, a radio, Museum, located in the village of Slătinioara, a suburb a pick-up and the old vinyl records the old woman used of the town of Petrosani, right on the tourist trail leading to keep by her bedside. Lucretia Mălinesc rummaged to Rusu Chalet, on the Parâng Mountain. The Momarlan in the attic of her parent’s house and, searching for old Museum is the work of the married couple Lucretia objects. She then travelled through all the villages in the Mălinesc and Petru Gălăţan, both momarlans, who, area, buying whatever interesting item she could find, 53 Poulot (2009), 178. from traditional costumes and fabrics to pottery, forks 44 Figure 8. The Ethnography and Local History School Figure 9. The Ethnography and Local History School Museum “Forefather’s Message” Museum “Forefather’s Message” and household tools made of iron. She also collected old banknotes and coins, images, documents and books.

The criteria based on which the couple has compiled their collection were few and simple: the objects had to belong to the local culture and to be as old as possible. The central and most precious part of the collection consists of old traditional costumes, which took a great deal of effort to collect, as the couple say.

Momarlans love their community customs, to which they attach a great deal of importance. The burial, the wedding, the community gatherings (neide) Figure 10. Momarlan Village Museum: first room are attracting hundreds of participants. That is why Lucretia Mălinesc has chosen the wedding custom as the centerpiece of her exhibition, placing the bride and groom costumes in the middle of the showroom; next to them are the costumes of the godparents, of the in-laws and of the “callers”; then, the exhibition displays old festive costumes, because the elders are the next in line in the order of importance of the participants to the nuptial ceremony. Among the costumes for the adults, there are dolls dressed in the traditional costumes, representing the children who were also attending to the weddings. The exhibits also include items such as a nicely decorated wedding flask, snapshots from various village weddings, the decorated wedding bed and the Figure 11. Momarlan Village Museum: second room bride’s dowry chest, full of textile objects: lepedeie cu The two museum owners would like to turn their ciptă (embroidered bed sheets) căpătâie (cushions), museum into a real eco-museum in the future, designed șterguri (towels), pricoițe, țeprag (gallons), pătureică to reveal the miniaturized world of a momarlan village. (small blanket), plocad (flocculent wool blankets) and “I’d like my museum to resemble the Village Museum, beautifully woven bags. in Bucharest, displaying many households and the rest. You know, all the many local traditions, from birth and The second room of the museum displays household christening [... to funerals.” (Lucretia Mălinesc) (Figure 3, tools: a loom, a spinning fork, a hemp shirt and kitchen Figure 4) utensils, which are tools used by the housewife. A shepherd’s bag and sheepfold items are objects in animal Next to the house they live in, the collectors have built husbandry, the main trade of the momarlan community. a few small-size wooden houses, to accommodate the

45 tourists coming to visit the collection at ease and to taste in the good old times. And people from the villages and specific local dishes. Thus, the cultural heritage of the towns from the Valley come to these folk gatherings momarlans is displayed, narrated, tasted, and offered and the number of those dressed in the old traditional to tourists, making it more visible. And the museum folk costumes is increasing every year. owners are proud of their traditional culture, which they consider insufficiently known and appreciated The priests have also started to recover and preserve traditional objects, such as old cemetery crosses that There is a real need for spaces dedicated to local culture people use to throw away. They also encourages locals in Petrosani and it seems that the private museum to make the new crosses in the old fashion way, with initiative is catchy. The priest Nicolae-Octavian Patrascu the vertical arm made of stone and the horizontal arm of the “Livezeni 1” Parish has organized the “St. Varvara” made of wood, as they appear in pictures dating back to Church and Ethnographic Center, with the support of 1900. The priests brought a traditional storehouse and the town hall, by having a traditional house carried to arranged a small administrative space inside it. They and placed in the churchyard and a sheepfold built next built a bread oven, next to the administrative room, in to it. the old traditional dwellings style (of which only two have survived, located in the Câmpu lui Neag village The “Livezeni 1” parish, located in a modest (Figure 5) neighborhood of the town of Petroşani, jokingly called “Serpent’s Den”, because it was built in a muddy area, There are many cultural projects and, even if priest contradicts all the “separatist” discourses between the Pătrăşcu passed away, the other priestly ministers, momarlans and the barabes. The parish covers also the headed by the present-day parish priest Nicolae momarlan households in the village of Livezeni, which Tănase, carry them further: for example, they have was administratively included in the town of Petroşani built a carpenter’s shop, where they make furniture a few years ago, and looks like a blessed place. Near and objects in the local style. Retired miners are the Orthodox Church, dedicated to St. Varvara, the working as volunteers at this shop. The priests plan to miners’ patron saint, barabes and momarlans live in build a wool weaving shop, to weave fabrics decorated harmony and the traditional customs of each of the two with traditional patterns. They organize spiritual communities are not misunderstood, but are treated evenings for young people and children, creating a with respect and encouraged by means of folk parties friendly atmosphere that has encouraged parishioners (nedei) and a small ethnographic museum. to participate in large numbers and to support the priest’s initiative. Parishioners also help by donating old Some time ago, priest Nicolae-Octavian Pătraşcu built objects to the museum and they are happy to see their the wooden church, with the great efforts of the locals, contribution is valued (Figure 6, Figure 7) most of whom were poor and unemployed, designed by the late Nichole Goga, a famous architect and builder The priest Patrascu has conceived his cultural project as of Maramureşan wooden churches. In 2001, the church a long-term endeavor. When he planned to set up the was consecrated by Patriarch Teoctist. Priest Patrascu, ethnographic museum he took into account the future born in Merişor, a village situated near the border with development of the area as a tourist attraction and Tara Haţegului, decided to build a spiritual center next mainly as a ski resort (Straja ski slopes). His idea was to to the church, to meet the needs of the parishioners. He give tourists the opportunity to discover the traditional set up the Humanitarian and Ethnographic Association local culture. The ethnographic museum point was “Saint Varvara”, providing food to hundreds of people in designed as part of a wider cultural project, involving the need, weekly. Then he brought an old wooden house, sustainable development of the area through tourism mounted it in the church courtyard and made it into and efficient use of resources. The museum plays mostly a museum house. He has organized the traditional a symbolic role, representing the traditional local culture. folk parties every year on the premises. The folklore Perhaps that is why no effort has been made to organize ensemble “Jienii Petroşanilor”, founded by Nela a modern ethnographic exhibition. Representativeness, Mihalache, a Moldavian, passionate about the local and not creativity, was the key principle and, as such, traditions and a very determined woman, jointly with the house-museum and its traditional rural annexes are Rafila Drăgănescu, a momarlan women, also performs organized by the classic museology rules, presenting at these folk parties, dancing and singing folk dances the traditional momarlan household and the animal and songs, inviting people to join in the circle dance, as husbandry occupation of the momarlan community.

46 Yet, more important and with far-reaching effects on the And it is not only the children who learn things about the parishioners’ community is the fact that their traditions momarlan community, but also the museum organizers, and customs are promoted and preserved. Violeta and Petre Udrea, who, in order to be able to give the right explanations to the children, have studied the Faced with the change in the mentality of the younger archives, the local history and ethnography and have generation, the teachers from the Valley, too, felt the talked to the old people, thus getting to acquire in-depth need to counteract the effects of globalization by knowledge about the Urican area (Figure 8, Figure 9). focusing young people’s attention on their own cultural roots. The name of the school museum in Uricani, the The Momarlan Village Museum was originally a school Ethnography and Local History School Museum “The collection. Inaugurated in Lupeni, in 2010, it was moved, Forefathers’ Message” is revealing in this respect. in 2016, to the large courtyard of Retezat guest house, However, the organizers of museum points have in Buta, near Câmpu lui Neag. The organizers of the approached the cultural heritage of the momarlan museum are two primary school teachers from School community from the educational perspective, so that Nr. 2 in Lupeni, Viorica and Ioan Holobuţ, now retired. their ethnographic collections are primarily dedicated They are not from the area, they were both born in to serve various teaching purposes and needs. Geamăna (Alba County), but they came to the region to work as teachers and stayed there. For example, the teacher and sociologist Petre Udrea, Oltenian of origin, and teacher Violeta Udrea, his From their recount, it appears that the idea of making a momarlan wife, set up a museum point at the school local ethnographic museum came to their mind in 1980, in Uricani. The idea came to their mind as early as in after they had visited the museum set up by teacher Albu 1978, when they started to collect folk old objects, Pamfil, in Lupşa. Understanding the need to show school involving the school children in their initiatives, children how their ancestors once lived, Viorica and Ioan explaining them the importance of the museum. They Holobut returned to Lupeni and decided to make such a gathered with utmost dedication various genuine museum point there as well. objects made by local craftsmen, mostly from the Uricani, yet their collection is representative of the They gathered and refurbished hundreds of objects and entire area of the Western Jiu River. The collection exhibited them, between 2010 and 2014, in one of the includes fabrics, costumes, a loom and accessories, a rooms of the school, and continued their museum work hearth with căloni, the objects from a mountain hut until their retirement. They did not work alone, but with (“căsoni”), iron and wood objects, old photos and the help of the school children and their parents and documents, sheepskin flasks, a picture of Alexandru with the help of their fellow-teachers. The ethnographic Zăpadă, the first momarlan miner etc. They repaired exhibition was very successful, and the fact that that and rehabilitated the degraded objects, cleaned absolutely all the children in Lupeni have visited it stands them and, in 2002, exhibited them in one of the as a proof of that. Ion Holobut is always ready to give classrooms of their school, following a personal visitors explanations, to play the double-pipe he has exhibition concept. Their intention was “to show brought from his home village, to tell stories about and the children the archaic objects, the history of the to describe every traditional momarlan household item place, which, like the shadow, follows us and which on display. we cannot escape.” (Petre Udrea) In 2016, with the help of Emil Părău, a local businessman Teachers use to take their pupils to the museum and who has been supporting the cultural and sporting teach their lessons in the exhibition room. They first events in the region for many years, the Holobuț family provide the children with information about the folk managed to move the collection to a new house, built costume and the old stove, talking them about the in the traditional local style, in the courtyard of a tourist traditional architecture, household industry and about boarding house. sheep breeding and how this essential occupation In two of the rooms of the new house and on the influenced the timing, the holidays, the weddings etc. of verandah the collectors have exhibited traditional the momarlan community, ending their theoretical and household items (a loom, old furniture, urzoi, vârtelnițe, practical presentation with information and data about sucale, spindles, distaffs ), the inventory of the sheepfold, famous local people. old photos, coins and stamps, books about the local area,

47 traditional fabrics and costumes and tools of all kinds. Once moved to the new location, the Momarlan Village The bed, the chairs, the table and the stove are made Museum has diversified its functions. Currently, the according to the old tradition. The walls are covered with museum is part of a project of tourist attractions, centered folk costumes and fabrics form various ethnographic around the “Retezat” boarding house, which includes a areas, especially from Holobuț’s home village, because horse riding school, a swimming pool, a climbing wall, a they are also beautiful and talk about tradition, as the tubing slope, horse-and-carriage rides, a playground, a collectors say. The museum organization is not over yet, tennis ground and much more. The “Retezat” boarding with a sheepfold and the annexes of a local household house follows a long-beaten, yet obviously successful being planned to be built in the near future. tourist attraction track. (Figure 10, Figure 11)

Conclusions

We may conclude that the momarlans and the Candrea, I. A. 1931. „Dictionary of the Romanian barabes, although they chose, in the beginning, to Language of yesterday and today”, in The live parallel lives from one another, have eventually Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary ”Cartea found, during their 160 years of common history, Românească”. Bucharest: „Cartea Românească” a way to live together. The major historical events S. A. Publishing House (wars, the Communism) have affected all of them, Gălățan, D. 2005. Traditions and customs from the and so have recent events and economic changes. villages on the Eastern bank of Jiu River Valley. Nevertheless, when looking back, we can see that Petroșani: Focus Publishing House. the confrontations between the two communities were rather beneficial, because it was only in Golopenția, S. 2001. Intermemory. Pragmatics relation to the barabe that the momarlans have and anthropology studies. Cluj-Napoca: Dacia found the strength to affirm their own identity; Publishing House. likewise, it was their contact with the momarlan’s Poulot, D., „Le patrimoine immatériel en France culture that helped barabe community understand entre renouveau muséographique et «territoire and appreciate the love for inherited values, that is du projet»”, Ethnologies, vol. 31, 1 (2009). specific to traditional societies, and the obstinacy Somers, M. R. „The narrative constitution of identity: with which the momarlans have defended their right A relational and network approach”, Theory & to be themselves. Society 23 (1994), p. 605-649. References: Stanca, S. 1996. Historical and Geographical The Romanian Academy, ”Iorgu Iordan” Linguistics Monography of Petroșeni locality from Jiu Institute (eds.). 1996. Romanian Language River Valley. Publishing House of the Cultural Explanatory Dictionary (DEX). 2nd edition. Foundation „Ion D. Sârbu”. Bucharest: ”Univers Enciclopedic” Publishing House. Boboc, M. 2017. Jiu River Valley all inclusive. A library in a book, drafted by Marian Boboc. Vol. I-III. Craiova: MJM Publishing House Bulgăr, Gh., Constantinescu-Dobridor, Gh. 2000. Ana Pascu Curator Dictionary of archaic words and regionalisms. The Romanian Peasant Museum Bucharest: SAECULUM I.O. Publishing House [email protected]

48 NATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITIES AT THE MUSEUM OF THE “ION MINCU” SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING IN BUCHAREST

ABSTRACT

National identity was developed, in the medieval Romanian states, by means of architecture. The succession of various architectural styles gives us an image of continuity and of cultural imports that have satisfied certain needs: the religious identity was expressed through a (neo)Byzantine style, the modern Romanian identity was expressed through (neo)classic and eclectic buildings andthe identity of the United Romania was expressed by means of the neo-Romanian style. Thus the national architectural identity was re-created through a mix of old and new, of local and foreign traditions. Identity is not static, but it evolves in order to satisfy the ever changing needs of both culture and society. In the time of the Great Union the neo-Romanian style became an instrument of the State and this led to a misreading of the work of Ion Mincu, one of the founders of this style.

Key-words: national identity, national style, Ion Mincu, The Museum of the “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urban Planning in Bucharest

49 Figure 1a. Detail of the 1922 Jubilee Medal (left)1, b. Front view of the School of Architecture, published in the 1925 issue of the ”Arhitectura” Magazine2 Identity, like memory, is revisited depending on The UAUIM Museum exhibits drawings and architectural the needs.3 For example, from an architectural (as details related to national identity and, through the well as cultural) point of view, the Byzantine style building that hosts it, mirrors to national style. played a very important role during the Ottoman domination, the Classicism led to the modernization The reference to Eminescu is not accidental. Eminescu of the Romanian state and the Neo-Romanian style was for the Romanian literature what Ion Mincu was for contributed to asserting the identity of The Great the Romanian architecture. Both of them were bridges Romania. Nowadays, caught as it is into the geopolitical between the old and the modern Romanian culture. gear, the Romanian culture exhibits a deep cleavage Mincu was the spiritual father of a school that today is between modernization and traditionalism, which has named after him. been surviving since the 1984 Revolution times and The issue dedicated to Eminescu of the “Dilema” reflecting, by and large, the passing of generations. 1 2 3 magazine was part of a wider debate on literary canon. Similarly, Mincu’s image is part of a wider discussion Questioning the fundament of the Romanian national about national identity in architecture. UAUIM Museum identity and of the collective subjectivity4 is still a topic does not address this issue directly, but by setting up a carefully avoided by curators. National identity can central area devoted to Mincu, thought of as the heart be subject of controversy, of real culture wars.5 This of the museum, it celebrates the cult for the national challenge is, in fact, an approach to the contemporary architecture created around architect Mincu after his national identity amid a redefinition process in full death. This cult has marked the School of Architecture swing. Seeing the wave of indignation spurred by and its building, whose construction started in the year Cărtărescu’s portrayal of Eminescu6 we could easily of Mincu’s death in 1912. The original building design imagine what a challenge of this kind would generate was modified at the level of the central roof to make in the world of museums, which are mostly state- it as close as possible to the Neo-Romanian trend. dependent institutions and expected to propose a Traditional materials and techniques were used to build “righteous” perspective on national identity. the monumental facade facing the Enei Church Street. Local museums, alike the national ones, are responding The Hall of Frescoes, decorated with paintings by Olga to an identity crisis7 and to the growing interest in Greceanu, made in the national fashion, was designed representations (mainly, visual) of the national culture. as a core symbolic space. At first, the glyptotek (the ‘60s) 1 *** The 25th anniversary of the Higher School of Architecture of and then the museum (the’ 80s) were thought to be the Bucharest. Arhitectura, 1924, p. 34 altars of the native architectural tradition. The glyptotek 2 ***. The 25th jubilee of the Higher School of Architecture of is a gallery of architectural models (molds and mock- Bucharest. Arhitectura, 1925, p. 18 3 M. Berza, for example, describes three successive historical perspectives ups) that serve as samples (of classical and of traditional on the Curtea de Arges Episcopate. (Mihai Berza, For a History of the Romanian architecture). The museum contains sketches Ancient Romanian Culture. Eminescu: Bucharest, 1985, p. 41). and surveys of traditional architectural works related 4 „Since he has become debatable [...], Eminescu is more vivid than ever to me. From an abstraction, he has turned into a man.” Cezar- to both the neo-Romanian style and to the theoretical Paul Bădescu. Dilema, Issue no. 265, 27 February - 5 March 1998. subjects taught by the school (history of architecture, 5 Timothy W. Luke. Museum politics: power plays at the exhibition. restoration of monuments, publications etc.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002, p. 2. 6 Dilema Issue No. 265, 27 February - 5 March 1998 The old UIAIM Museum was projecting a unitary, linear 7 In the absence of significant collective rituals (other than football and politics), identity becomes a construct as ephemeral as advertising. view on the national architectural identity. The current 50 Figure 1c. Photo from the Figure 2. Drawing illustrating a purlin, School of Architecture’s Album. published in the “Arhitectura” magazine in 191612

UAUIM museum legitimizes by its items and mostly in the post-Brâncoveanu era (characterized by the by its context8, several views on the national identity. juxtaposition of traditional elements - Byzantine, folk, Architectural identity reflects the 80/20 principle and oriental – and classic-like elements or the transposition the lack of balance in nature9, the tendency of relatively of the classical ornamental wood embossing).14 few buildings (or exhibits) to be more influential The imported architectural elements (Byzantine, (representative) than the most widespread ones (those Oriental, Balkan, Venetian, Moorish etc.), which, in the belonging to the beaux-arts tradition or communist case of Mincu’s works, created that typically Romanian apartment buildings, for example). There are dominant atmosphere, were criticized by the elite of the School of variants of the national identity, such as the national style, Architecture and by the leading representatives of the but there are also complementary variants (traditional Neo-Romanian current, who attached a higher value to folk or cultivated architecture, beaux-arts architecture, folk and church architectural elements, which in their modernism, regionalism etc.). view were suited for monumental renderings. The debate The existence of the School of Architecture Museum was on a similar topic, i.e. the valuable vs the worthless, the mentioned for the first time in Arhitectura magazine of pure vs the impure, had already taken place between 1916: “A pillar and a purlin from an old Vâlcean house Mincu and Ţzigara-Samurcaş, during the restoration of are preserved at the Museum of the High School of the Stavropoleos Church.15 Architecture.”10 The sketch made after the wooden parts concerned (still preserved by the museum) illustrates an We must agree with the MNAC manager that visual item of the Romanian style.11 12 arts and architecture occupy a peripheral place in the Romanian culture, and so did they in Mincu’s time: It is worth noting here that, although at a first glance “The modern cultural identity of this country was built Mincu’s Highroad Restaurant (Bufetul de la Șosea) seems on literature and music, while visual art is still playing a to have been influenced by the Vâlcean folk architecture, marginal role in the Romanian society.”16 at a closer look we may see that the building is in fact a reflection of the educated traditional architecture (a The linguistic unity, as a unity in diversity, which was 13 townsfolk’s house) , to which the mentioned wooden achieved as late as in the communist era, following parts belong. mass literacy, stands at the foundation of the national What architect Mincu does is to reinterpret on a higher union. Similarly, the emergence of a typically national artistry level, the architectural mix between Classicism architectural language has been accompanied by the and the educated traditional architecture emerging tendency to build on official (and religious) buildings 8 Museification is the opposite of the ritual; it takes objects out of the 14 Mihai Ispir. Classicism in the Romanian Art. Bucharest: Meridiane, 1984, context, so that, when it comes to identity, the context is essential. pp. 50-57 9 Richard Koch. The 80/20 Principle and 92 Other Power Laws of 15 Ion Mincu. Artistic Review - Stavropoleos. Answer to Mr. Tzigara- Nature. London, Boston: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2013. Samurcaş. Epoca magazine, March 25, 1904, issue 83, p. 1: „Alteration 10 ***. The Romanian Syle. Arhitectura, 1916, nr. 2, p. 33 of the “ pure Byzantine” style, regarded as a flaw by Țzigara, is, in out 11 Nicolae Lascu. The School of Architecture and the “Romanian opinion, a real quality”. Mincu wanted a restoration of the current state Style” 1900-1915. Arhitectura, nr. 5, 1985, p. 37 of the church and a reconstruction of the initial state of the church, this 12 ***. Romanian Style. Arhitectura, 1916, nr. 2, p. 33 multiple vision coming in contrast with the restorations envisaged by 13 Ruxandra Nemțeanu. The Neo-Romanesque Villa: the expression of Lecomte de Nouy and others, who were trying to eliminate additions the search for of an indigenous model in the individual urban dwelling. and were forced to “invent” the initial aspect of the buildings. Bucharest: Simetria, 2014, p. 23 and Horia Dinulescu. Tradition and 16 We Make Art, Not Politics. Interview Călin Dan – Karolina Plinta. reference in Neo-Romanesque. Argument, nr. 1, 2009, p. 33. Available online at: http://revistaarta.ro/ro/facem-arta-nu-politica/. 51 Nicolaescu or the Mărgelatu sequel has an escapist purpose). This way, a sense of nostalgia was emerging, which, though complementing one’s personal identity, was fatally leaving it incomplete20, The vague hankering after “the culture, the looks, the morals and the elegant marks of the upper class”21, epitomized by trinkets on display, could only be satisfied after the 1989 Revolution, leading a revival of the feeling of appreciation for the architecture of the nobles and of Neo-Romanian style, which were seen as ideal symbols of the upper class. Figure 3. “Bufetul de la Șosea” building, a pen drawing from the STUFO / Archives museum. The UAUIM Museum proposes a different relationship with the past than the nostalgic one: the complicity with across the entire territory of the country as a means the past. For foreign visitors in particular, the museum of a consistent and centralized expression of national becomes a tool for them to understand national identity. Starting with the 1906 Exhibition, national- architecture. For local visitors, the museum unfolds style buildings have contributed to generating a sense a plethora of national identities (of which some are of national belonging among people, which was then stronger, as for example the Central School for Girls or eroded by communism and, lately, by consumerism. the Church of the Văcărești Monastery, while other are weaker, as it is the case of the first designs of the School The image of the Argeş Monastery, which enjoyed a of Architecture students). By incorporating elements 17 widespread coverage in early twentieth century , was salvaged from the communist demolitions (and a filling the visual and historic gap the Romanian elite was collection of molds), the UAUIM museum has managed sensing at the time, while on the other hand mirroring to recreate the eclectic context of the Romanian national the chronic state of self-sufficiency. The consoling images style, while also providing an insight into how the Little of the Mediaeval past, rekindled by a later version of the Paris looked like. The solid foundation the National national style (after 1906), were providing a comfortable School of Architecture was built upon consisted not only distance from any extraneous (Oriental, Venetian or of the traditional Romanian architecture, but also and even modernist) interference. And the monumental primarily of the neo-classical beaux-artistic architecture building of the School of Architecture is itself an example (which gave it a civilized European air). of such an image.18 This distancing is also felt during the communist period. The alteration of the facade of the Architecture is a gift passed on from one generation National Theater building or the demolition of historic to another, as a means to celebrate national identity. buildings and churches were meant to protect what was This gift comes with no obligation whatsoever (lest the fragile identity of the “new type of man” from any it should turn into a poisoned one) and without any contamination with “the extraneous”. prescriptive interpretation. This was in fact the premise the reorganization of the UAUIM Museum started from. During the communist era, the national history was Museum objects have been let to speak for themselves taught by means of nostalgic images of the past (copies and mainly to one another. Obviously, original items of Grigorescu’s paintings were hanging on the walls of would prevail over copies. And the specificity of the almost all the hotel rooms, households were decorated original exhibits is related to the specificity of the museum 19 with all kind of trinkets and the films made by Sergiu as such and of the tradition of the School it represents - a 17 The Argeş Monastery Church is the source of inspiration for Romania’s tradition that, at times, is mistaken for the search for a pavilions at the Universal Exhibitions of 1867, 1889 and 1900. Carmen national identity through architecture.22 Popescu, Ioana Teodorescu. Genius Loci. National et regional en architecture: entre histoire et pratique. Bucharest: Simetria, 2002, mobility: literacy and urbanization in the span of one generation. Jean pp. 68-77.. Baudrillard. Consumer Society: Myths and Structures. Translated by 18 Note should be made the design of the School was initially different, Alexandru Matei. 2nd ed. Bucharest: Comunicare.ro, 2008, pp. 139-140. as it appears illustrated in the 1922 jubilee medal, and that final 20 Peter Stupples. Visual Culture, Synthetic Memory and the Construction construction hides its eclecticism and emphasizes its unitary trait, i.e. its of National Identity. Third Text. Vol. 17, Nr. 2, 2003, pp. 127-139 “national” character.***. The 25th the 25th anniversary of the Higher 21 Jean Baudrillard. Op. cit., p. 141. School of Architecture of Bucharest. Arhitectura, 1924, p. 34. 22 Owing to its perennial character, architecture is an important means 19 A panoply of pseudo-objects, which is specific for a time of great social of expressing national identity. 52 Final Considerations

The architecture of the cathedrals built along generations *** The 25th anniversary of the Higher School of and sometimes in successive styles is a good metaphor Architecture of Bucahrest. Arhitectura, 1924, p. 34. of national identity. On the Romanian territory, the *** The 25th Jubilee of Higher School of Architecture of modern, identity-relevant architecture is the result of Bucharest. Arhitectura, 1925, pp. 18-19. a hybridization process and has preserved, up until the *** The Romanian Style. Arhitectura, 1916, nr. 2, pp. 33-35. heyday of the neo-Romanian style, an inextricable link Baudrillard, Jean. Consumer Society: Myths and Structures. 23 with the Middle Ages. National identity has often been Translated by: Alexandru Matei. 2nd Ed. Bucharest: inspired by foreign sources. Prince Neagoe Basarab, Comunicare.ro, 2008, pp. 139-140. for example, had a Turkish cousin, Prince Constantin Bădescu, Cezar-Paul. Dilema nr. 265, 27 febr. - 5 mart. 1998. Brâncoveanu had strong connections with Venice and Berza, Mihai. For A history of the Ancient Romanian with the Byzantine Venetian community; architect Ion Culture. Eminescu: Bucharest, 1985. Mincu was educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and Boldura, Ovidiu; Cernea, Emanuela; Pătrășcanu, Lucreția. was generally influenced by the Italian architecture and Testimonies: the frescas of Argeș Monastery. by the Venetian one, in particular. Some way or another, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2013. each of them capitalized on the past in a new keynote and opened new tracks for their followers and descendants. Dan, Călin; Plinta, Karolina. We Make Art, Not Politics. Inter- Ion Mincu demonstrated that a mix of classical inspiration, view with Călin Dan – Karolina Plinta. http://revistaarta. beaux-arts and indigenous elements was possible, and so ro/ro/facem-arta-nu-politica/ (10th September 2017). were to demonstrate the generations of architects that Dinulescu, Horia. Tradition and reference in Neo-Roman- followed in his wake. esque. Argument, nr. 1, 2009, pp. 22-38. Ispir, Mihai. Classicism in the Romanian Art. Bucharest: Modern national identity is a fluctuating experience Meridiane, 1984. 24 (a “laboratory” rather than a “museum”): it changes Koch, Richard. The 80/20 Principle and 92 Other Power constantly with the needs. There is no such thing as Laws of Nature. London, Boston: Nicholas Brealey a static identity, even if politics, museums and out-of- Publishing, 2013. context interpretations would argue otherwise. Identity Lascu, Nicolae. The School of Architecture and „Romanian is a ceaseless movement where, it is like a musical score Style” 1900-1915. Arhitectura, nr. 5, 1985, pp. 37-45. where themes are abandoned only to be resumed in a Luke, Timothy W. Museum politics: power plays at the different way later on. An articulation of the links amongst exhibition. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, museum exhibits would enable visitors to experience 2002. the sense of national identity in a more flexible way and would provide a sufficiently diversified set of images for Mincu, Ion. Artistic Review– Stavropoleos. Answer to Mr. th each visitor to appropriate whatever image would best Țzigara-Samurcaș. Epoca, 25 March 1904, nr. 83, pp. 1-2. fit his or her individual needs. In this essay I have tried Nemțeanu, Ruxandra. The Neo-Romanesque Villa: the ex- to highlight the fluid nature of the national architectural pression of the search for of an indigenous model in the identity by pointing out the interaction among some of individual urban dwelling. Bucharest: Simetria, 2014. the museum exhibits, though one should not lose sight of Popescu, Carmen; Teodorescu, Ioana. Genius Loci. the crucial importance of their contextualization. National et regional en architecture: entre histoire et pratique. Bucharest: Simetria, 2002. References Stupples, Peter. Visual Culture, Synthetic Memory and the Construction of National Identity. Third Text. Vol. 17, *** Architecture School Album. Call number II 3800, Nr. 2, 2003, pp. 127-139. Library of U.A.U.I.M. Wood, Ian. Barbarians, Historians, and the Construction 23 Reinterpreting the Romanian Middle Ages is not a mere historic of National Identities.Journal of Late Antiquity. Vol. 1, exercise: it has had and will continue to have a significant impact on the construction of national identity. See also: Ian Wood. Barbarians, Nr. 1, 2008, pp. 61-81. Historians and the Construction of National Identities. Journal of Late Antiquity. Vol. 1, Nr. 1, 2008, pp. 61-81 Cristina Claudia Popescu, museum professional 24 Curtea de la Argeș metropolitan cathedral “suggests the image of an The Museum of the “Ion Mincu” School of eternal laboratory maintained by the constant need for representation of all generations of founders”. Ovidiu Boldura, Emanuela Cernea, Architecture and Urban Planning, Bucharest Lucreția Pătrășcanu. Mărturii: frescele Mânăstirii Argeș. Bucharest: [email protected] National Museum of Art of Romania, 2013, p. 17 53 Figure 1. The CFR “Pacific” 231.050 locomotive

“Centennial TRAINS” CULTURAL PROJECT

ABSTRACT

The cultural project „Centennial Trains” is a cultural activity which aims to present for the public several old railway vehicles that circulated during the First World War. It also wants the visitors to be introduced in the atmosphere of those 100 years latter times. The opportunity to organize this cultural event is the most important holiday of the Romanian people, namely the celebration of 100 years of the Great Union when modern Romania was created by unification of Transylvania with Romania. This event will be organized in Alba Iulia and also can be presented to the public and in terms of railway transport. Perhaps not all Romanians are familiar with the railway from that time and the importance role of railways during the First World War, thus this old rail vehicles exhibition will be presented. The project provides restoration of old steam locomotives, royal train and public presentation of a famous locomotive at that time, 231.000 „Pacific locomotive”. There will be the first public presentation of Alba Iulia military armored train that was captured by Roman troops.

Key-words: Centennial, Cultural Project, Alba Iulia, Railway Exhibition, Trains of the Centennial, Steam Locomotives, Royal Train

54 Foreword

This cultural project is meant to present to the general and are today considered essential for the progress of public, with the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the all the nations of the European Union in the future. Great Union of 1918, a part of the atmosphere of the times when the modern Romania project was being This cultural project is intended to present the Romanian implemented. railways and the trains by which our grandparents or perhaps our great-grandparents travelled in to Alba Iulia The railway was, both before the First World War on the first day of December 1918. The proposed rolling and in the interwar period, the main means of stock exhibition plans to bring to the fore the trains and transportation in Romania, without which it was the railway activity of the past and to offer “an overview impossible for the country to advance from feudalism of those times.” The project objective is to put on display, to the modern era and catch up with the other on the occasion of Great Union Centennial, at Alba Iulia European civilizations. A national necessity in times railway station, some old time locomotives and train of war and an irreplaceable driver of economic cars of an undeniable historical importance and which growth in times of peace, railways have always played are highly representative for the World War I period, an important role in the development of Romania which were in circulation in those times.

The Target Audience

The audience targeted by this cultural project is older people, these trains or some of them at least the general public: locals and people from other awaken their memories. Whether they are former regions, who will attend the Great Union celebration railroad workers, who can tell stories from their events. After the end of the Great Union Centennial workplace, or simple train passengers, old trains are celebration, the old trains may be used to organize an a symbol of encounters, separations, joy and sadness, itinerant exhibition, designed to present the history of of long-awaited holidays or the train that took them the Romanian railways to the people in the country’s to their military unit as conscripts. Whatever they are historical regions. or were once, the members of the public will tell us their stories and recount their memories, spurred at We expect that all the public, regardless of age, the sight of these trains. who will attend the events, will be interested in this railway exhibition. Children and younger visitors will Although these exhibits have been preserved over be impressed to see steam locomotives, old train cars, time, the public has had rather limited access to them. rail railway artillery, the royal train of Romania and a So far, in the region around the town of Alba Iulia no locomotive form the famous “Pacific” series. Every exhibition of railway vehicles has been organized in child has dreamed of getting on the cab of a steam the last decades. That is why we expect the public to locomotive or admiring real-life railway artillery. show a great deal of interest and curiosity for this kind Children have probably seen such vehicles only in of events, especially because the locomotives and illustrated books or on TV. But to date, most of them train carts of the year 1918 have never been shown have not had the chance to see them at 1:1 scale. To to the public.

The Cultural Project Resources

The material resources required for implementing this steam locomotive, the royal train set consisting of project include existent rail vehicles and especially wagons 51 53 89-10 011-3, 51 53 89-10 015-4, 51 53 those that were in circulation during the First World 89-10 001-4, 51 53 89-10 010-5, 51 53 89-10 055-0 War. Starting from this idea, the theme of this project and car transportation wagon of this train, the five-car was to exhibit rail vehicles of historical importance that „Moldoviţa” train, the steam locomotives CFR 7311 , travelled on the railway at that time or similar vehicles. 620, 1493, 077 and four armored wagons – a cannon As such, the proposal is to exhibit the “Pacific” 231.065 barrel carrier wagon, a rail cannon carriage car and

55 two rail cannon cars dating back from the first world Department, which, at the time when the project conflagration. was designed, was subordinated to the Romanian Government and had its own budget dedicated to Financial resources will also be required for the repair organization of events of this type. We presented out of these exhibits and for their transportation to and proposals to that body and received an agreement in from the Alba Iulia railway station, to be displayed as principle. Our proposal now is to sign a partnership operational stationary exhibits. agreement with the entities participating in this project. The initial plan was to attract the funds for this project It is necessary that funding be provided through the from the public budget, via the Centennial Celebration budgets of the partner ministries.

Potential Project Partners

Potential partners in this project are the railway • The Ministry of Culture and National Identity, companies and the public institutions administering which will coordinate the restoration of the the exhibits, under the patronage of the Ministry railway vehicles to be exhibited; of Transport, the Ministry of National Defense and • The National Center for Railway Staff Qualification the Ministry of Culture and National Identity. These and Training - CENAFER, through its Railways partners are: Museum, as organizer and manager of steam • Ministry of Transport, as main partner, organizer locomotives CFR 7311, 620, 1493, 077; and administrator of these railway vehicles of • the company SC “SFT CFR-SA”, a railway tourist historical importance; travel company, as the administrator of the • Ministry of National Defense, through the “Pacific 231.065” steam locomotive, of the Royal National Military Museum “King Ferdinand I”, as Train of Romania and of the “Moldoviţa” train set; administrator of the Skoda bomber train of the • SNTFC “CFR-Călători” SA, which will handle the First World War; carrying of the exhibition vehicles from their storage place to the repair plant and then to the exhibition site and then back to the storage place.

The Importance of the Vehicles to be Exhibited

The reasons for choosing these vehicles was primarily series of 2C1 locomotives built by its workshops in their belonging to the historic age under consideration, Brooks for the Missouri Pacific rail network in 1902). i.e. the 1918 Great Union of Romania and the fact that most of them have been classified as “Thesaurus” The Specification for the first PACIFIC locomotives of assets under orders issued by the Minister of Culture. the CFR Company was developed by engineers Theodor Dragu (1848-1925), assistant general manager George The CFR “Pacific” 231.050 locomotive C. Cosmovici (1854-1920), the director of the Workshop and Traction Department and the young Theodor Balş, The CFR Pacific 231.065 steam locomotive is a valuable head of the Rail Study Department, who all contributed asset and the most representative of the Romanian later on to the project finalization. Railways. In the first decade of the 20th century, the CFR fleet of express locomotives was limited to type 1B1-n2 The offer of the J.A. Maffei factory in München was « Orleans », no. 20-27 and 455-499 locomotives, which selected, whose project was based on the model of the been put into operation in 1886 and in the period 1892- Bavarian locomotive S 3/6, type 2C1-h4v (later the DR 1893, respectively. These locomotives, which had over 18 series), which had been manufactured since 1908. 20 years of service and a limited traction power, could no longer meet the increased rail traffic needs, so the Compared to the German design, the locomotive built CFR Administration decided to purchase 2C1 “Pacific” for Romanian Railway Company (CFR) showed some locomotives (the name “Pacific” was adopted for the notable differences: four twin cylinders (the compound first time by the North American ALCO factory fora solution was never accepted by CFR) driving the first motive axle, a Heusinger steam chest, fitted with 56 one cylindrical drawer for each of the two adjacent • 231.041 – 231.060, Maffei 5426/1922 – 5445/1922 cylinders, coupling wheels dia. 1,855 mm versus dia. (20 pieces) 2,000 mm in the German locomotive, a bar frame (a • 231.061 – 231.090, Henschel 18995/1922 – 19024/1922 solution used by CFR for the first time) and mixed coal- (30 pieces) 2 fuel oil combustion. The boiler had 13 atm., a4m From the factory, the 231.065 locomotive was 2 grate and a total heating range of 315.2 m , the highest delivered to CFR Bucuresti Calatori depot and was heating capacity for the European Pacific locomotives used to tow passenger trains until the end of the at that time. 1970s, when train traction by steam locomotives ceased almost completely. The locomotive was The portion of the boiler enclosing the firebox was withdrawn from circulation in 1970 and stored at the larger in diameter than the horizontal boiler to Buzau depot. On 23.02.1979, it was transferred to which it was connected by a tapered section. The the CFR Museum and is currently managed SC “SFT cylinders were aslope, so as to facilitate the free CFR-SA” Railway Tourism Company. lateral movement of the axles of the leading bogie. Also, this arrangement allowed for the reduction of The 231.065 locomotive is one of the last two the coupled axels’ wheelbase, thus obtaining the locomotives of this type that have been preserved space required for the bulky firebox. Each pair of to this day (the second one is Pacific 231.050). The cylinders was cast from a single metal block, along 231.065 locomotive is in a good technical condition with the corresponding cylindrical drawer, to reduce and could be put back into operation after revision the weight of the locomotive and to also simplify its and repair works. distribution mechanism (a solution patented by Maffei manufacturers). The locomotives were equipped with two fuel oil burners type Dragu and a fuel oil pre- heater was fitted inside the cab. The royal train of Romania

The driving wheel axle was “Adams Webb” type and It the most important historical train of all existing train was attached to the last coupling axle by an equalizing sets, despite the fact that it has not been preserved in beam, similar to the solution applied to the first its entirety to these days. The royal train was purchased two coupled axels. The locomotives were equipped from m “Ernesto Breda” manufacturer in Milan, Italy, with a Westinghouse automatic fast brake, Forster in 1928. The five train cars now still in existence were pressure regulator, a Wakefield grease pump (with used by members of the Royal House of Romania for 10 discharge valves, identical to the one mounted on internal travels , for travels on the Bucharest-Sinaia the Pacific locomotives operated by Baden Railways) route and for travels abroad. Although they underwent and a Friedmann pump, a Brüggemann sand pipes, some interior design changes during the Communist Hausshälter speedometer and two Friedmann water era, the train cars are still authentic and original. Even injectors. The rigid 4-axle chassis could take up 21 today, members of the Royal House of Romania use cubic meters of water, 6 cubic meters of fuel oil and to travel by the royal train on the occasion of various 4 tons of coal. The locomotives could tow a 290 tf. anniversary trips in the country and on the occasion train running at a speed of 90 km/h and could reach of the National Day of Romania celebration. These a maximum speed of 126 km/h, which was a real cultural projects were organized by CENAFER through performance for that period. the Railways Museum and were aimed at making this train and the Romanian railway history known to the CFR Pacific locomotives were built in several lots, people from the different regions of the country. Apart starting with the year 1913, as follows: from the five passenger coaches, the royal trainer • 2201 – 2220, Maffei 3365/1913 – 3384/1913 has a car carrier wagon, which was once used for the (20 pieces) transport the cars of the royal family. At present, this • 2221 – 2225, Maffei 3462/1914 – 3466/1914 car carrier wagon is stored at Mogosoaia Depot, being (5 pieces) in a pretty good shape to be added to Royal Train of • 2226 – 2231, Maffei 3467/1915 – 3472/1915 Romania, after a few refurbishments. The car carrier (6 pieces) wagon could be used to organize itinerant exhibitions • 2232 – 2240, Maffei 3473/1916 – 3481/1916 accompanying the royal train in its journeys around (9 pieces) the country.

57 Figure 2 - The Royal Train of Romania

“Modovița” train km/h. They were equipped with Heusinger distribution and could take up 2 t of coal and 7 m3 of water. This train set was rebuilt in the ‘90s and consists of five old wagons mounted on two axles each. In the period 1900-1914, the German factories delivered 2211 coal-car locomotives type 1Ct-n2, series pr. T 93, The train is in excellent technical condition and can be of which 2055 units to the Prussian Railway Company, put in operation after the necessary inspections by the 133 units to the Alsace and Lorraine Railways and 23 Romanian Railway Authority – AFER, on the occasion units to various other German railways companies. The of different national celebrations of a historic nature. It T-9 3 Prussian locomotives were later assigned the serial is also important to say that the cars of this train date number DR Gt. 34.15 (DRG 913-18). back before the historic moment of December 1, 1918 and could successfully be included in an exhibition to Of these locomotives, 24 units from the former MED9 be organized on the occasion of the Great Union 100th (the German Military Railway Directorate 9 in Romania) anniversary. Historically-relevant for the December 1, were taken over by CFR after 1919. The oldest of these 1918 historical moment, these train wagons are perfect locomotives dated back to 1902 KPEV KAT 7311/CFR for recreating for the general public the train travel 7311b – Jung 574/1902 și KPEV KBG 7264/CFR 7264 – atmosphere of the World War I period. Union 1205/1902).

CFR 7311 steam locomotive Although old, the T93-type CFR locomotives, owing to their simple yet perfect design and construction, were 3 The first tender-locomotive of the pr. T 9 series, type decommissioned as late as in early 1980s. 1Ct-n2, was delivered in 1900 to the Romanian Railway Company (CFR) by the German manufacturer Union The CFF 7311a, Hen 7680/1906, withdrawn from Gieβerei, Königsberg. The Prussian T93 locomotives service on October 2, 1981, after it had been used for had the following technical characteristics: cylinder shunting operations by the timber deposits in Filiaşi diameter 450 mm, piston stroke 630 mm, boiler capacity and Preajba, near Târgu Jiu, is the only locomotive of 12 kgf/cm2, grate surface 1.53 m2, total heating area this type that was preserved to date. 107.30 m2, driving wheel and coupling wheel diameter 1.350 mm, total wheelbase 6000 mm, total length over The locomotive was assigned to the depots of buffers 10,700 mm, net weight of locomotive 46.50 tf, “Bucharest Mărfuri” Railway Company (1926-1941), weight of locomotive in operation 59.90 tf, adherent Buzău (1944–1946), then back to the București weight 45.00 tf and a maximum running speed of 65 Marshalling Yard (1946–1950), and to CFR Palas

58 Figure 3 - “Moldoviţa” Train Figure 4 - CFR 7311 steam locomotive

Constanța Workshops (1950–1959). In 1959, it was transferred to the Ministry of Forestry and assigned to CFF Brezoi Depot. In 1960, the locomotive was assigned to CFF Târgu Jiu Depot for shunting operations at the Preajba railway station.

On August 17, 1989, the locomotive was transferred by the CFR Museum, at the initiative and through the efforts of CFR history fans. Currently, it is under the administration of CENAFER – Railway Museum and can be shown as a static exhibit at the rolling stock exhibition to be organized in honor of the 1 December 1918 Centennial celebration. Figure 5 - CFR 077 steam locomotive CFR 077 Steam locomotive CENAFER – Romanian Railway Museum and may The CFR 077 locomotive is part of the first CFR tender be shown as a static exhibit at the rolling stock locomotive series, consisting of 40 units built by exhibition to be organized at the 100th anniversary Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, Hannover Linden of the Great Union of 1 December 1918. (Hanomag) between 1911 and 1915: • no. 046-065: 20 pcs. 1911-1912 CFR 620 steam locomotive • no. 069-088: 20 pcs. 1914-1915 In 1890, following increase in rail traffic and in the The Ct-n2 type locomotives were designed for length of the railways in operation, CFR put into hauling trains on secondary rail tracks and, after service new locomotives, series 597 - 680, type C-n2 1950, they were used for shunting purposes by (84 pieces), designed especially for hauling freight various CFR railway stations and the rail lines of trains. The locomotives were commissioned on the various industrial units. The only locomotive of basis of the technical specifications developed by the this type that is still existent is the 077 locomotive, A II office of the Central Workshop and Rolling Stock which was in service until the late ‘60s at the depot Directorate (Directorate A). The manufacturing works in Ploiesti and Bucharest Marshalling station was awarded to several well-known locomotive deport, respectively. In 1971, at the initiative of manufacturers of that time: Henschel (Hen), Société the engineer Octavian Udrişte, the locomotive Franco-Belge (SFB), Breda (Bre), Hanomag (Han) and was exhibited at the Bucharest Călători Depot and Graffenstaden (SACMG). transferred to the patrimony of CFR Museum in Bucharest. After 1994, it was moved to the Sibiu Type C-n2 locomotives were introduced on light rail depot and is currently under the administration of transport lines, had 1330 mm diameter driving and

59 mm long bars. The locomotives were coupled by means of 3-axle tenders, with wheels of 1200 mm in diameter, and could take up 10 m3 of water and 8.5 tons of fuel. The tender weight in operation was 32.4 tons.

From the 597-680 lot, a single locomotive, the CFR 620 MURGENI locomotive, was preserved, which was built in 1890 by Société Franco-Belge de Matériel de Chemins de Fer, La Croyère – Raismes. The one who saved it from scrapping and included it in the patrimony of the CFR Bucharest Museum was the late Demetru Urmă, one of the leading personalities of the Romanian railway Figure 6 - CFR 620 steam locomotive historiography, who had a decisive contribution to the organization of the museum and of the CFR technical coupling wheels and could reach a maximum speed library. of 55 km/h. These locomotives were built with a frame (inside rods) and two cylinders mounted on either side of In 1972 the locomotive was exhibited at Bucuresti the frame. The wheels were made of iron by the mixed- Calatori Depot, where it remained until after 1994, when wheel Arbel system and had strength of 32 kg/mm2. The it was transferred to the Sibiu depot, being currently in wheel had a diameter of 1324 mm (including the steel the administration of CENAFER - Railway Museum. The flange), and the flanges had an inner diameter of 1200 620 locomotive may be shown as a static exhibit at the mm, a width of 140 mm and were fixed to wheels by rolling stock exhibition to be organized at the December steel rings, which was an innovative system for that time. 1918 Centennial celebration. The frame was made of two longitudinal rods reinforced by three crossbars that also served as a boiler support. The CFR 1493 steam locomotive Suspension springs from the driving axle were connected One of the modern types of locomotives used on the by means of equalizing beams to the leaf springs of the CFR network in the late nineteenth century was the C-n2 front coupling axle and were located above the axles. At locomotive, the series dedicated to towing mixed trains. the rear coupling axle, due to the firebox, the suspension This type of locomotive had been studied in 1893 by springs were placed beneath the firebox and were the Romanian engineer G. Cosmovici and was designed connected together via an equalizing beam attached to to tow on secondary lines both passenger and freight one of the frame crossbars, at one end, and connected trains. The first 20 locomotives of this type, locomotives with the rods by a hook, to the other end. The firebox CFR 1480-1499, were delivered in 1894 by the German was made of 16-26 mm thick brass plates and had a total company Henschel & Sohn, Kassel. They were equipped heating surface of 8.16 m2. The boiler consisted of three with three coupled axles and a crossbar Allan type riveted shell plates made of 10 mm thick steel sheet and distribution; the driving and the coupling wheels had a had an inner diameter of 1400 mm; the steam dome had diameter of 1462 mm and could reached a maximum a diameter of 650 mm. Inside the boiler there were 182 speed of 73 km/h. The frame rods were made of 23 mm steam pipes, each having an inner diameter of 45 mm. thick plates and the suspension springs of the driving axle The distance between the tubular plates was 4450 mm. and those of the last coupling axle were connected by The smoke box was fitted with a spark arrester, mounted equalizing beams. The locomotives were equipped with at the base of the smoke stack. The smoke stack was Westinghouse compressed air brake system, actuating tronconical and had a length of 1156 mm and a diameter on the tender wheels only, and a Gresham sandbox, of 450 mm at the upper part. The water was fed into actuating on the driving and the coupled axle (trailing the boiler by means of two Friedmann water injectors truck). placed on both sides of the locomotive, under the driver 2 cab. The boiler had a total heating surface of 122.66 m , The 2-axle locomotive tender could take up 9.5 cubic a stamp of 10 ATM and was equipped with two safety meters of water, 3 cubic meters of solid fuel and 2 cubic valves, each with a diameter of 72 mm. The distribution meters of liquid fuel (fuel oil). Mixed combustion was was Allan system type, fitted with slide valves, a 300 used, with locomotives being equipped with Holden fuel forward angle, an eccentricity radium of 64 mm and 1320 oil pulverizers.

60 Figure 7 - CFR 1493 steam locomotive Figure 8. The Skoda railway gun car Some of the 1480-1499 series locomotives were two gun cars (in the patrimony of the King Ferdinand I maintained in service for shunting duties up until 1967. At National Military Museum) and dates back to the the initiative of engineer Octavian Udrişte, then head of period of the first world conflagration. The train was the București Călători Depot, one of these locomotives, used in the battles by the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the 1493 (Hen 3824/1894) locomotive, coupled with was manufactured by Skoda factories. The armored the 1497 tender, was exhibited at the said depot and train was captured and used by the Romanian troops, transferred to the patrimony of the CFR Bucharest which were fighting for victory and to fulfill the lifelong Museum on June 24, 1971. The locomotive was initially dream of the Romanian people: the Great Union of all assigned to the Craiova depot and was still one of the the Romanians into a single modern state. The train fleet of that depot in 1901. In its last year of service, the consists of four rail cars, each supported by two bogies locomotive was kept in the București Călători Depot made up of two axles and was supplied with electricity and used for shunting duties by the Bucharest Basarab from a power generator railway car. railway station. The generator fed the electric traction engines of the On the occasion of the 1994 CFR anniversary, the cars and, in addition to being able to fire the gun, it locomotive was restored in that same year and is could move forward and backward on the rail track exhibited at the Sibiu depot. Currently, it is managed by without a shunting steam engine. As a novelty of the CENAFER - Railway Museum. The 1493 locomotive may times, the armored train had detachable wheels and be shown as a static exhibit at the rolling stock exhibition the soldiers could use both profiled railroad wheels to be held in honor of the 1 December 1918 Centennial and roadway tires. At present, this train is in good celebration, as an assets that is representative for condition, being exhibited along with the other that historical period, along with other rail vehicles of valuable assets of military technique belonging to historical interest. the patrimony of the “King Ferdinand I” National Military Museum. The armored train It goes without saying that this armored train would This train consists of four armored railways cars – a be the center of attention, if exhibited on the occasion cannon barrel railway car, a cannon carriage car and of the 100th anniversary of the Great Union of 1918.

Current State of Affairs

Currently, the railway vehicles described above, except assets by orders issued by the Minister of Culture. for the armored train, are in the joint administration of the National Railway Staff Qualification and Training The CFR 7311, 077, 620, 1493 steam locomotives and Center – CENAFER – The Railway Museum and SC “SFT the 231.065 steam locomotive were classified by Order CFR-SA” Railroad Tourism Company, subordinated to no. 2686/31.07.2000 of the Minister of Culture. Ministry of Transport, and are classified as “Thesaurus”

61 The Royal Train of Romania (consisting of the railway vehicles belong to the treasury category, they must cars 51 53 89-10 011-3, 51 53 89-10 015-4, 51 53 be maintained in a proper technical state at all times. 89-10 001-4, 51 53 89-10 010-5, 51 53 89-10 055-0) Although the time left for such repairs is relatively short and the “Moldoviţa” train were classified under the until 1 December 2018 and because such works are “Thesaurus” category by Order 2883/31.12.2015 of of paramount importance, they cannot be executed the Minister of Culture. Therefore, these rail vehicles exclusively with the resources and the staff of CENAFER are governed by the Heritage Law no. 182/2000. - the Railway Museum and the Railway Tourism. Instead, they could be better carried out by repair shops, which The rail vehicles under consideration are in a relatively are equipped with the necessary technical facilities and good condition, yet they need some repairs and are specialized in locomotive and rail car repairs, and replacements, to make them fit for being exhibited which, in fact, have been servicing these vehicles for in public and worthy of the important celebration over a century. of 1 December 2018. Moreover, because these

Project Phasing

Implementation of this project involves several special convoy from the repairer to the exhibition site. At stages. Firstly, a partnership agreement among all the end of the celebration event, the locomotives will be the participating entities will have to be concluded, towed cold from the event site to the storage place of the specifying clearly the duties assigned to each partner. Railway Museum or of the Railroad Tourism Company, in the same transportation conditions in which they were A second stage will consist of the confirmation of the brought to the event site. In the case that the exhibition budget of each partner by the main credit officer is to travel to other places in the country, then convoys (usually, the ministry by which the partner institution is will be arranged for and the locomotives will be carried coordinated). to the exhibition site.

The third stage will cover the conclusion of the repair After completion of the RP repair works to be carried works contracts with a rolling stock service plant (in out the royal train and the “Moldoviţa” train, the two this case, a facility specialized in locomotive repairs) trains will travel to Mogoşoaia Workshop and from there that will handle the repair and restoration of the rail they will be carried to the celebration event site. The vehicles to the extent required to make them fit for royal train will carry the officials from Bucharest to Alba being exhibited. The contract will specify the works to Iulia and back and will thereafter return to Mogoşoaia be carried out on each locomotive and the fact that they Workshop, for preservation. During transportation, the will be conducted under the guidance of a restorer/ five-car train will be towed by an electric locomotive to conservator to be appointed by the Ministry of Culture Vintu de Jos station. Once there, the electric locomotive and National Identity. will be detached from the train and replaced by the 231,065 “Pacific” steam locomotive, under pressure, Once the works contract concluded, the exhibit- which will tow the royal train carrying the officials to locomotives will be towed from the Sibiu and Târgu the Alba Iulia railway station. The 231.065 Pacific steam Mureş depots to the repair facility, with the cars loaded, locomotive will be maintained pressurized during the so as to comply with the brake mass percentage specified event and will later be cooled by the train crew and by the instructions in force and with the passage pipe in transported in cold state to the location indicated by the operation, to ensure the continuity of the brake system. owner, for storage and preservation. The Royal Train and the “Moldoviţa” will be carried from the Mogoşoaia (near Buftea) workshop to another repair The “Moldoviţa” train will be towed, a few days before facility for servicing and other works (which the facility the event, from the Mogoşoaia Workshop to Alba Iulia. is authorized to execute) and for securing the RP repair This train will be towed by a dedicated vehicle, given the certificate required to put the rail cars in circulation. fact that this train is authorized to travel at a maximum speed of 30 km/h. The train will be stationed in the Upon completion of their repair, the steam locomotives Alba Iulia railway station throughout the event. After will be kept in the custody of the repair plant until the the event, the train will return to Bucharest and to the 1 December 2018 event, when they will be sent in a

62 Mogoşoaia Workshop, for preservation purposes. If it four exhibit-cars at the National Military Museum and is desired to move the exhibition to other places in the the Alba Iulia station will be ensured by the means of the country, then a traction locomotive will be provided to Ministry of Defense. tow the Moldoviţa train to the exhibition site. Upon arrival at the Alba Iulia station, the exhibit-vehicles The armored train will be driven by means of the road will be handled by means of hydraulic diesel locomotive, vehicles of the Ministry of Defense from the “King made available by the railway transport operator which Ferdinard I” National Military Museum to the Alba Iulia handled also the transportation of the vehicles. station and back. The loading and unloading of these

Action Plan

The project activities will commence at CFR Alba Iulia which the personalities present at the event will get off Station on December 1, 2018. the train. A military fanfare will sing the state anthem. Then the officials will visit the exhibition of rolling stock The personalities present at the event and to any other dating back to the WWI period and thereafter they will manifestations related to Great Union Centennial attend the string of events organized with the occasion celebration will arrive at CFR Alba Iulia station on board of the 100th anniversary year of the 1918 Great Union of of the royal train specially prepared for the occasion. Romania. The exhibition showing the static rails vehicles The famous train will arrive at the station towed by the and the royal train towed by the 231.065 Pacific steam equally notorious Pacific 231.065 locomotive, which locomotive will remain open to the public for several will be under pressure and will operate by its own. days. The royal train will stop in front of the red carpet on

Conclusions

The organization of this exhibition has a very References important role. Besides the well-deserved restoration Lacrițeanu Șerban, Popescu Ilie, History of Railway of the mentioned vehicles and the presentation of the Traction in Romania 1854-1918, vol. 1, Asab railway history as it was, this manifestation comes to Publishing House, 2007. support the idea of preserving “the memory of the Gabriel Mărgineanu, Șerban Lacrițeanu, The fleet of industrial technical heritage” steam locomotives with normal gauge of Căile The proposed project activities are technically, Ferate Române 1869-2000, Agir Publishing House, historically and materially feasible and will give the Bucharest, 2014. public, as the main stakeholder, the chance to get Ilie Popescu, Railways during World War I, Club Feroviar to learn new things about the Romanian railways Român, 2012. and its valuable assets of high historical significance. Evaluation and appraisal reports on the technical, As we have said before these vehicles are no less historical and heritage value of rail vehicles, drawn valuable than those in other countries and, more up by an expert in “assets of a technical significance”, importantly, they are originals, not replicas, which authorized by the Ministry of Culture and Religious is yet another reason for paying them the special Affairs. attention they deserve. We should respect our past, our history and our national identity as much as we respect the elderly, because, like our grandparents, Marcel Otoiu railroad vehicles also tell us their story. All we need is Mircea DOROBANȚU take a moment to listen to them. National Center for Railway Qualification and Training – CENAFER; Muzeul Căilor Ferate [email protected]; [email protected]

63 A path of responsibility for heritage

ABSTRACT

Due to a complex of factors, we find that much remains to be done in capitalizing the cultural heritage of Bucharest, whose identity resides not only in its mobile and immobile elements, already part of the common cultural circuit, but also in those that still await to be treasured. Therefore, heritage education, besides a necessary information and awareness action on the importance of cultural and social heritage, is also an action of providing civic involvement in a very necessary process of heritagization. Thus, the fact that 2018 will be marked by events dedicated both to Great Union Centennial and European Year of Cultural Heritage, can be an enhancement factor for facilitating each of us access to national values, of course, in a manner consistent with requirements of contemporary world. Moreover, taking as reference the recent project „Bucharest - cultural route” initiated by City Hall and the Ministry of Culture and National Identity, which falls within the scope of actions dedicated equally to the two events mentioned, we try to identify project`s correspondences in the responsibilities sphere of all stakeholders, on the assumption of which depends the success of cultural heritage valorisation, in the vicinity of which we live together.

Key-words: Responsibility to protect cultural heritage, Heritage Education, Bucharest cultural itinerary, Museum Route, Heritagization, European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, Great Union Centennial.

64 The project “The Cultural Bus” Relevance of the project for the European Year of Heritage Mayor General of Bucharest, seconded by the Minister of Culture and the manager of the Bucharest Through the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 - Museum, inaugurated in early November this year a this being the first year dedicated to the diversity and new RATB bus route (Line 362, 29.3 km long) which richness of the heritage by the European Union - European aims to facilitate access to 30 of the most significant citizens are called to look, closer and more attentively, museums in Bucharest. With a modest cost to the to the values on which their societies are based, so the City Hall, the cultural benefits of this project are feeling of European identity, as well as that of national expected to be felt by both foreign and Romanian identity is consolidated. Of course, we, Romanians, also tourists, whose interest in the Capital’s museums and contribute to the diversity and richness of this cultural major edifices on the route is expected to grow. In heritage, but the palpable evidence in this respect is still this sense, the “cultural bus” offers to the travellers waiting for a presentation up to its importance. (who will pay only the price of a regular ticket) an audio presentation (in English) of all the museum At the same time, this project undertaken by the objectives on the route as well as a leaflet with the municipality (which we will hereinafter call more map of the museum objectives the visit of which simply the “Museums Route”) aims to promote becomes easier (see the Annex). intercultural dialogue and social cohesion, local and regional development, as well as to underline Given the success of such bus lines, which operate in the need to adequately highlight the importance of many other cities of foreign interest, it is absolutely protecting the our common cultural heritage.3 normal to expect the same result in Bucharest, especially since there have already been a lot of Viewed from this perspective, the “Museum Route” requests from schools, high schools, faculties, in Bucharest gives the opportunity to those who visit organizations and foundations, and even simple it to look not only at the cultural settlements they citizens to benefit from this urban public transport will want to stop to visit, but also at the significant tool for culture.1 buildings of the Capital on this route. This “on the go” perspective brings a further understanding of According to the Minister of Culture, the idea of each person’s responsibility for preserving heritage, this cultural route came from the former General not just for us and future generations, but also for Manager of the National Art Museum Călin keeping alive the European spirituality. Stegerean, who at one point said: “There are museums, there are tourist attractions in Bucharest Highlighted in a series of EU programmatic documents very hard to reach on current routes. How it would and very well synthesized in the document entitled be like if we had a cultural line? “Once implemented, “Towards an integrated approach to European there is only to be noticed the increase in the interest cultural heritage”, the importance of sustainable of tourists and of Bucharest dwellers, obviously, in cultural heritage management is a strategic option this cultural offer, which actually opens the series of for the 21st century, due in particular to its potential cultural events organized by the City Hall to mark, in to create value and jobs and give a new quality to the particular, the Centennial of the Great Union. At the cultural life of the city.4 same time, through the inauguration of this route, both the encouragement of the public transport Also, because the project “Cultural Route” in Bucharest means, especially in the centre of Bucharest, and corresponds to a participatory approach, which now the (re) discovery of the Capital’s museum offer from characterizes the valorisation of the patrimony, it can a dynamic perspective, which also benefit from an contribute to an overall understanding of the patrimony, adequate presentation is pursued.2 in this particular case, of the museum - an integrated understanding of the social context of the Capital and oriented towards the sustainable development of its 1 http://www.mediafax.ro/social/o-noua-linie-ratb-in-capitala-pe- cultural tourism. traseul-muzeelor-costul-lunar-suportat-de-primaria-capitalei-va- fi-de-30-000-de-euro-16806438 (15 nov. 2017). 3 https://ec.europa.eu/culture/european-year-cultural-heritage-2018_ 2 https://www.libertatea.ro/stiri/autobuz-special-al-ratb-pentru- en (16 nov. 2017). muzee-traseu-cultural-2027290 (15 nov. 2017). 4 European Parliament (2014), p. 10. 65 Considering that the European Year of Cultural Heritage to which we refer manages to highlight a dynamic space also naturally aims to raise public awareness of its role in that is designed to provide a more “humanized” and disseminating information on good practice, a cultural “contemporary” integrative perspective on the Capital’s heritage approach in a way involving collaboration, museums. in the case of our project - between the museums in Bucharest - can only correspond very well to the general Thus, the pedagogical resources of the museum are objectives of this year, embraced by the multiple facets extended to meeting with the area of its integration into of culture. the real space of the city, where not only interdisciplinary correlations, but also individual connections based Apparently a local event, “The Museum Route” is far on personal feelings that can trigger interest and more than that, because it represents an initiative that motivation for both learning, and for further forwarding has the capacity to bring to light the value of the cultural the lived cultural experience, take place. heritage that we meet in the Capital, as well as to stimulate the desire of involving the public in selecting The fact that the “Cultural Route” has the gift to open sources of information about it, and then transmitting the Capital’s museums to an educative self-training them, of course, through social networks that have course, of course, not institutionalized, represents already transformed every single citizen into an ad-hoc a novel and efficient culturalization opportunity, in journalist (including cultural).5 a city which is in no way lacking cultural alongja, but only an infusion of freshness and inventiveness in the way of thinking of capitalizing on the local network of An example of good practice in heritage education museums, by opening them to the public at last and in a less passive and conventional manner.7 Within the topics that we find in Heritage Education, museum education plays a distinct role, as the museum Of course, the achievement of heritage education is increasingly becoming an educative resource, which objectives depends both on the characteristics of the is increasingly showing communication valences, cultural heritage presented and on the psychosocial unprecedented in the past. and cultural characteristics of the population to whom such education is intended. In turn, these values to be In the case of the “Museum Route” project, we are shared need equally positive reference to the cultural dealing with a non-formal museum education that heritage and an evolution of the mentality towards the begins on the bus and continues throughout its requirements of contemporary life, where education course - along with the historical buildings on the is getting more and more content, on the one hand, route - then the acquired knowledge is consolidated vocational and voluntary and, on the other hand, placed at each museum visited in part. This whole journey in the sphere of diversity.8 allows the echoes of this “initiatory journey” not to be extinguished when leaving the museum threshold. The participatory side of heritage education, which This happens because the museum, through the we can consider to be stimulated by our project, process that it integrates, becomes a natural expression can play an important role in re-thinking the way in of a culture crucible, on which we have already had which we understand and interpret the accumulation the overall view. Corresponding to the first level of of experiences related to the transfer of cultural educational initiation, the “Museum Route” is awaiting significance between generations. The fact that the to demonstrate its capacity to open up the horizon of “Museum Route” gives us the opportunity to prepare further culturalization through new and new ideological for a visit to the museum in the city’s rough environment connections that we are invited to do. before reaching the actual museum experience has positive consequences both in terms of discovering At the same time, since “museum education is the organic environment in which a museum currently structured, first of all, through a speech built using the operates, as well as in the discovery of its historical museum presentation device, new methods are needed aspects, in the light of something assimilated as already to communicate this discourse, by creating a visual familiar. environment favourable to learning”6, and the project

5 European Parliament and Council (2017), p. 18. 7 Cucoș C. (2013). pp. 29-33. 6 Hooper-Greenhill E., (2001), p. 41. 8 Bunescu G. (2001), pp. 9-22. 66 In addition, heritage education, to which this project hand, to its packaging for the public and, on the contributes, brings to the participants a new social other hand, to many more elements related to the competence - that of the overall perspective – based role and functionality of the heritage considered in on which they can develop their own opinion on the all aspects of the life of a community. contribution of external influences in the creation of authentic cultural heritage and, at the same time, In this situation, absolutely desirable, we can common with all the citizens of Europe. better observe the real stake of conservation and valorization of the heritage, regardless of the historical Essentially, it is about an active approach of responsible moment in which it is achieved and regardless of the involvement of the public in discovering, appreciating importance of this heritage. This process consists and, of course, preserving the patrimony at local level in making it worthwhile by permanent rediscovery with positive implications in opening up to other and by extracting its universal character from any horizons about the need to collaborate and multiply contextualization that we have access to. such examples of best practices in the field of heritage education.9 This approach also corresponds to the process of heritagization and allows both the production of the heritage of a community and its revaluation from a global perspective that is in line with the requirements An impetus for awareness of involvement in the of contemporaneity. This is best showed in terms of heritagization process education in the spirit of harmonizing the cultural By the example offered by the project presented, dimension with that of responsibility for the needs we find ourselves in the face of an interpretation of of integrating local culture into a multicultural the heritage directly and in a dynamic imposed by dimension. contemporary social changes that do not resort to scientific explanations other than the ones required for Of course, the “Museum Route” project is even more the purpose of its popularization. However, it is obvious important in the context of multiculturalism, as it that we are dealing with a holistic approach that aims provides the public with a variant of interpretation of to re-communicate with a responsible and forward- the museum heritage on the move and, moreover, an looking understanding of how the heritage performs its opportunity to appreciate it in a real social context. social function - while at the same time placing itself, Recognizing the importance of promoting and without reservation, at our disposal. interpreting cultural heritage by affirming local The “Museum Route” thus becomes a possible identity and initiatives that open up the public to platform for debate, where people can share their awareness of the fact that heritage is a common good personal experiences about the known heritage - to be discovered, valued and protected for future directly or mediated. From this exchange of ideas, generations, heritagization creates the premises for reinterpretations of the roles of the museum’s presence, strengthening the sense of belonging to a cultural as well as of the monuments discovered along the way, community and, as a result, of belonging to the in the references to the past and to the future, based expanded spiritual community at European level (at on individual experiences, can be born. In this way, least). a collective image of collective relation to heritage Moreover, taking into account the fact that from appears, which can be considered not only its most the attendance of the “Museum Route” new authentic interpretation, but also a vivid expression of opportunities of cultural activities emerge, we have public interest for its natural and cultural environment, outlined a true flow of benefits which can be of use in accordance with the need for social cohesion and 10 not only to the individual perspective of valuing the with the active knowledge of the social environment. cultural heritage for society but also to the common DHence the awareness that, when we talk about interest in the discovery of new heritage reserves, in making the heritage worthwhile, we are actually order to strengthen a national cultural identity that referring to an entire process, linked, on the one happily meets a valorizing supranational identity.

9 De Troyer V., Vermeersch J. (2006), pp. 18-22. 10 ICOMOS (2008), p. 104. 67 Unfortunately, awaiting the fruits of such favourable prevail over other commands. Also, the lack of resources conditions for heritagization, we must mention that attracted for heritage recovery cannot be invoked even including on the Museum’s Route of the Capital we when the visitors of the patrimony are deprived of the encounter too many expressions of its cultural heritage modern means of information, which have already (for example, historical buildings) abandoned, which transformed the visitors of the Western museums into prove a regrettable disinterest for good management active agents of interaction with the heritage forms that of this patrimony, in which case we can speak of attract, voluntarily or involuntarily, their attention. the opposite of heritagization, namely about a true phenomenon of non-heritagization. At the same time, from a multicultural perspective, the heritagization solved the problem of interpretation The invocation of the lack of financial resources in this of the patrimony in the specific note of the heritage case cannot be supported, because when a civilized protection and promotion requirements that stimulate community is confronted with the problem of the both civic involvement and attitude of respect and obligation to hand down the cultural heritage from responsibility towards the identity values of the local generation to generation, the cause of the heritage must patrimony, of course, in their universal projection.11

Project evaluation in terms of heritage responsibility coordinates

Promotion of any innovative projects of changing the of a cultural patrimony, especially one with remarkable participatory view of cultural heritage management potential from all points of view, such as that ofthe should involve all stakeholders, starting with public Capital. authorities, the cultural heritage sector, private actors, and civil society organizations and private donors. In this respect, it cannot be said that the stakeholders have a lower or greater responsibility, because for the Thus, a project like the “Cultural Route”, which starts encouragement and development of cultural heritage from the collaboration between Bucharest City Hall, projects, measuring and evaluating the results of a Ministry of Culture and National Identity and RATB, has project are the only issues able to show whether the all the necessary data to constitute an example of good road from intentions to achievements has been pursued practice of assuming responsibility for the performance by everyone and within the projected parameters. Thus, of cultural activities involving, on the one hand, the image in the case of the present project, we must await the of the Capital and, on the other hand, the necessity of results of a research for the general public, which is the integrating the local cultural heritage into a wider circuit, only one able to say to what extent they felt encouraged in which the core of European values is found. by the “Cultural Route” to approach the cultural assets of the Capital, considered to be of heritage - waiting to Also, because we are talking about the integration of be known and appreciated as such, especially by the cultural heritage, we must keep in mind that the first young audience. stage of integration of such a project is that ofthe environment, represented by the architectural and At the same time, by assuming the responsibility of all urban landmarks along the way. Thus, the “Cultural stakeholders to capitalize on the cultural heritage, the Route”, which has museums as a landmark, highlights objective of communicating the crucial role it plays the need to implement an integrated urban regeneration in ensuring that (minimum) social cohesion can be strategy, which is to capitalize on the unexploited reached, which is able to make possible the social and potential of Bucharest’s cultural heritage. This would be cultural development of a community, keeping a vivid a first mandatory step in promoting modern, inventive connection with its traditions. and sustainable tourism throughout Bucharest. The assumption and manifestation of this responsibility, In order to implement such a strategy aimed at the at all levels of competence, attracts the interest of society optimal transfer of knowledge and skills in the field in showing respect for its cultural values, for the common of cultural heritage promotion it is necessary to take heritage and obviously for the smart way of packaging responsibility at the level of each task, whether shared cultural products, for example through modern cultural or not, between the institutions and persons involved tourism, as was the case of the projected presented in highlighting the aspects related to the valorisation here. 68 That is why we consider that the “Cultural Route” in On the other hand, such programs of cultural heritage Bucharest is able to offer a wider experience than the promotion should create new waiting horizons for the conventional one, in terms of capturing some of the beneficiaries, who also want to be able to determine cultural heritage features of the Capital, obviously, their peers to take on in a responsible way the duty of provided that such an integrated capitalization of the honour of promoting the heritage values belonging to museum offer must be supported by a responsible the community they belong to. approach at the level of each host in the museums to be visited. To sum up, with regard to the responsibility and awareness of all stakeholders interested in the cultural Finally, being an opportunity inspired for realizing that the heritage of the Capital, programs such as the “Cultural cultural heritage of the Capital is far from representing Route” offer participants a wide range of benefits, what it should represent, namely the engine of social at least in terms of personal and / or professional development of the metropolis from a historical and experience and cultural interrelationships, which will even economic point of view, the project “The Cultural obviously encourage museum visitors to experience Route” has all the chances, through its accessibility for the features of cultural heritage in an integrated manner general public, to become a facilitator for reconsidering that will ensure the prosperity of its presentation and, this cultural heritage, in the sense of being granted the above all, the desire to perpetuate authentic culture.13 attention and appreciation from all stakeholders.

Conclusions

Starting from the recording of the current trend Also, by pointing out some elements of heritagization, that determines the cultural heritage to broaden considered a device that contributes decisively to its significance, we consider that presenting the the cultural values of the society belonging to the implications of the “Cultural Route” project on several most concrete present, we have tried to show that levels, especially that of responsibility of those called the potential of the cultural heritage of the Capital, to ensure the ease of access to the authentic culture which gathers social, historical, aesthetic, economic of the Capital, adds to the need to be involved in the values, etc., only expects to be valued effectively, knowledge and promotion of cultural (public) heritage. namely based on professionalism, democratic spirit and responsibility. Furthermore, we have focused on the need to multiply such projects because as far as they are adequately From our point of view, the “Cultural Route” is a funded and take into account the legislative norms, project that contains the elements needed to be they will increase the audience and the involvement of considered as an example of good practice, both in stakeholders and thereby highlight the cultural heritage.11 terms of offering responsible cooperation among all stakeholders and in terms of valuing - in an integrated Why was this period (a little bit tricky) needed to come and sustainable way - a cultural heritage that fully to the simple conclusion that cultural heritage is often feels the need to improve access to its essential so close to us that we risk no longer being aware of it - components. which makes promoting any project that helps restore the overall vision to become a necessary one? We are talking here, first of all, about the way in which we perceive today the way in which we are, Because, on the one hand, our means of preservation and sometimes lacking in those mandatory references to promotion are, as a rule, insufficient, and thus without how we were yesterday. In this sense, evidence from any responsibility in this respect, we risk losing values the cultural heritage is indispensable, so that we can that would help us put our future on a sustainable path, look at the past honestly and impartially and, on the other hand, the responsibility for preserving national identity is a matter of general interest.12 13

11 Gottlieb H. (2007), p. 18. 12 Cuno J. (2016), pp. 97-109. 13 ICMOS (1999), pp. 14-36. 69 References Significance, https://heritagebc.ca/wp-content/ Bunescu Gheorghe (coord.), 2001, Moral Education uploads/2017/10/ICOMOS-tourism-charter.pdf and Professional Ethics in a Transitional World, (13 nov. 2017). Research Report, Institute of Educational European Parliament and Council, EU Decision Sciences, http://www.ise.ro/educatie-morala-si- 2017/864 of the European Parliament and of the etica-profesionala (November 15, 2017). Council of May 17, 2017 on the European Year of Constantinescu Andreea, Platon Victor, 2014, Cultural Heritage (2018), Official Journal of the „Patrimonialisation – sustainable development European Union, 20.5.2017, L 131/1. vector”, Sagitarius, Heritage as an alternative European Parliament, 2014, REPORT Towards driver for sustainable development and economic an integrated approach to European cultural recovery in South East Europe, Potenza, Basilicata, heritage, Rapporteur Mircea Diaconu, A8-0207 / Italia. 2015, 24.6.2015. Cucoș Constantin, 2013, Museum Pedagogy - statute, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural objectives, practical valences, http://www. Organization (UNESCO), 2013, Managing Cultural constantincucos.ro/2013/11/pedagogia-muzeala- World Heritage, World Heritage Centre. statut-obiective-valente-practice (16 nov. 2017). Cuno James, 2016, The Responsibility to Protect the World’s Cultural Heritage, Brown Journal of World Affairs, Fall/Winter 2016, Volume XXXIII, Issue I. De Troyer Veerle, Vermeersch Jens, 2006, Heritage in the Classroom. A Practical Manual Sorin-Mihai Constantinescu for Teachers, HERitage EDUCation, Het RATB Museum Gemeenschapsonderwijs, Bruxelles, Belgia. [email protected] Gottlieb Halina (edit.), 2007, Basic Guidelines for Cultural Heritage Professionals in the Use of Information Technologies, Publisher: The Interactive Institute AB, Stockholm, Suedia. Hooper-Greenhill, Eilean, 2007, Museums and Education. Purpose, Pedagogy, Performance, Routledge, New York. International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), 2008, Charter for the Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites, http:// quebec2008.icomos.org/en/pdf/ Interpretation_ EN_10-04-07.pdf (November 14, 2017). ICMOS, 1999, International Cultural Tourism Charter Managing Tourism at Places of Heritage

70 Figure 1. Aspects from the MNAC workshops

I Wonder Why I (don’t) Love My Country an Acknowledged Project

ABSTRACT

The article analises the context, the nuances and the results of a cultural project of education coordinated by I Wonder Why association (Asociația Da’DeCe), a non governmental organisation specialised in cultural education. The theme of the project is a priority for the national policies in Romania nowadays: the Great Union, a national historical event that is celebrated these years. The theme is translated in a more personal way by the organisers and it is transformed into a feeling rather than in a historical theme. The article describes the context of perceiving patriotism as a way to express themselves for the children. It also shows the way artists could interact with the audience in order to better understand themselves and to use art as a way of express this feeling linked with the country. The conclusion stipulates the need for this kind of project, but furthermore the need to make this kind of initiative a constant and more detailed approach on a larger scale.

Key-words: patriotism, contemporary arts for children, civic engagement in the context of heritage-based education

71 Foreword

educational background and the evolution of the project under consideration and analyze the results of a survey conducted by means of questionnaires prepared during the project. The authors have come to the conclusion that there is a real need for projects of this kind in the field of cultural education and that this type of initiatives should be replicated and fine-tuned as an ongoing endeavor, and not necessarily in the form of projects whose scope is most often limited by time constraints. A creative commitment, free from media or family clichés, is the authors’ view, an essential condition for approaches such as the one described by this article.

Civic engagement in adults is stimulated by their expo- sure to tangible heritage – be it monuments, historical vestiges or artistic interpretations of major historical events. Heritage is a place where people encounter the past and the defining/formative elements of a com- munity; they may be places of consciousness and dia- logue”1. Civic engagement is also linked to the percei- ved ethnic/national identity and to the way we relate to it. But what happens in the case of children? The answer to this question is difficult to find, especially because we live now in a society where identities seem to be asserted more subjectively than some Figure 2. I Wonder Why I (don’t) Love My Country Project decades ago. David Hollinger points out that con- Poster (design by Gheorghe Iosif) temporary society prefers voluntary to prescribed This article looks into the premises of and the conceptual (ethnic) affiliations and “appreciates multiple identities, approach to a project that was implemented in the year pushes for communities of wide scope, recognizes 2017, whose objective was to highlight the priority of the the constructed character of ethno-racial groups and 100th anniversary of the 1918 Great Union. The authors accepts the formation of new groups as part of the 2 of this article describe the rationales, the cultural and normal life of a democratic society.”

About the “Da’DeCe” (I Wonder Why) Association – Brief History and Mission Statement

The Da’DeCe Association was established six years ago, talk to the visitors. The Association seeks to boost with the stated mission to implement projects in the creativity and to stimulate child’s natural curiosity about field of cultural education in general and in museum culturally and socially-relevant objects, through various education in particular, targeted to schools and families artistic performances. To this end, the Association with children. The Association’s mission, as it was uses up-to-date and original methods of heritage formulated in 2011, is as follows: “The Association’s interpretation, such as museum drama, theatrical projects promote a culture of successful emancipation improvisation and storytelling, taking into consideration based on artistic, human and social education. the latest trends in child and youth psychology.” We have Through its programs, the Association promotes focused on the personal advancement of those involved child’s self-confidence and personal development and in cultural events, helping them become self-confident the transformation of museums (or of other cultural actors in relation to the cultural activities they engage institutions) into interactive places, full of objects that in. We rely on improving the experience of the children

1 Little, Shackel, 2014. 2 Hollinger, 1996, p. 116. 72 visiting classical museum exhibitions by providing heritage and explore new forms of contemporary art, them with education programs in museum setting. as part of a community that is aware about its own The programs are based on child psychology principles identity and values. Classical or contemporary cultural and age-oriented educational objects, as well as and values become, through play, a proof of the creativity on testing the educational concepts before designing and inspiration of children and adolescents, using any educational program and making it available to the digital, natural means of co-creation, storytelling, general public involvement, direct contact with heritage and meeting with artists.” The emphasis thus shifts in a balanced This year, the Association has redefined its mission way from heritage to contemporary arts and from statement by orienting its actions towards activities an approach to culture accessibility to community of the type developed by the child’s museum, engagement and internalization of the classical and as a principle, i.e. towards free-choice learning, contemporary cultural values. This new orientation, interactivity, the use of all senses and a more immersive initiated last year, is designed to go beyond the scope visitation experience of the children in museum of the classical museum educational programs, by setting, while shifting the emphasis from activities that providing interactive exhibitions such as the children’s complement an exhibition towards integrated cultural museum, with particular attention paid to children’s products that are proposing both space arrangement conceptual and actual involvement, with the works (through installations or exhibitions) and educational created by children during the projects being displayed interpretation. This new orientation has called for at exhibitions organized at the end of the project. a refining of our mission statement in such a way as it may stand as a milestone for future strategies and Thousands of children have participated in programs enhance activity focus and coherent communication. that were designed to trigger and increase their The revised mission statement of the Association awareness, appreciation and internalization of cultural is as follows: “Da’DeCe Association reinvents and concepts, skills and competences in different cultural adapts the concept of the Children’s Museum through institutions or in formal education settings. Establishing thematic itinerant exhibitions in various areas and a new mission statement has come as a natural response communities. The Da’DeCe Museum is the place where to adapt it, on the one hand, to an environment where heritage and contemporary arts generate new ideas, the public and its needs have changed and, on the questions and emotions. It is the context in which other hand, to a situation where the cultural milieu children engage as creative and curious people, adopt has adopted different communication strategies and new and responsible values and attitudes towards proposes different artistic forms.

The Project “I wonder Why I (don’t) Love my Country”- Needs and Background

Some of the most important financing sources for could translate this priority into issues that are really the cultural NGOs in Bucharest are the organizations serving children’s interests. financed from public funds, namely the National Cultural Fund Administration and the ARCUB. In History as a discipline can hardly be seen by children 2016, the first call for projects launched by the former as a subject of choice. Due to the way History of the two aforementioned financing institutions was is taught in schools nowadays, i.e. based on an announcing a topic that was to become recurrent excessively dense and theoretical school curriculum, in the following two years: the 100th anniversary there are little chances for school children to become of the Great Union. Committed as we are to the passionate about this subject, unless, perhaps, the mission of our Association, which develops projects school is fortunate enough to have a role-model that are really necessary and are closely linked to History teacher, though, even so, the number of the preferences, needs and expectations of the children falling for History will probably be rather public, we have started to examine the theme from small. several perspectives. Given that the projects are In order to stir children’s interest in studying History, dedicated to children and that studies about this we decided to adapt this subject by applying a target audience are either inexistent or refer strictly personal, hands-on approach, taking into account to social issues, we have started to think on how we

73 monitor the phenomenon in time, coupled with the high degree of generality of existing studies, all make this initiative a creative rather than an investigative endeavor.

Sociological studies conducted in recent years indicate an alteration of the patriotic feeling in the population of Romania. This is due perhaps to the fact that, over the last two decades, Romania’s image in Europe was a negative, rather than a positive one.4 In Italy and Spain, the favorite places of destinations for the temporary Romanian emigration in the period 2001-2006 (Sandu, 2010), recent studies on the image Figure 3. Cluj Napoca Art Museum exhibition opening. of Romania and Romanian immigrants have highlighted the image deficit Romanians suffer from in their relationships with European partners. the child’s level of emotional, social and cognitive development, in exactly this order. In other words, Even in Romania the perceived image of the citizens we associated the Great Union Centennial with about themselves and their country contains negative the feeling of patriotism. We turned the relative elements. In a recent poll about the nation’s view on congruence between a historical event and the Romania›s accession to the Schengen area - a widely idea of patriotism into an opportunity for the debated issue on the recent public discourse agenda - contemporary audience, which is little known to the 80% of the respondents believe that Romania›s failure cultural institutions, to engage in quizzes, artistic to be accepted in the Schengen area is entirely its own, games and other cultural education initiatives. One with only 14% of the respondents blaming the European of the basic guidelines of the Da’DeCe Association is Union instead. Likewise, 78% of the respondents think the principle of constructivism, postulated by George that Romania is heading in the wrong direction, with E. Hein, which states that learning always starts 58% of the respondents considering that the European by recognizing, appropriating and activating our Union is doing the same thing. The data provided by 3 knowledge and preconceived views on a subject. the Eurobarometer in the autumn of 2010 reveal a The transposition of a historical fact into group high degree of pessimism among Romanians compared psychology and the application of the principle of to other European citizens: Romania occupies the constructivism were the two key premises of the last by one place in terms of its citizens’ degree of life project described in this article. satisfaction (45% of Romanians are satisfied with their life vs. 78% the European average) and ranks among We then proceeded to reviewing the available the countries that are the most pessimistic about the sociological studies on patriotism, so as to identify evolution of their domestic economies. the living environment of the children we were going to meet with during the project, what their parents In 2001, the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and and grandparents thought and felt about the idea Strategy embarked on survey to assess the magnitude of patriotisms, the clichés they circulated and how of the patriotic feeling of Romanian citizens, which Romanian adults today related themselves to their involved respondents from among the participants to country, all for the purpose of discovering the true the national day of Romania celebration, organized in needs of the children and to justify the context in two significant cities of the country: Alba Iulia and Iasi. which we were to carry out our cultural education The conclusion is that, despite the feeling of excitement activities associated with patriotism. the imminence of the national day would spur, only 65% of the Romanians say they feel animated by the One of the most difficult missions of any project is feeling of patriotism and identify themselves with the to discover the real need for cultural education of term “patriot”. In the case of the population of other the public. The small number of studies available ethnicities, the degree of such identification is smaller: in this field and the lack of transversal studies to 29% in Hungarian ethnics, 28% in Roma ethnics and 38% 3 Hein, 2001. 4 Nicolescu, 2006. 74 Figure 4. Works made by the children taking part in Figure 5. Aspect from workshops at Constanta Art Museum workshops Cluj-Napoca Art Museum other ethnicities. “If we look at age structure, it appears that there is a big difference between generations: the young generation (aged 18-35) admits to only 40.9% of this maximal self-identification, while the majority of the young people aged under 35, i.e. 45%, define themselves as less patriotic. Comparing these figures with that of the older respondents (73.3%) we see that the difference between generational scale catheti is huge.”5 Here is what Vasile Dancu concludes with respect to these figures: “Probably, the period of primary socialization and the different educational model are at the origin of these huge differences. At a closer look at the issue, we might come to the conclusion that we are Figure 6. Aspect from workshops at Cluj-Napoca Art Museum dealing with a crisis of the educational model the society proposes in terms of patriotic education, in contrast feeling of economic nationalism is more intense among with the cosmopolitical model and the globalization the surveyed respondents, with 89% of them saying that ideologies, which are increasingly present in the media they prefer to buy Romanian food, 76% associating the and in the public fora in general”.6 environmental protection with the idea of patriotism and 56% saying they believe that Romanians were more As for the answers to the question about how proud the patriotic in Communism times.8 respondents are to be Romanian citizens, things look pretty good, with one exception: only 23% of the young In a context that is hardly conducive to enhancing the respondents (including Hungarian ethnics) say they are genuine feeling of patriotism, we started from the proud to be Romanians, compared to 57% of the older assumption that, if we take the Great Union historical respondents, with an average of 45% across the whole event and the feeling of patriotism as the drivers that survey sample. Besides, the pride to be Romanian is sparkled the spirit of patriotism of both the political elite strongly felt as a an identification stereotype: the main and the population one hundred years ago, we will find arguments for feeling proud are basically fatalistic (“ I am out what today›s children think about patriotism and born here” or “it’s my homeland”), which, in aggregate, how and whether they experience such feeling. With accounts for 51%, while 18% of respondents answered this in mind, we designed the project as a tool for us to “I don’t know” or did not answer”.7 analyze the children’s thoughts, feelings and emotions associated with the notion of country and patriotism. A survey conducted in 2015 by the Center for Studies The project proposed a type of educational approach Research “Infopolitic” reveals that the surveyed the that avoided clichés and encouraged heuristic thinking, seen as a very beneficial for the children in the short 5 Dâncu, 2012, p. 2. and especially in the long run. 6 Dâncu, 2012, p. 3. 7 Dâncu, 2012, p. 3. 8 CSCI, 2015. 75 Another component of our project, which helped before the modern and contemporary period. Art us identify the project needs, was the issue of the consumption in museum environment is therefore contemporary art and the way the general public in extremely low. Given the very small number of art Romania perceives it. Contemporary art in Romania galleries, no studies have been conducted on this type enjoys little popularity and is usually addressing a niche of audience. The national cultural strategy also reveals audience of small size and low dynamics. Basically, this the lack of an educated audience for visual arts, with type of art does not have a sociologically analyzable strategic thus directions shifting from the “creator and audience, and the reasons for that are varied. First of producer (including cultural institutions, seen as cultural all, art galleries, museums and other alternative settings infrastructure) to the public/consumer and to the of this kind do not offer programs or exhibitions for relationship between the artist and the recipient of his the general public, but for art specialists or collectors creations”11 only, their intention being primarily to generate artistic discourses in the specialized literature. We base this The analyzes made by the Da’DeCe Association show assertion on the fact that all the exhibition caption-texts that, according to data extracted from the database (if any or unless they presume a priori that the visitor is about Bucharest-based families participating in already familiar with the artistic concept and therefore cultural education programs, only 5% of them are needs no further explanations), all the reviews and the interested in contemporary art programs, accounting presentations regarding contemporary art events are for the lowest percentage of all types programs written in a complicated language, paying little or no initiated and developed by the Association. attention to the general public the text is supposed to Following review of the available studies, we have reach. In our research on how Romanian contemporary formulated the following project need: In a world art is perceived by the public, we were hindered by the where young adults, who are parents of the children lack of critical texts referring, however little, to this issue. making up the target audience, experience from One of the reasons is that contemporary art galleries, vague feelings of patriotism to chauvinistic attitudes, or at least some of them, try hard to exhibit works of where children are exposed to a chaotic and populist art that sell well to art collectors or to anyone who is media and schools teach History in an dull and out- willing to invest in art or to buy art for art’s sake. The of-context way, children would either appropriate educational objectives that the contemporary art the information as it is and mimic the patriotic assumes at worldwide level are almost entirely absent feelings of the adults, or lose interest in the topic from the Romanian artistic milieu.9 and eventually ignore it completely. The project therefore seeks to trigger honest, prompt and The assertions above are confirmed by the results of unbiased answers from the children about what they the last Cultural Consumption Barometers, according actually feel about their homeland, without giving to which art museums occupy a modest place 4 (after them ready-made answers, but rather encouraging history, archeology and natural sciences museums), them to ask questions, be curious and reflect on the accounting for 54% of the total number of museum issue, this time with the help of artists and in the visitors in Bucharest.10 It is important to note that this setting of an art museum offering the visual pretexts percentage includes also the classical arts, dating back associated with the celebrated historic event.

Education through Heritage and Contemporary Art - Between Cultural Development and Civil Commitment

The project was the result of an introspective effort patriotism and that children were exposed to media, to identify how we could “translate” the Great Union school or family clichés that were not helping them in any historical event into an attraction for the children and way to be truly sincere and analytical. Once our target we ended up investigating the children’s feeling of established and our conceptual operating framework patriotism. We looked for information and realized defined, it was easier for us to identify the action levers. that not even adults were sure about their feeling of We chose to collaborate with artists, capable to give life

9 Nasui, 2012. 10 Croitoru & Becuț, 2014, p. 154. 11 Mucică, 2014, p. 350. 76 to the theoretical idea of patriotism, to help us formulate Another category of audiences were the schools. In the survey questionnaire and examine the answers. We this case, in order to make sure that we meet another believe that meeting with artists encourages children to priority objective of the funding program, namely that ask questions, to be curious, to find answers themselves of promoting diversity and tolerance, we chose schools and to change or acknowledge the paradigm of whose children were of diverse social categories and patriotism. preponderantly disadvantaged categories. Thus, we collaborated with: St. Silvestru School from Bucharest, When compiling the funding application dossier, School no. 38 from Constanta and the “Dr. C-tin besides the conceptual approach related to the Angelescu” School from Cluj-Napoca. We also succeeded project framework and the identified need, we came to involve a number of partners from the media, such to the important point where we had to identify our as Ghidul Pozneț, Radio Itsy Bitsy, Fabulafia and Replika institutional partners and the artists we were going Cultural Association. to involve in the project. This time again we relied on the expertise of the Da›DeCe Association in museum From a conceptual point of view, several kick-up education, and especially in art-related education. meetings were organized, to inform the artists about Thus, the first category of partners we approached the project objectives and discuss about perceived consisted of three art museums from three major patriotism, about the studies mentioned above and cities of the country, namely the National Museum of explaining the participants to the meetings that the Contemporary Art in Bucharest, the Cluj-Napoca Art project was not about making those involved become Museum and the Constanta Art Museum. The three more patriotic, but about investigating the feeling of museums were chosen because they had collections patriotism as such. Finally, the general objective of containing works illustrating the Great Union of Romania the project was formulated as follows: “Investigation and the patriotism of those days and, besides, they had of the feeling of patriotism through artistic education exhibitions opened during the project, each of them actions carried out by artists from different artistic displaying works of art that were explicitly associated fields.” The specific project objective was formulated with the historical event and the feeling of patriotism. as follows: “Exercising the artistic abilities of children Then, we started to find the artists to collaborate with and artists through common creative experiences that for the purpose of the project. Obviously, visual artists start from personal experiences and move towards the were on our priority list. However, for the sake of added artistic ones, for the purpose of discovering feelings and value, we decided to contact performing artists as well. thoughts about patriotism”.12 Each of the artists approached had in one way or another explored the idea of patriotism in his or her artistic The project generated 22 contemporary art workshops works, to sufficient extent to make them interested (18 for 6 classes of school pupils and 4 for families with in continuing their endeavor in that direction on the children), 3 exhibitions with children’s works and an occasion of the project and perhaps even clarify the idea online patriotism campaign. better. In addition, the idea that artists should meet with The content of the workshops carried out by each two children in different educational settings was a condition artists investigated creatively the feeling of patriotism in recruiting our artist-partners. The following artists through various means. Cristina Davis and Paul Dunca, delivered workshops during the project: visual arts - Ana for example, developed a quiz game that, drawing Bănică, Cuzina, Cristina David, Elena Ilash; performing on the clichés we usually associate with the country, arts - Paul Dunca (dancer, performer), Katia Pascariu showed pictures from various countries, with the (actress), Nicodim Ungureanu (actor) and Ana Tecar children being asked to indicate which country they (dancer, performer). The idea was to bring two artists thought the image was about. At the end of the game, from different artistic fields, so as, on the one hand, to the children found out, on the one hand, that idyllic provide the children with a diversified experience, and, landscapes with haystacks and beautifully sunlit hills on the other hand, to make sure that the interaction exist in other countries, too, and, on the other hand, among artists was inspiring. In addition, Iulia Jordan, a that the colored boxer they saw in one of the movies museum educator, was the one who, at the workshops they were shown was a boxing trainer from Bucharest. in Bucharest, arranged preliminary meetings between the children and the museum professionals, so that they 12 We avoid here the confusion in the funding application form, could be prepared for the events to come. arising form the form requesting to specify the purpose, the general objective and the specific objectives of the project. 77 Once challenged, Cognitive dissonance is a step when the artists involved in investigating the feeling of forward in assuming patriotism as an objective feeling. patriotism.13 Another type of artistic exercise was that imagined by Cuzina, who proposed the theme of folk stitching for The exhibitions that were opened during the project an installation made of sponges colored in the three displayed many of the works created by the children, colors of the Romanian flag. Starting from the national which were selected taking into account the degree symbols, Paul Dunca and the children mixed the of artistic accomplishment, the general appearance country’s anthem and the children proposed a different of the works and the message they conveyed, work type of flag, first as a sketch and then in an as large as seriality, yet without losing sight of the unique works life flag, in the form of a collage made of fabric. some of the children created beyond the scope of the main theme. In other words, selection was not a The artists have assumed their own artistic vision so curatorial process, but rather a ranking of the value of that the basic social needs of the children may emerge all the children participating in the project.

How do Children Relate Themselves to the Idea of “Romanian”?

In the project, a study was carried out, aimed at identifying one, given the small number of participants and the how children related themselves to Romania and the way of classes of school children participating in the idea of “things Romanian”, in an attempt to assess the project were selected. However, based on this study, degree of patriotism of the participants in the program. research assumptions can be constructed, that could The study was an exploratory, non-representative be validated by future sociological research.

Methodology

The applied methodology covered several stages. were filled in, which is why we cannot speak ofa During the first meetings held under the project, the representativeness of the survey results. Overall, almost children filled in a questionnaire designed to assess their 100 children aged 11 years in average answered to the awareness of the idea of patriotism and how they relate questionnaire. Nearly half of the respondents were from to Romania and to being Romanians. For convenience Cluj and the rest were, in almost equal percentages, from purposes, the questionnaire contained only a small Bucharest and Constanta, respectively. Evaluating the number of questions, including, in addition to the survey results by class of children, we may notice some questions about the respondents’ ID data, a set of 10 similarities in the answers given to the open questions, Likert scales, meant to identify the way the respondents fact that indicates a fairly high degree of homogeneity related themselves to “things Romanian”, and a total of and/or of appropriation of the opinions of others. seven short open questions: 1) “What is the significance Another limitation of the questionnaire is related to the of the Romania’s national day?, 2) Who is the best difficulty of interpreting the connections the children Romanian?; 3) Who is the greatest Romanian artist? make between ethnics and animals. The remaining four questions were inviting children to associate each of the Romanian, the Hungarian, the During the second round of the survey, we conducted German and the American with an animal. several interviews with the artists who had worked directly with children during the project, so that we At the beginning of the school workshops conducted could understand better the children’s answers can and under the project, almost one hundred questionnaires how they relate to the idea of Romanian. Results and Discussions

The survey results show that the respondents are especially those in Constanta, but the differences patriots and are generally attached to the idea of between localities are insignificant from a statistical “Romanian”. Children are proud to be born in Romania, point of view. Also, girls tend to be a bit more critical

13 Here are the movies made within the workshops from the three towns: the movie from Cluj Napoca -– https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=FY4qcqrxOL8&feature =youtu.be; the movie from Constanța – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =yRgrjvJckGY&feature=youtu.be; the movie from Bucharest – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyrJOYjXJLE&feature=youtu.be. 78 about Romania, but they like the country and know The surveyed children enjoy to a fairly high extent living in a slightly higher proportion the Romanian anthem in Romania, but they do not exclude the possibility of by heart. The national symbols (the Romanian flag living in another country, especially girls and in particular and anthem) are highly appreciated, especially by the the children from Cluj-Napoca. children from Cluj-Napoca and in by the girls in this Overall, children are not particularly interested in city, in particular. Children say they know the anthem making friends outside their ethnic group. Children of Romania quite well - to a greater extent those from the city of Constanta are somewhat more proud from Cluj-Napoca. In Bucharest, the percentage of of the Romanian art and culture and are also those who children who say they know the Romanian anthem is indicate a wider diversity of Romanian artists compared lower compared to the children from the other cities, with the rest of the respondents. Generally speaking, although they all love the anthem to the same extent. boys seem to appreciate Romania and its symbols more, Mention should be made however that the differences yet there are no statistically significant differences in this identified may also be related to the desirability of respect between the boys and the girls. social conformism – children from Bucharest, who, perhaps, wish to be less socially conformant, tend to There are no significant differences depending on age. answer more honestly to this question Only a very small influence of the respondents’ age on their knowledge of the anthem has been noticed.

Some statistically significant correlations, identified e. the beauty of the country and the desire following the assessment of the survey results, are to live in another country (-0.36) among the following variables: The analysis of the respondents’ answers to the 1. A moderate correlation between the following questionnaire shows that the most influential factor is indicators the joy of living in Romania, which influences to a slightly a. the pride of being a Romanian and the greater extent the respondents’ appreciation of what is joy of living in Romania (0,64) Romanian, compared to their pride of being Romanians. b. the joy of living in Romania and the desire Of the three groups of children, the children from to live in another country (-0.51) Bucharest associate to the largest extent the national 2. A poor correlation between the following day of Romania with the Great Union. However, the indicators meaning of this day is quite unclear among some a. the joy of living in Romania and the children. About half of the children mention the Union, appreciation of the national anthem (0,39) but some of them say the event refers to the union of b. the beauty of the country and the beauty the Romanian Principalities or of the three peoples. of art (0.39) Some speak about Romania’s birthday, yet without c. the pride of being Romanian and the being specific. Some of the children simply say that the desire to live in another country (-0.38) union is the “national day of Romania.” We notice a fairly d. the joy of living in Romania and the low awareness of the significance of the historical event appreciation of the country’s beauty (0,37) in question and/or a low capacity of the respondents to 79 articulate clearly their idea. For example, some of the third). At the question “Who is the greatest Romanian children comment as follows: “It means it’s my country artist?” 30 children answered “Eminescu”. Other names and my homeland”; “December 1 means a lot”; “It mentioned are Constantin Brâncuşi (13), Ion Creangă means I respect my country.” There are also relatively (4), Andra (2), Nicolae Tonitza (1), Stela Popescu (1), many answers of emotional answers in the case of the Killa Fonic (1), Carla’s Dreams (1), Florin Piersic (1), respondents in Cluj-Napoca: 6 children say December 1 George Topârceanu (1) and Ciprian Porumbescu (1). is a day of joy, 7 children associate the Union Day with Half of the children in Bucharest indicated C. Brâncuşi love and respect for the country and 4 children answer as the greatest Romanian artist. The respondents show “it doesn’t mean anything.” difficulties in choosing a Romanian artist from alist The fact that the respondents are quite attached to including Mihai Viteazu, Aurel Vlaicu, van Gogh, Liviu Romania is proved by their answers to the question Dragnea or Leonardo da Vinci. It is also worth mention “Who is the best Romanian?” – 19 say they or the fact that, quite often, the names of the personalities their family members (mother/father) are the best indicated by the children are misspelled. As a matter Romanians and seven children answer “we all are”. of fact, spelling mistakes are apparent in the answers Two children mention a colleague/friend as the best the surveyed school children wrote down in the other Romanian and 4 indicate their teacher as the best sections of the questionnaire, in spite of the fact that Romanian. The Romanian personalities the children they were grades 3-6. mention as qualifying for the best Romanian status are Although a qualitative study was not carried out and the Mihai Eminescu (17 answers), Ion Creanga (6), Mihai questionnaire was applied to a small number of children Viteazu (6), Klaus Iohannis/the President (6), Stefan cel who participated in this project, the answers received Mare (4), Constantin Brancusi (4), Nicolae Ceauşescu reveal that the children have poor knowledge about (2), Vlad Ţepeş (1), Aurel Vlaicu (1), Traian Băsescu (1), the history of Romania and of the Romanian culture. Liviu Dragnea (1), Andrei Mureşanu (1) and Bianca The answers to the survey questionnaire further show Adam (1). Some of the children say that actors and the that the respondents are fairly high attachment to the people who love the country are the best Romanians. country and to the community they are part of, though The respondent-children in Bucharest are the ones the reasons for such attachment seem quite unclear mentioning to a greater extent the names of historical in their mind. The participants were asked to associate and cultural personalities as the best Romanians. Mihai each of an American, a German, a Romanian and a Eminescu ranks first in children’s preferences (over one Hungarian with an animal. The results are as follows: American German

Romanian Hungarian

80 We may see that the most commonly mentioned many of the cases under consideration the connotation animals are the dog, the lion, the cat, the bear, the tiger, is a positive one, considering the fact that the dog is the monkey and the eagle, in all the cases. While we the animal the children associate most often with the may assume that the children perceive positively most nationals listed in this section of the questionnaire, of the animals they indicate, in the case of “the dog”, including with the Romanian (who is positively perceived it is difficult to say whether they attach a positive or a by the respondents, as we may see from their answers to negative connotation to this animal: it may happen that previous questions). some children associate the dog with a bad and aggressive character or, on the contrary, with a positive character, if Children’s answers to the national-animal association we take into account the fact that children usually love question by city of domicile: dogs and prefer dogs to other pets. We believe that in BUCHAREST CLUJ-NAPOCA CONSTANȚA American American American

German German German

Romanian Romanian Romanian

Hungarian Hungarian Hungarian

We may see that the respondents’ perception differs most attached to what is specifically Romanian are the greatly from one ethnic group to another, ranging in children from Constanta. The sense of belonging to all the cases from large or powerful animals to small a certain ethnic group is pretty strong, which explains animals; from “manly” animals to “womanly” animals why the respondents show, in general, little interest and from pets to beasts. We may say that the images in socializing with members from other ethnic groups. the children associate to the ethnicities under survey Surprisingly, the children from the most intercultural city are fairly vague and seemingly nuanced. of the three cities covered by the survey are the least interest in getting to meet members of another ethnic The survey reveals a strong patriotic feeling among the group. respondent-children, as well as their attachment to their country and its symbols and their joy to live in Romania. School plays an important role in promoting national The community the children belong to generate slight values and the knowledge of Romanian history regional differences. The children who appear to be and culture. However, the survey indicates that the

81 respondents have difficulties in identifying famous namely the children who had visited the NMCA with Romanian artists, in expressing their thoughts and even their parents: “The teenagers’ level of interest in art in writing correctly. This conclusion is consistent with and culture in general seemed to me rather low. The the findings of other studies carried out by the Da’DeCe cultural/artistic personalities the children mention as Association under other artistic education and creativity interesting to them are mostly TV “stars”. I think that development projects. the project has worked as a trigger factor, stirring the teenagers’ interest to approach contemporary art and The second part of the survey consisted of interviewing to understand how a work of art should be looked at and the artists involved in the project, where the artists were what the benefits of doing it are.” (Ana Tecar) asked to characterize children in relation with the latter’s interaction with art and knowledge of art in general As far as the children’s idea of patriotism, the artists and of contemporary art in particular, and to describe interviewed believe that the children’s views are biased the way the children responded to the workshops, the and are, in fact, mirroring their family background and children’s points of view, the children liked or disliked the opinions and attitudes of their adult entourage: “In most, what they were most curious about etc. Besides, my opinion, the children I’ve worked with in the project the interview was designed to identify how, in artists’ were too small to make the idea of patriotism a topic opinion, the participant-children relate themselves to of serious discussions with them. On the other hand, the idea of homeland and patriotism and whether they though, they were big enough for us to make an idea think the project has brought any change in connection about what they see and hear about patriotism at home with these concepts. and in their school setting. Unfortunately, it seems to me that what they see and hear are biased and preconceived All artists say they worked very well with the children. ideas.” (Katia Pascariu). As for the way the surveyed The latter are characterized as creative, naive, intelligent, children relate to their origin as Romanians, the artists honest, humorous and talented. As far as the children’s claim that the children’s view oscillated between two knowledge of art and history is concerned, the artists extremes: the pride vs the shame to be Romanians. find such knowledge insufficient. Artists consider that (contemporary) art stimulates children: “The children The artists mention the children’s preconceived ideas reacted enthusiastically. I mean the children in the and are skeptical about the workshops’ capacity (given classroom. The children who came with their parents their short duration and brief interaction with children) seemed less enthusiastic about the workshop. It was as to help clarify and fine-tune the way the participant if parents were somehow spoiling their child’s fun and children relate themselves to Romania as their creative energy. With their parents present, the children homeland. proved a little shy to experience art through play. Because One of the positive effects of the project, as identified that’s what the exercise was all about.” (Cristina David) by interviewing the participant artists, is that it has given On the other hand, some of the artists interviewed the artists involved the chance to explore a new setting argue they worked better with the children who were where they can express themselves artistically and accompanied by their parents and who were already interact with others. Some of the artists interviewed familiar with contemporary art, which validates the admitted they had never had the opportunity to interact need to adapt the way children are approached to the with children in an artistic setting and that the experience children’s background. they had with this project was very rewarding for all participants. They also appreciated the fact that the All artists characterized the children’s knowledge of project gave them the chance to collaborate with other (contemporary) art as precarious, with a few exceptions, artists, to experiment and share knowledge.

Conclusions

The project explored the artist-children-museum impact would have been deeper, had it lasted longer, interaction in a way that departed from the standard so as to facilitate a longer exposure of the children “let’s be patriot and honor our past” kind of attitude, to the museum heritage and more encounters with while concentrating instead on a realistic assessment Romanian artists. In other words, what the project of the feeling of patriotism in children. The project’s could do under the circumstances was to raise a

82 few and shake down a few preconceptions, yet patriotism from a question rather than an answer- without succeeding to help the children clarify their oriented perspective and so on. idea about patriotism. Even so, we believe that the project reached its goal, because, as the name of the Can a museum education program carried out in a association suggests, questions are more important museum setting contribute to civic education? Yes, than answers. it can, provided that it is replicated and that follow- up mechanisms are put in place. The project “I The drawback of a cultural project of short duration Wonder Why (Da’DeCe) I (don’t) Love my Country” and limited resources such as this one this one lies has succeeded to bring the issue of patriotism to the precisely in the fact that it was much too short to attention of the children and their families andto allow for a broad educational scope. Nevertheless, trigger class and school discussions on a topic that the project included many experimental activities would probably have gone unnoticed in the absence that, once tested, can be replicated and developed of this initiative. However, changing mindsets and further, such as the collaboration between a visual beliefs implies a much deeper process, which cannot artist and a performer, the artistic encounters ina be set in motion by merely placing a concept in the museum setting and the approach to the concept of limelight, and which therefore needs to be addressed at the level of public policy.

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83 European Year of Cultural Heritage

Natural heritage versus cultural heritage

ABSTRACT

The starting point for this paper was represented by the current national legislation in the field of heritage protection, especially the way in which some of the assets that are part of the natural heritage are transformed in cultural assets when they become part of a museum’s collection. Another aspect discussed in the paper is represented by the difficulty that occurs for museums that have a natural science specific when applying the criteria for classifying assets in the legal categories of the national mobile cultural heritage. We try to highlight the importance of introducing some changes in the legislation, modifications that would allow a proper classification of allthe assets belonging to the national heritage and that would allow natural assets to keep their natural specific even if they are part of a museum’s collection.

Key-words: culture, nature, natural heritage, cultural heritage, classification criteria, assets of natural heritage.

Culture and nature

Culture The term culture comes from the Latin word colere, which translates into “to cultivate, to honour” and generally refers to human activity.

There are a large number of definitions given to the culture, especially from the perspective of anthropology. Anthropologist Edward Tylor is the one who offered the classical definition of culture, namely that “it represents that whole complex that includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, laws, customs, and all kinds of capabilities and skills acquired by man as a member of the society”.

84 The definition given by UNESCO considers culture “the set of natural conditions and elements of the “as a series of distinct features of a society or social Earth: air, water, soil, subsoil, landscape features, group in spiritual, material, intellectual or emotional all atmospheric layers, all organic and inorganic terms.” materials, as well as living beings, natural systems in interaction, including the elements listed above, At present, there are over 2,000 definitions of including some material and spiritual values, the culture, all referring essentially to culture as being quality of life and the conditions that can influence inseparable from man, symbolizing everything that the welfare and health of man.” is a man’s product or is used by man, as well as ways of thinking and of behaviour that is transmitted from In the Emergency Ordinance no. 57 of June 20, one generation to another in any other way than the 2007 on the regime of protected natural areas, genetic one. the conservation of natural habitats, wild flora and fauna, the natural environment is defined as “all Nature natural, terrestrial and aquatic physical-geographic, The notion of nature comes from the Latin “natura” biological and biochemical components, structures and has a very general meaning, encompassing all and processes, having the quality of preserving life the forms of life in the universe, the phenomena of and generating the resources it needs.” the surrounding world, practically everything that is not created by man or made by man’s action. Therefore, the term nature or natural environment refers to all earthly (terrestrial and aquatic) elements, In GEO no. 195/2005 on environmental protection, but also to generating processes that are of natural, Article 1, section 41, the environment is defined as non-anthropogenic origin.

Natural heritage versus cultural heritage

The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the • “natural monuments constituted by physical World Cultural, Natural Heritage was adopted in and biological formations or groups of such 1972 at the General Conference of UNESCO and was formations which have an exceptional aesthetic adopted in Romanian legislation by Decree no. 187 or scientific uniquely valuable value; of March 30, 1990. • geological and physiographic formations and strictly delimited areas constituting the habitat In the spirit of this Convention, the following are of threatened animal and plant species, which considered to be cultural heritage: are of exceptional universal value in terms of • “monuments: works of architecture, sculpture science or conservation; or monumental painting, elements or structures • natural sites or strictly demarcated natural of archaeological character, inscriptions, areas of exceptional universal value from grottos and groups of elements of exceptional the scientific, preservation or natural beauty universal value from a historical, artistic or perspective.” scientific point of view; Romanian legislation defines national cultural • assemblies: isolated or grouped building heritage through Law 182 of October 25, 2000 groups, which, due to their architecture, unity (republished in 2014). According to this normative and landscape integration, have an exceptional act, the national cultural heritage represents “the universal historical, artistic or scientific value; ensemble of the inherited resources, identified as • sites: human works or works resulting from such, regardless of their ownership regime, and the concurrent actions of man and nature, as which is a testimony and an expression of the values, well as areas including archaeological sites beliefs, knowledge and traditions that are constantly of exceptional universal historical, aesthetic, evolving; the national cultural heritage includes all ethnological or anthropological value.” the elements resulting from the interaction between In the spirit of this Convention, the following are human and natural factors over time.” considered to be natural heritage:

85 Also by this normative act the mobile national biocenotic components of the natural environment cultural heritage is defined as consisting of the importance and ecological, economic, scientific, “goods of historical, archaeological, documentary, biogenic, sanogenic, landscaping, recreational and ethnographic, artistic, scientific and technical, historical cultural value of which have a relevant literary, cinematographic, numismatic, philatelic, significance in terms of conservation of floral and heraldic, bibliophile, cartographic and epigraphic fauna biological diversity, of functional integrity value, representing material testimonies of the of ecosystems, conservation of genetic, vegetal evolution of the natural environment and human and animal patrimony as well as for meeting life relations with it, of the human creative potential requirements, welfare, culture and civilization of and of the Romanian contribution as well as of the present and future generations.” national minorities in the universal civilization”. We find that neither this definition nor the previous There is an inconsistency in the definition of the one (taken from the UNESCO Convention) makes any two heritage categories, meaning that the national specific reference to the mobility of the components cultural heritage can comprise only those natural of the heritage, deriving from the context that it refers elements which, over time, have been modelled or to their localization within the natural environment processed by the human factor, therefore include in which they have formed. It should also be noted an anthropic fingerprint, while the national mobile that in GEO 57/2007 the term “in-situ conservation” cultural heritage can also include components is accepted and defined as “the protection and that are totally produced by natural processes as a preservation of the natural heritage assets in their testimony to their evolution. natural environment of genesis, existence and evolution”, but unfortunately no reference is made In order to define the natural heritage, Romanian to the quality of the natural asset when it is relocated legislation uses Government Emergency Ordinance and is no longer in its natural environment. no. 57 of June 20, 2007 on the regime of natural protected areas, conservation of natural habitats, The following figures show a series of cultural and wild flora and fauna, which defines natural heritage natural assets and how they are grouped into the as “all the physical-geographic, floristic, faunistic and heritage categories mentioned above.

Figure 1. The immobile cultural heritage of archaeological importance in situ becomes the mobile cultural heritage in the museum.

Immobile CULTURA heritage Mobile CULTURAL Heritage

Sarmisegetusa Regia Dacian gold bracelets coming from Sarmisegetusa (Photo: BogdanBrylynskei, - the pieces are part of the National History Museum of Romania Source: Sarmisegetusa Regia Administration) collection - (Photo: Bereș Ioan) Law no. 422 of July 18, 2001 on the protection of Law no. 182/2000 on the protection of mobile historical monuments national cultural heritage, republished in 2008

86 Figure 2. In-situ natural heritage (protected flora) becomes mobile cultural heritage of scientific significance in the museum.

NATURAL heritage CULTURAL heritage

Leontopodium Alpinum (edelweiss – protected Leontopodium Alpinum (edelweiss) – classified in species) in Maramures Mountains Natural Park the fund category of the Mobile Cultural Heritage (Photo: Gabriel Motica) – Bucovina Museum Complex. Nature Sciences GEO 57/2007 on the regime of natural Department, Suceava – inventory no. 1766 protected areas Law 182/2000 on protection of mobile national cultural heritage

Figure 3. In-situ natural heritage (Fossil Reservation) becomes a mobile cultural heritage of scientific significance in the museum. NATURAL heritage CULTURAL heritage

Outcrop from Fossil Reservation Chiuybaia Showcase with floral immissions from Fossil (Photo: Bereș Ioan) Reservation Chiuybaia at the Mineralogy Museum GEO 57/2007 on the regime of natural protected (Photo: Bereș Ioan) areas Law 182/2000 on the protection of mobile national heritage

From the figures presented above one can observe In the case of the assets listed as cultural heritage as shown the inconsistent way of including the heritage assets in Figure 1, the in-situ cultural property (namely the ruins into the two categories, namely the cultural heritage of Ulpia Traiana Sarmisegetusa) is classified as property and the natural heritage. of the cultural heritage and is subject to Law no. 422 of

87 July 18, 2001 on the protection of historical monuments. elements of mobile cultural heritage and are subject to The cultural property of such a historical monument (the Law no. 182. Dacian gold bracelet), which is currently in a museum, becomes a cultural asset belonging to the mobile cultural In the other two examples given in Figures 2 and 3, we heritage and is subject to the Law no. 182/2000 on the can see how goods belonging to the natural heritage protection of the mobile national cultural heritage, originally covered by GEO no. 57/2007 on the regime republished in 2008. Another eloquent example for this of natural protected areas, when they are taken from classification, which we consider to be entirely correct, their natural environment and become pieces of a is represented by the works of Constantin Brâncuşi; for museum, not only change the normative act that example, the “Kiss Gate” in Târgu-Jiu is an asset of cultural governs them, falling under the Law no. 182, but fall heritage and is subject to Law no. 422 on the protection into a totally different category of heritage, becoming of historical monuments, and other sculptures made by goods of mobile cultural heritage, their origin from Brâncuşi, such as the “Wisdom of the Earth”, represent the natural heritage not being mentioned.

Criteria for classifying mobile cultural assets

Classification of goods that make up the national assets of their quality of natural assets and which at the mobile cultural heritage same time do not challenge the scientific importance of cultural assets falling within the other categories. According to Law no. 182/2000 regarding the protection of the mobile national cultural heritage, General Criteria for Classifying Mobile Cultural Assets the goods that make up the national mobile cultural The classification of movable cultural goods, namely heritage are classified as follows: the procedure of establishing movable cultural goods 1. Archaeological and historical-documentary that are part of the legal categories of the national assets (includes 12 subcategories); mobile cultural heritage, fund and thesaurus, is 2. Assets of artistic significance (comprising 6 carried out according to the provisions of Law no. subcategories); 182/2000 and the Norms for classification of movable 3. Assets of ethnographic significance (comprising cultural assets, approved by GD no. 886/2008. 9 subcategories); 4. Assets of scientific importance, such as: According to the aforementioned rules, the procedure a. rare specimens and collections of zoology, for classifying a mobile cultural asset involves the botany, mineralogy and anatomy; application of a series of criteria, which are qualitative b. game trophies; and quantitative standards on the basis of which the 5. Assets of technical importance (includes 6 significance or the cultural importance of movable assets is assessed, and the legal category of the national subcategories). cultural heritage which these goods are part of is We consider that this classification of assets belonging determined. to the national mobile cultural patrimony contains a number of shortcomings regarding the inconsistency of The general classification criteria, the first applied, are the application of the classification criteria. First of all, intended to determine whether an asset is likely to be one of the five categories is defined as being formed of ranked. These are: age, frequency and conservation goods of scientific significance - it may mean that the status. other categories are of no scientific significance, which is not true at all. And, secondly, due to the fact that We consider these criteria to be incomplete and much nowhere in this classification the quality or origin of easier to apply to assets of artistic, historical and the natural asset is mentioned, we consider that some ethnographic significance than for those of scientific or assets, generally classified as scientifically important natural importance. Once again, the fact that some of assets, are deprived of this feature. the goods belonging to the mobile cultural heritage are not recognized as natural assets is detrimental to them, We believe that other criteria for classifying assets that including in the classification process. For a cultural asset make up the mobile national heritage would be useful, of scientific significance, such as a mineral sample, the criteria that do not deprive scientifically-important application of these general criteria is largely improper. 88 The first criterion, namely seniority, analyzes whether After determining that a cultural asset is likely to be the cultural asset was created at least 50 years before ranked, by obtaining a score equal to or greater than the date of the expertise. Besides the fact that the 150 points in case of general criteria, they proceed to legislation stipulates that the cultural asset has been the determination of the legal heritage category of created, so it automatically assumes the intervention fund or the treasury, the stage in which the specific of man, this 50-year threshold is depreciative, meaning criteria of classification are used. that the mineral samples can be tens, hundreds or even millions of years old, this threshold not having any The specific criteria for classifying mobile cultural relevance to geological processes products. assets are: artistic and documentary value; memorial value; authenticity; author, workshop or school and The second general criterion, namely the frequency, formal quality. These further insist on the direct implies once again the mandatory intervention of involvement of man in the realization, obtaining or man, by rewarding with scoring the assets belonging attestation of that cultural asset. to “series” and depending on the presence of these assets on the Romanian territory. We believe that this These specific criteria cannot be applied to the valuation general criterion could also be applied to assets of of natural assets and we consider that a process of natural origin if they appeared in defining the criterion review and redefinition is imperative. Perhaps the most and rarity in the natural environment of the assets. appropriate solution would be to produce more sets of such specific criteria, which would cover each category The third criterion - the state of preservation - is the of goods and allow them to be valued and judged in only one that can be applied consistently and unitary terms of characteristics that they possess. to both cultural and natural assets.

Conclusions and proposals

The main conclusion of this approach is that elements There is a mismatch between the definition of national of natural heritage, as defined by international and cultural heritage and the national mobile cultural heritage, national law, when extracted from the natural (in-situ) in the sense that the latter is wider. We believe that the environment become part of the mobile cultural heritage, national cultural heritage must have one definition, and thus losing their identity of natural asset. For patrimony the separation between immovable assets and movable elements that are of natural origin and on which there assets should be done solely on the basis of mobility are no human interventions, we consider that it would criterion. be appropriate to introduce another heritage category to treat these ex-situ natural assets without losing their Regarding the general and specific classification criteria natural asset status. for assets to become components of national heritage, we believe that the current ones can be successfully Consequently, we believe that it is useful to delineate as used for the valuation of cultural assets but are difficult much as possible between the terms “cultural heritage” or, some, impossible to apply in case of natural assets. and “natural heritage”. We also consider it necessary to Therefore, for a fair approach to the process of classifying introduce the concept of “natural ex-situ heritage” or assets belonging to national heritage, we advocate “natural mobile heritage”, similar to the classification the introduction of generally adjusted criteria and of of cultural heritage in the immovable and movable completely different, customized specific criteria for categories, in order to include the elements of natural items representing natural assets (mineral samples, heritage contained in museums or collections. rocks, ores or fossils) by means of which the process of classifying natural assets belonging to national heritage We consider it imperative in a minimum way, in case can be properly achieved according to the real attributes of the classification of assets that make up the national of these assets. mobile cultural heritage, the introduction of a category which includes the assets of natural origin, to be called “natural assets” or “assets of natural importance”.

89 References Law no. 182/2000 on the protection of the mobile Tylor, Edward. 1871. Primitive Culture: Research national cultural heritage, republished 2008. into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Law no. 422/2001 on the protection of historical Religion, Art, and Custom. London: John Murray. monuments, republished in 2006. Volume 1, page 1. Government Decision no. 886/2008 for the approval Government Emergency Ordinance no. 195/2005 on of the Norms for the Classification of Mobile environmental protection. Cultural Assets. Government Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2007 on the regime of natural protected areas, conservation of natural habitats, wild flora and fauna, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 49/2011. Ioan Denuț Manager Decree no. 187/1990 on the acceptance of the Alexandra Sîngeorzan Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural Curator and Natural Heritage adopted by the General ”Victor Gorduza” County Museum of Mineralogy Conference of the United Nations Educational, Baia Mare Scientific and Cultural Organization on November [email protected], 16, 1972. [email protected]

90 The phenomenon of guided walking tours for locals in Bucharest - revealing the need to disseminate local narratives

ABSTRACT

Once the privilege of foreigners, of the English speaking city visitors willing to pay significant sums for an authentic Romanian – Bucharestian experience, acquaintance with the city of Bucharest is now available to the its inhabitants. In the past few years, several invitations to guided tours with various themes have begun to appear in social media, and most of them for free. These events register a significant audience participation in some cases. An example in this case would be the thousands of participants (on different rounds of course) at the „La pas prin București” guided tours, organized by the ARCEN association ever since 2010, who are an important presence in the city’s cultural landscape with various projects that promote heritage education among young people, and also among the general population. This article presents the guided tour phenomenon as a mark of an inhomogeneous movement of urban discovery or rediscovery by associating narratives to certain locations, riddled with history, associated with diverse personalities, practices and communities, that is also progressively contouring itself as a public policy, although it’s at an incipient stage (see the guided tours directed at neighbourhood discovery as events that were integrated in the proposal of Bucharest as the European Cultural Capital of 20212).

Key-words: : guided tour, Bucharest, Bucharest 2021, local heritage, NGO

What are guided walking tours and who organizes them?

Guided walking tours are events where participants are travelled by a guide to various small, easy-to-reach city objectives, providing them with generalized or specialized information depending on the topic of the tour - which can be focusing on location- related personalities, a certain type of architecture, etc.

At a closer look, we can see that the initiators of these event-walks in Bucharest come from the non-governmental sector. In fact, there is no history of events directed at the entire population of Bucharest by a state institution. Of course, this does not mean that the institutions do not practice guided tours, but they do it in a small frame for those they serve. For example, faculties organize guided tours of Bucharest for newly admitted1 2 students or foreign scholars coming for exchanges, but even then events

1 ARCEN – Romanian Association for Culture, Education and Normality (online) http://www.arcen.info/ portofoliu/ 2 Bucharest 2021 (online) http://www.bucuresti2021.ro/ 91 are generally managed and supported by members of to the ‚80s and’ 90s) that provide concrete and clear student associations and very little by faculty staff. As for indications on how to best organize a guided tour to established cultural institutions such as museums, we promote local heritage, how objectives and distance know that they organize guided tours on the premises, must be considered, how to document and select not outside, although a thematic guide of Bucharest information that might be of interest to everyone who achieved by museum experts would be a wonderful will participate in them, etc. An example would be John complement to a temporary or permanent exhibition. A. Veverka’s article „Planning interpreting walking tours for communities and related historic districts”6. I also Thus, non-governmental associations are the primary mention it in the hope that it will inspire readers to create organizers of such events for Bucharest and not only, such an own experience, tailored to their interests. each adopting a topic according to the objective of their activity. For example, we have the Art History Association3, which aims to promote culture, architecture The public and the and local memorialism, and regularly organizes guided economy of the experience tours against a fee on architectural heritage divided by architects such as the Edmond Van Saanen- Algi” walk or Since there are no official dates for locals to take part in „Albert Galeron Urban Trail”. these guided tours, especially from those who organize them, to discover a tourist profile in a city, we limit Another example is the Calea Victoriei Foundation4, ourselves to some deductions from the methods chosen which has a similar objective and offers, besides courses for their promotion, where the use of social media in varied cultural fields, guided tours on Calea Victoriei, networks prevails. For a less active person in the social the Old Centre or the Bellu Cemetery.5 Of course, media area, it may be difficult to find out about them depending on sponsorship or affiliation to other events unless they are exposed to media exposure, such as that provide funding, guided tours offered by these ARCEN - the Romanian Association for Culture, Education associations can be completely free. and Normality, so we can more than assume that this type of loisir option is the social media user›s privilege, The content of a local who is proving a real interest in such activities. walking tour in Bucharest In the 1990s, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore7 predicted the arrival of another type of economy, of Guided tours are built on specific objectives (houses, experience, after that of services, where consumers streets, parks) that can be subsumed into specialized would associate the acquisition of goods with or extensive themes. There is a big difference between experience. This will mark people’s lack of interest a walking tour of Bucharest that will of course address in purchasing goods, as opposed to the perception the city’s famous objectives and implies the total lack that this offers status and happiness, and the focus of previous knowledge of the city, and one about Calea on experiences such as travel, volunteering, etc. as Victoriei that proposes a profoundly specialized historical a means of fulfilment. They will head towards them incursion. as they are associated with memories, and the way people remember an event offers more satisfaction In fact, the events of the latter type predominate in the than simply having one thing (even if it is the symbol offer for the locals because they are built on the idea of of a social status) that you can upgrade anytime. a well-known local public place, while the others are rare and are directed towards visitors from outside Bucharest, Nowadays we are talking about the gradual entry Romanian speakers. Also guided tours with general topics into this type of economy after studies conducted on in English are a reserved offer almost exclusively for the international consumer patterns, such as the one made foreigners who visit the city. by Barclaycard8 on English consumers showing that in There are many online English articles (and dating back 6 Veverka J.A. Planning interpretative walking tours for communities and related historic districts (online): https://portal.uni-freiburg. 3 Art History Association (online): http://asociatiaistoriaartei.blogspot. de/interpreteurope/service/publications/recommended- ro/2017/10/tururi-noiembrie.html publications/veverka_planning-interpretive-walkingtours.pdf 4 Calea Victoriei Foundation (online):https://www.fundatiacaleavictoriei. 7 Pine J., Gilmore J. (1998) Welcome to the Experience Economy. ro/luna-bucurestilor-editia-a-vi-a-2016/ Harvard Business Review (online): https://hbr.org/1998/07/ 5 Ibidem. https://www.fundatiacaleavictoriei.ro/descopera-la-pas- welcome-to-the-experience-economy povestea-cimitirului-bellu/ 8 The Guardian. Just do it: the experience economy and how we 92 2016, people have spent more on experiences such as be quickly adopted by Romanian NGOs long before they going to restaurant, bar, film, and theatre lessons than in penetrate national policies. the previous year, and less on electronics, cars and other 12 similar goods than in the previous year, which could As such, there is also the Cultour Association that offers 13 explain the increasing interest of the local audience for tours of this type - Walkabout Free Tour. THowever, heritage discovery experiences in a more general, global they also organize free themed walks for the locals at sense. various cultural events, such as the George Enescu Tours under the auspices of the George Enescu Festival or the At the same time, the economy of the experience tour guided in the old Armenian Chapel at the Armenian is encouraged by social media.9 Pictures posted on Street Festival. accounts that depict a person at a festival or on a beach receive more likes than a photo of a detained object, The international phenomenon of free tours, but with whether it owns to a renowned brand, which motivates donations, may appear to be slightly contradictory, but users to come out in the world and experiment, in the it is based on the economy of experience, where it takes sustained effort to build and maintain a certain type of precedence as a generator of value and profit a posteriori presence and image. It is inconceivable that, in addition - in which it opts for a certain kind of performance of to the fact that the tours offer good opportunities to the guide, leaving aside the historical information capture experiences in the pictures, there are also presented. Some go on and set up real small plays along special tours devoted to photography. the itinerary, somehow mingling with the promenade theatre. In Romania, for example, because ARCEN’s tours are almost exclusive, the guides wear hats that The Grand Tour of Europe and remind us of the perfume of the era. the Free Tours phenomenon in Europe International tours based on donation generally rely on Guided tour practice is old and has its origins in the stark documentation - which becomes obvious when tradition of the 19th Century Grand Tour10 practiced asking for additional clarifications – picantry elements, by wealthy young Europeans as part of their maturing jovial and humorous presentation, and we might even and becoming, and their guide was a tutor with the say that on the charisma of the guide. And the payment necessary knowledge. The Grand Tour included sites in is based on experience, what the visitor considers that England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Malta and Greece, the guide deserves for that effort, and here they may or and the clear purpose of this activity was to initiate may not receive money. the young man in the past of the Greek-Roman and European Renaissance civilization, knowledge without If we were to consider only the presence of participants which he could not fully be considered an adult in his in the ARCEN tours - the only tours mentioned in the 14 social circles. media - we can say that the association correctly speculated the needs of the locals, reporting practices In contemporary times, local pedestrian tours have as from other countries to the local public and thus direct inspiration the free pedestrian tours, but based implementing a „free form” that proved to be a success. on donations from major cities around the world (dating back to 2004), aimed at foreign tourists who Even so, returning to the number of participants enjoy tremendous success and continuity if we take registered in the tours of the association, we might think the TripAdvisor ratings.11 As we know, practices are it is a common practice in Bucharest, but this is not true. disseminated and adopted more easily in the current From the mere fact that the activities of this type of context of free movement in the countries of Europe, so other associations are not addressed in the local press that a particular practice found in another country can up to the visual absence of these tours in the public space, at any moment, all seem to suggest the contrary. turned our backs on ‘stuff’. Online: https://www.theguardian.com/ Anyone who travelled through Western capitals surely business/2017/may/13/just-do-it-the-experience-economy-and- how-we-turned-our-backs-on-stuff 12 Asociația Cultour (online) https://www.asociatia-cultour.ro/ 9 Ibidem. 13 Walkabout Free Tour (online) https://bucharest.walkaboutfreetours. 10 Towner, J. THE GRAND TOUR A Key Phase in the History of com/ Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 12 (online) http://www. 14 PRO TV News. An unusual pedestrian track has managed to attract sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01607383/12/3?sdc=1 people of all ages: „Prin Bucureștii lui Eliade” (online) http:// 11 Tripadvisor is a well-known internationally-ranked information stirileprotv.ro/stiri/travel/un-traseu-pietonal-inedit-a-reusit-sa- site. atraga-oameni-de-toate-varstele-prin-bucurestii-lui-eliade.html 93 noticed groups of tourists gathered around a guide, or in the history of which could be of interest only to the Bucharest you never see it (not even the foreign ones), inhabitants of the community, such as Pantelimon from which we can assume that there are few organized. Tour with the Make a Point Association16 or Enter the Red Dragon Detour - a walk through the Red Dragon And yet, in Bucharest there were events that led the Complex – within Bucharest Disaster Detour17 events narrative of a guided tour to another level: either they (Bucharest, 2021). came from the tradition of performance through a sensory immersion in the old houses that belonged Basically, there is no particular limit to the desire for to a personality, facilitated by a performing guide urban exploration of the inhabitants, which is imposed in the Sensory Map of Bucharest15, or through the only by the documentary resources and inspiration of popularization of a neighbourhood or community the initiating agent.

Conclusion

The article attempts to highlight an important but developing a heritage tourism for the inhabitants. neglected need of the inhabitants of Bucharest to discover narratives of the city, old or contemporary, to Another dimension of this phenomenon that suggests a associate a particular urban place with a certain story real public interest in heritage and events related to its and, by extension, to create an experience or to add to presentation, promotion and even performance is the an experience (if they have previously interacted with fact that it reveals the need for a clear education policy the places visited), in the idea that this achievement will in the spirit of awareness of the local heritage by the also generate some measures or initiatives at the level inhabitants of Bucharest, and also by the inhabitants of of local authorities. any Romanian city in general.

The activities programmed by ARCUB (Bucharest Cultural Centre) on behalf of the City of Bucharest under 15 16 17 the name Invisible City on the occasion of Bucharest’s proposal for Cultural Capital in 2021, which included both tours and conferences or workshops aimed at the awareness of the local histories and situations proposed by cultural NGOs, were a good start, but this was lost Dana Nicolae when Timisoara was selected as a Cultural Capital. [email protected]

I am not in favour of the idea that these guided tours be treated in an elitist sense and remain the advantage of a certain group in the society, namely the social media user, but for these to reach other groups in the society that would benefit as much, or perhaps even more, from free or paid tours.

At the same time, these experiences strengthen the ties that local people have with their home or adoption town, associate less observable places in a normal promenade with a romance that only stories can offer, and not, ultimately, impose on the public some respect for their own culture by presenting it firstly, and secondly, by being present on the spot in a context of discovery 15 Sensory Map of Bucharest (online) http://hartasenzoriala.com/ and appreciation. We add the aspect of getting closer to 16 Make a point: Tours to rediscover Pantelimon (online) https://www. the surrounding things and facilitating an understanding bucuresti2021.ro/portfolio_page/duminica-28-iunie-1000-1230- of the evolution and events that have taken place over explorare-prin-plimbare-make-a-point-trasee-de-redescoperire-a- pantelimonului/ time, as well as the way the participants are affected by 17 Bucharest Disaster Detour (online) http://bucharestdisasterdetour. them. There are practices that prove the importance of com/ 94 Professional ethical codes and museum ethics

THE STATUTE OF SPECIALISTS IN MUSEUMS BETWEEN FORMATION AND REGULATION

ABSTRACT

Having as starting point the ethics and the ethic codes in museum professions, the paper presents current inconsistencies in the Romanian legislation on museums and movable cultural heritage, with regard to the regulation of the accredited specialists’ practice, including their rights and obligations and the nature of their legal relation with museum organisations. The article suggests that new legal provisions are needed in order to improve the selection and accreditation procedure for movable heritage experts, to clarify their legal status with both rights and obligations and to unify the financial retribution, at national level, for the freelance museology practitioners. Also, thepaper emphasizes the need for a strong professional training nation system in the field of museums for staff at entry level and through their career.

Key-words: museum, ethics, professional code, museum professions, museum legislation

The issue of professional ethics in the museum field can only be approached from the perspective of the Ethical Code of the International Council of Museums, and therefore we will continue to remember the main coordinates of this reference document for any specialist in the museum system: the museum preserves, interprets and promotes the natural and cultural heritage of humanity, the museum protects the collections that it holds for the benefit of the entire society and for the purpose of its progress, the museum is the holder and promoter of knowledge, the museum offers opportunities for the appreciation, understanding and management of natural and cultural heritage, collaborating with the communities whose heritage serves them and in which the heritage regains its origins, the museum operates in respect of law and professionalism.1 1 ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums – http://icom.museum/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/Codes/ICOM-code- En-web.pdf. (Accesed on 9th of november 2017) 95 The ICOM Code of Ethics has been widely adopted Romanian public museums was of 14,973,8075, in at international level, with some states and museum 2015, currently the number of classified goods being associations or museum-related professions of 52,528.6 What happens to other goods, what are conceiving their own rules and statutes. the guarantees of a proper, professional protection? An honest answer is that there are no such We will continue to refer to the current situation in guarantees. Moreover, there is no assessment of the our country, in terms of the status of specialists in the human resources active in the museum system and museum system and, more broadly, of the mobile their level of initial and continuing training. Just as cultural heritage. there is no coordinated national plan in this respect.

In addition to ICOM’s Code of Ethics, which has no Vocational training is limited to several forms of legal force but only the sanctioning measure to university education in the national system, of which exclude members who violate the principles and the museology is missing as a full cycle, of its own – recommendations of the Code, the only measures bachelor’s degree, master, doctorate. to control the way in which the museum professions are exercised remain those in the Code of Conduct Courses for curators, conservation experts, restorers, for Contract Staff from public institutions and the curators, museum education specialists, and accreditation rules for experts, conservation specialists custodian managers organized by the National and restorers. Institute for Cultural Research and Training depend on the financial availability of museum organizations In the first case, that of the Code of Conduct for and, it must be said, on the availability of managers to 2 staff of public institutions , sanctioning measures support specialized staff training - in our recent past, (disciplinary, property-related and, in conjunction a long period of budget constraints has also affected with other normative acts, penalties) for professional this aspect of the museum sector, along with limiting deviations apply only to specialists in the public competitions for vacant positions in institutions. system, not to those in the private system; to those who operate independently. The principles laid down In addition to the general obligation in the Labour in the Code of Conduct, in addition to those relating Code7, namely that the employer must periodically to public administration relationships with citizens, (every two or three years, as the case may be)8 ensure include professionalism – a principle according to the participation of employees in vocational training which contract staff has the duty to perform their programs, an obligation that cannot be met in the duties with responsibility, competence, efficiency, absence of funds, no other legal norm does ensure fairness and conscientiousness3 – and moral integrity proper initial and permanent training of museum - for which the contract staff are forbidden to seek staff. or to accept, directly or indirectly, for themselves or for another, any benefit or moral or material benefit4, The Ministry of Culture has in this context the both of which are of major relevance to the museum ethical obligation and the legal quality to establish professions, but not easily identifiable in terms of a normative framework for the training of museum competence, in the absence of standards for defining staff in terms of both initial training at the time and quantifying it. of employment in the respective institutions (an ideal that is not difficult to achieve would be the Accreditation rules for experts, conservatives and elaboration of an „introductory package” for new restorers apply only to those specialists who carry out staff that is mandatory and available free of charge activities involving movable cultural property assets to all museum organizations and that contains both - as is well known, the number of classified assets represents a very small part of the total number 5 National Institute of Statistics, “Activity of cultural and artistic units - 2015”, http://www.insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/field/ of heritage items in public and private institutions. publicatii/activitatea_unitatilor_cultural_artistice_in_anul_2015. Thus, the total number of cultural goods owned by pdf (Accessed: November 9,2017). 6 National Heritage Institute - online database: http://clasate.cimec.ro/ 2 Law no. 477/8 November 2004 on the Code of Conduct for (Accessed: November 10, 2017). Contract Staff in Public Authorities and Institutions, published in 7 Law no. 53/January 24, 2003 - Labour Code, published in the O.G. Official Gazette no. 1105/November 26, 2004. no. 72/February 5, 2003, republished in O.G. no. 375/May 18, 3 Law no. 477/2004, art. 3, lit. c). 2011, as subsequently amended and supplemented. 4 Law no. 477/2004, art. 3, lit. e). 8 Law no. 53/2003, Article 194. 96 theoretical information and guidelines for immediate evaluation reports under various circumstances practical activities, adaptable to each organization) as and purposes. For this type of activity, the skills well as continuous training, permanent connection to are neither required as mandatory condition nor the new coordinates of world museology, in theory, checked, as there is no training program for this kind but also as good practices. of tasks - because these are tasks, legal obligations of persons who obtain such accreditations, and they It is difficult (but not impossible) to achieve a stable cannot refuses, for example, the requests of the academic framework through the collaboration of public authorities mentioned above. the Ministry of Culture and National Identity with the Ministry of National Education, but the infrastructure, What are the consequences of this inconsistency resources and tradition of the National Institute between accreditation criteria and accreditation for Research and Cultural Training are functional goals? Some hamper the ranking process, prolong its instruments through which the Ministry of Culture duration, and increase bureaucracy - expert reports performs this task - to protect the cultural heritage of mistakenly classified ranking files are not a rarity; by providing a competent professional body. in other cases, they are violations of criminal law rules - the case of locomotives ranked illegally in the Professional ethics starts from knowledge and early 2000s9; is well-known; there are also cases in from applying it to the informed appreciation of which the experts did not respond adequately to the concrete, immediate, problematic situations that demands of the courts, being subject to sanctions require prompt and correct solutions, correctly from these.10 implemented. As in the case of other fields of activity that serve the public interest, in the field of museums Another unregulated issue is the relationship it is necessary to transpose principles, basic concepts between persons accredited as experts, conserva- and good practices into national legal norms that tives or restorers and the organization in which they ensure professional training and development, basic work under an individual employment contract. rights and obligations of museum specialists and Given that accreditation is granted to a natural the organizational and procedural framework of person, at its request and in consideration of its their activity - including by the norms of operation own professional qualities, it does not in any way of museums, a normative act still over a decade late impose obligations on the individual in relation to that should have been issued in application of Law his employer who is in fact a third party in that legal no. 311/2003 of museums and public collections. relationship. It can therefore be appreciated that a museum organization cannot impose on its own This set of staff training measures would be the employees, if they have not been contracted under foundation for a higher stage: professional codes or this condition and if they have not drawn such tasks special statutes for qualified staff and top specialists in the job description, carrying out activities in their - what we call today „accredited experts”. capacity as accredited experts.

As I have also stated in the process of elaborating Similarly, neither does the Ministry of Culture, the the Theses of the Future National Cultural accrediting authority, have a leverage other than Patrimony Code, the current system is deficient, if civil contracts to engage in specific activities carried not erroneously, conceived, allowing individuals (I out by experts, nor do they have no legal obligation emphasize through this formulation the quality of to respond to the request of the Ministry of Culture. individuals, private persons, rather than affiliated to specialized institutions) by assessing their qualities as The unitary remuneration of experts, by setting specialists in a scientific field that is circumscribed to common national rates, can be considered not only the categories of cultural goods existing in museums as a matter of good and fair organization ofthe - for example, history, art, ethnography, and so on 9 The classification of 34 locomotives by the Order of the Minister - to carry out administrative, procedural and legal of Culture and Religious Affairs no. 2779 / 3.12.2004, with the consequences beyond their scientific content; these approval of the National Commission of Museums and Collections, on the basis of erroneously drawn expert reports. activities are to carry out expertise, including for 10 For example, in File no. 6198/94/2014 pending before Buftea courts, notarial offices and criminal investigation District Court, having as object offenses against the law on the bodies, and not only to draw up expertise and protection of the national mobile cultural heritage - Lawno. 182/2000. 97 system and of this specific activity, but also asa on negotiation, sometimes on the young custom matter of ethics, not just professional. The practice established on this young market. At the limit of concluding civil contracts between museums and of ethics and in order to avoid the occurrence of experts, specifically with the purpose of drawing conflicts of interest, the museums have contracted up expertise for the classification of movable accredited specialists. A norm to clarify these issues cultural goods, is guided, in terms of remuneration, and to ensure transparency and financial efficiency based on the financial availability of museums, in this direction would be welcomed.

Conclusion

It is right to say that affirming the need for new rules in shows that additions are necessary and the status of the field of cultural heritage protection is an additional museum specialists is a natural complement to the burden for an already existing over-regulation, at better functioning of the cultural heritage protection least in terms of the number of normative acts (14 system. main acts in the field of museums and of the mobile cultural heritage, without including the acts of modification thereof). However, in addition to the Alis Vasile necessary simplification in order to improve and [email protected] streamline current provisions, the immediate reality

98 Particularities of open museum ethics

ABSTRACT

Museum`s social value lies today not only in its role as facilitator of dialogue between generations and cultures but also in that of promoter for participation of various public categories in decisions regarding museum activity within the community. Starting from this premise, this article summarizes some landmarks in museum ethics evolution in order to highlight, on one hand, its constants in cultivating public`s moral and aesthetic sense and, on the other hand, its variables in terms of training a pluralist and participatory perception of all visitors. We will also try to look at the consequences of conjunction and disjunction of these ethical factors, which welcome a growing range of social needs. The logical and factual outcome of this analysis, which we highlight in this article, is the opening of museum ethics, on one hand, to cultivate active listening and, on the other, to stimulate direct involvement. To the extent that it meets both demands, contemporary museum ethics becomes a bridge between professional ethics – a tribute to universalism of the past – and participatory ethics – a reflex of modern deontological pluralism.

Key-words: Museum Ethics, Open Ethics, Participatory Museum, Museum With No Frontiers, Public Participation, Social Responsibility

99 Introduction Museum’s Concern for Ethics

Museums are today more concerned with The idea of “museum ethics” emerged in 1902 unconventionally attracting visitors and engaging in when the New York Times published an article that social dynamics, by rethinking how to value their physical discussed the practice of selling goods belonging exposure space and, in parallel, the online space - to museum collections. Since then, specialists and reserved for virtual applications - in turn, in a stimulating practitioners are invited to answer the question expansion. Thus, the museum has begun to experience “What is the ethics of museums?” and, next to spectacular managerial changes, both in terms of the question, “What is the most appropriate way improving its employees, and especially by widening for museum ethics to be put into practice in this the audience while organizing innovative activities. professional field?” The most commonly cited example is the Whitworth Museum, which is part of the Manchester community Initial responses of specialists have highlighted that, where programs are centred on ongoing dialogue with in addition to its normative value, a museum code the public, focused on organizing courses and seminars, of ethics also has a special significance in terms of 2 as well as on stimulating visitors’ participation and structuring a norm of professional conduct. Then, creativity. by coagulating ethical concerns in the form of wider Museum Codes of Ethics, the idea of moral We find that the new mission and the extensive functions accountability of museums to their audiences has of the museum have already become operational, which become more and more accentuated. has transformed this institution into a true incubator of creativity, at the service of social change. In addition, At the same time, even though the principles covered because museum functions have evolved along with by codes of professional ethics within museums have the need for communities to receive diversified cultural come to the attention of relatively recent specialists, services, the museum has managed to integrate into the museum ethics has quickly become a way of action as dynamics of change. In spite of this development, the well as providing the right solutions to solve internal museum also managed to preserve the fundamental problems of the museum. notes of its traditional role. This dual feature has turned Therefore, museum ethics may vary depending on the the museum from an island institution into one actively mission of a museum, on the specific circumstances involved in community issues.1 in which its problems arise, as well as the people 3 Also, according to its new objectives, the museum involved, both inside and outside the museum. institution has become responsible for both informal So, organizationally, we can talk today about and non-formal education, in the spirit of preservation strengthening the stage of revaluation of museum of memory, as well as for thematic influence of the space by integrating it into the general environment social agenda. In turn, museum staff understood that of the society in which it operates. Regarding they need to integrate into a new trend of relating to the legislative framework, the expectations and diverse audiences, imposed by changing the style of receptiveness of different audiences, the staff and communication that characterizes the new managerial funding limitations, the involvement of decision- paradigm. According to this, the museum is a proactive makers, etc., these are other elements that the instrument and directly involved in social change, museum must meet through a dynamic appropriate including in the so sensitive mentality plan. In this to social progress. context, where is the place of the traditional values and principles that established the ethical vocation of the Based on this dynamics, which is a benchmark (along museum? And if museum ethics is, in turn, constantly with initiatives, involvement, style of communication, changing, then how can it help social progress? These partnerships with other civil society organizations, are key questions that this article tries to answer, while etc.), periodic updating of museum ethics codes is also providing some analytical milestones for a new being used. This update becomes essential to lay debate topic. the foundations for new sustainable strategies for

2 Pisică G. (2012), pp. 379-382. 1 Niţulescu V. Ş. (2014), p. 8. 3 Yerkovich S. (2016), pp. 44-49. 100 attracting visitors to museums. Thus, museum ethics various categories of people in a transparent and becomes, on the one hand, relevant to society - by non-discriminatory manner.7 reflection - and, on the other hand, a factor of social innovation - by progression. At present, we can see that these ethical requirements appear to be transposed even to the Generally, in a museum, ethics can be defined as a level of Management Objectives for a museum and, discursive process aimed at identifying the values of course, of the Museum Management Plans that are and guiding principles for the overall activity of this proposed periodically for approval. These documents type of institution, and where ethical principles are clearly state that a museum must adopt an ethical usually stated separately.4 code based on firm ethical principles in agreement, on the one hand, with the codes of ethics adopted In turn, museum management has realized that the in the International Conventions on cultural actions application of a robust, yet flexible, ethical museum and of cultural heritage and, on the other hand, ethics will be able to contribute to an increasingly depending on the dynamics of change in the society. significant impact of the museum on the community Of course, this change must be properly digested it serves. This impact must be felt not only at the and not just applied for the sake of change, so as educational level (by the young and the elderly alike), not to fall into the trap of transforming the museum but also in the strengthening of the social structure, into a populist simple recreational or entertainment the museum being a meeting place for different temple.8 cultures.5

Museum marketing studies have revealed that Codes of ethics already written the category of people who, from the museum’s perspective, is made up of non-visitors, that is, In this respect, the International Council of Museums the public who is not even interested in cultural- (ICOM) Code of Ethics is best to reflect the general educational programs or even entertainment must principles accepted by the international museum also be considered. Sustainable (and obviously community as regards the guidelines for minimum openly) museum ethics must also be taken into professional standards in museum practice.9 account by them because the democratization of the However, the professional ethics of museums is more museum act means widening the museum’s offer than a set of principles and norms of amorphous to developing attractive cultural and educational relationship because it is based on the notion of programs for these categories (referred to in a little responsibility, shared both at the individual level and uninspired way as non-public6). of the whole organization, as well as at the level of the opening of the museum towards public. It is recognized that in order to fulfil its role / social roles, the museum needs ethical standards. Based on such professional ethics, the museum can However, affirming the need to take into account the meet both organizational and widespread social specific context and particularities of each museum expectations - by receiving social signals. Moreover, when formulating its ethical code is still the subject in order to meet the public and respond to the of current debates. They often address the evolution cultural needs of the community, museum ethics of social and cultural norms which museum ethics proves its ability to become accountable, both must take into account, although social evolution individually and socially. This is not only a process of cannot be anticipated with sufficient precision ethically valuing the new mission of the museum in due to its multiple variables. According to all the the society but also a permanent bargaining between recommendations of the bodies involved in the life the increasing professional level of the museum staff of museums, their codes of ethics must ensure the needed to cope with new media and social issues increase of public confidence in their work. The that keep the public away of the museum. These social role of museums as agents of social cohesion issues, once taken up in a museum’s programs, gain must also be increased, serving the interests of new resonance in the ethical field, which can lead to

4 Desvallées A., Mairesse F. (2010), p. 33. 7 Van-Praet (2016), p. 67. 5 NEMO (2014), pp. 5-7. 8 Bishop C. (2015), p. 5. 6 Zbuchea, A., Ivan L. (2008) p. 37. 9 ICOM (2014, , updated). 101 a better understanding of them at a global level. Ethical Consequences of New Museum Concepts However, in order not to idealize the possibilities of museum ethics, it must be said that it may remain Here are at least three theoretical contributions, somewhat sterile when it does not take into account which still exert an overwhelming influence in the the social dynamics and projection of the expected field of museology, both on the researchers and on effects. Some critics of professional ethics even the dedicated practitioners. These are the works argue that any kind of institutional ethics is nothing signed by Robert R. Janes, Nina Simon and Gary more than a manipulation technique introduced by Edson. management theory to fix a mission or more, while bypassing the duty to motivate staff. Robert R. Janes is the author of the work Museums Without Borders, a museological plea that manages Therefore, a code of ethics applicable to museums, to demonstrate that these institutions have a beyond the expression of principles that affirm significant role in society, a role that far outweighs common values for all stakeholders, seeks to establish the conventional perception. a mode of respect not only of the majority culture but also for the most vulnerable groups in society. The author emphasizes the extension of the museum’s role, starting with the need to preserve Although there is no single answer to the question the identity of a community and reaching the “Why museums need a code of ethics?”, the code of possibility of the museum to create the future ethics tool offers these institutions the possibility of of those who are part of the community. Of organic integration into new social realities. Also, this course, this is only possible through the genuine document is a permanent source of good practice involvement of the museum in social issues and that helps the museum rethink the way in which it is aspirations, implicitly by calling on an ethic that (or is not) able to manage its interconnections with encourages activism and responsibility, and which the society. After all, museum ethics refers to the also allows the acceptance of alternative points of way we treat our site, the buildings that are built, the view, even in the most important issues.13 artefacts that give life to the buildings, and all those 10 we come into contact with while we are here. Janes’ vision can be characterized as a globalist one in which the museum community is called Just because they look at the interaction and take upon to revise its evolutionary role, especially into account the public’s expectations, the Museum’s in the context of contemporary environmental, ethical codes must be reviewed so that the public social and ethical challenges, as well as in the always feels the first beneficiary not only of the self-modelling of the purpose of museums in museum’s services but also of museum ethics. Also, society. operating in an open circuit, it must be, on the one hand, strict enough to ensure the sustainability of On the other hand, Nina Simon, in the “Participatory heritage conservation and, on the other hand, lax Museum”, proposes solutions to stimulate the enough to allow and even encourage the participation participation of community members and visitors of visitors in as much as possible many dimensions of to turn the museum institution into a more 11 the contemporary world. dynamic and relevant place, both from a cultural and social perspective. These solutions are Essentially, a Museum Code of Ethics is more than extremely important for museum managers who just a guide to good practice within this institution. It, want to practice organizational change based on of course, provides general guidelines for promoting ideas of accelerated transformation. crucial values for social cohesion, social development, tolerance and mutual respect, as well as guidance on The participatory museum is a concept that the real challenges raised by new socially involved can provide visitors with a wealth of creative 12 museum practices. opportunities for them to actually experience the feeling of participation through an exchange of 10 Museums Associations (2016), pp. 20-22. ideas that will help (re) build the community and 11 ICOM (2014, updated). 12 Pabst K., Johansen E., Ipsen M. (2016), p. 10. 13 Janes R. (2016), p. 216. 102 thus the space physically and spiritually defining a While deontology defines the values promoted by museum.14 the profession and identifies principles that guide moral behaviours, museum ethics encourages the Of course, there are multiple consequences of promotion of the highest standards of behaviour a profound social involvement on the part of of those working in the profession, helping them the museum, but here we are interested in the make decisions with and for the public.15 Also, ethical aspects of restoring its mission. On the museum ethics helps increase public confidence in basis of this, from the perspective of the museum the professions exerted in a museum by defining institution, the creation of social bridges towards acceptable practices for them in an interactive public involvement becomes not only a duty among context of communicating with the public. others but an ethical value. Under the influence of these views, every time the museum presents Thus, ethical principles come to determine the its environment (social, cultural, biological, practices and even the customs within the museums. historical), the current museography focuses on Ethics therefore remains consistent with its principles, highlighting the aspects in which we find human but their practice is changing. Therefore, the interactions. application of these principles needs to be updated, especially to meet the changing demands of the As far as Gary Edson is concerned, in his book contemporary museum. For this reason, the research “Ethics of the Museum” and later in “Museum and testing activities of the public, the elaboration of Ethics in Practice”, he addresses ethical issues cultural projects and programs in order to identify, in the context of verifying the value of exposed select and diversify the ways of capturing the interest theory by attempting to put it into museum of the visitor public appear necessary.16 practice. Using multiple case studies and examples- based arguments, Edson concludes that ethics So, the need for a clearly articulated code of ethics is a reinforces the fundamental values and convictions part of the museum’s professional agenda. This, even of all professions practiced - something that can in the current context, does not forget to support be demonstrated, for example, in a museum education, but also social learning, supported both institution. It highlights the importance of ethical by the museum institution and by the community of conduct in personal development as well as the museums as far as possible in partnership. Although formation of responsible attitudes that place the the perspective of the museum’s accountability for respect at the basis of the transposition of museum its role in the society is widely accepted, questions ethics into practice. arise as to the concrete ways in which the museum can integrate into a community while respecting the Because the museum’s sphere is constantly obligation to preserve cultural heritage in optimum changing, being influenced and in turn influencing conditions. the socio-cultural, economic and political conditions in which it manifests itself, this By responding appropriately to such questions, the institution cannot fulfil its mission under any museum also becomes an advocate of honesty, objectivity circumstances. In addition to the responsibility and responsibility for the future, because it manages not to protect heritage, the museum also needs an only objects and sites, but also ideas associated with ethical standard of inclusion and sense of duty destiny, thus making it responsible for preserving the accomplished for each person and the community. tangible and intangible heritage of mankind.17

15 Edson G. (2017), p. 135. 16 Popa L-A., (2003), p. 181. 14 Simon N. (2010), p. 199. 17 Edson G. (2017), pp. 10-21. 103 Museum ethical codes waiting to be written

Essentially, the Code of Ethics of a museum affirms the In addition, the debates surrounding the ethical respect of museum staff for the public and the public exigencies that must govern the museum activity have responsibility of this institution engaged in the service surpassed the specialists’ sphere and are now entrusted of the public. Therefore, before looking for financial to the audiences that want to get involved. Thus, they performance, it is important for museums to allow their work together to create a new museum horizon, which ethical codes to promote a culture of ethical practices can become lasting precisely because it is open to and behaviours and of participation. In this way, it has change.20 now come to be said that in a museum, alongside the primacy of legality, that of ethics has to dominate so Such an ethical development is a social development that it can increase the public’s trust in the role of the project that opens up new horizons, including public museum in society.18 accountability for the role of the museum in the society. The failure of the public collection to acquire “The We outlined, very briefly, three variations on the Wisdom of the Earth”, for example, shows that the extension of the museum’s role towards the real issues responsibility factors for the museum institutions, at of society. The coagulation of these visions in the least at us, have much to do to support this effort. ethical plane has the consequence of the necessity of translating the museum ethics from the areas of non- Conclusions utilitarian ethics (which affirms the normative primacy of universal moral values) into that of utilitarian ethics, Even though the museum is the expression of current which probes the possibility of ethics to influence social development, the fact that museum ethics is the social development according to the degree of experiencing exceptional dynamics has transformed this acceptance of change.19 ethics from a rigid norm into an ethics open to qualitative But this is not enough, because sustainable museum accumulations. ethics also requires anchoring into moral principles The consequence of this evolution is the detachment that have been verified over the centuries. Therefore, from the confinement of professional ethics and the the opening of museum ethics must also be oriented simultaneous opening towards deontological pluralism towards the significant traces of the past. Taking all which, on the basis of the exchange of good practices, these into account, the new museum ethics will develop will bring the public closer to the values of the museum. in a balanced way on the following three coordinates: social responsibility in engaging in community life, total Thus, museum ethics is able to refashion the moral rules transparency and sharing of responsibility for heritage present at the level of society as a whole, although the conservation. museum framework always falls within a given social area. These ethical coordinates already work and guide the museum towards a model of democratic participation, Also, through its impetus to social change, museum implemented through beneficial initiatives for preserving ethics has the innovative capacity to promote social and transmitting knowledge of a lasting interest to the progress and intercultural exchanges. society. This new type of ethics, having respect and responsibility Also, the new museum ethics is focused on a value as invariable constants, allows itself to ask the public to discourse that takes into account the dynamics of the cross, with complete confidence in the stability of the needs of communities in which museums are becoming moral edifice that the museum represents, the gap more and more present and useful. Thus, separated from between the constants of the past and the uncertainties the mere programmatic discourse, the new museum of the future. ethics is established as a social practice able not only to identify social problems, but also to try to solve them. We can bet on the ethics of the open museum, because it is more than the sum of the ethical aspirations of the society in the timeframe of the present. In addition, it 18 ICOM (2014, updated). 19 Frone S., Constantinescu A. (2016), p. 7. 20 Marstine J. (2011), p. 26. 104 has the gift of opening a unique perspective on some 1st edition, 2014, National Institute for Research intimate social spheres that we would not otherwise and Vocational Training. have access to. Pabst Kathrin, Johansen D. Eva, Ipsen Merete, 2016, Towards new Relations between the Museum and Society, ICOM Norway Ullevålsveien, Oslo, References Norway. Bishop Claire, 2015, Radical Museology, or, What’s Pisică Gheorghe, 2012, Museum Code of Ethics - the ‘Contemporary’ in Museums of Contemporary main basis for running the contemporary museum, Art?, Koenig Books, London. Rev. Revista de știință, inovare, cultură și artă Desvallées André, Mairesse François, 2010, Key no. 1 (36) 2012, National Museum of Archeology Concepts of Museology, Armand Publishing House and History of Moldova, Chișinău, Republic of Colin, Belgium. Moldova. Edson Gary, 2017, Museum Ethics in Practice, New Popa Lavinia-Aniela, 2003, The Museum and the York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Public - Current Trends, „Ștefan cel Mare” University Suceava in Revista Muzeelor Nr. Frone Simona, Constantinescu Andreea, 2016, Basics 3-4/2003 Tom 39, CIMEC. of Sustainable Development Ethics, Proceedings of the International Conference “Information Simon Nina, 2010, The Participatory Museum, Ed. Society and Sustainable Development”, III-rd Museum 2.0, Santa Cruz, California. Edition, April 14-15, 2016, „Academica Brâncuși”. Van-Praet Michel, 2016, Reversing the de-realization International Council of Museums (ICOM), 2004, of natural and social phenomena: Ethical issues for 2017, Status of the ICOM Code of Ethics for museums in a multidisciplinary context, Murphy Museums, http://icom.museum/the-vision/code- L. (ed.), Museum, Ethics and Cultural Heritage. of-ethics/ (November 5, 2017). London and New York: Routledge, p. 67. Janes R. Robert, 2016, Museums without Borders: Yerkovich Sally, 2016, A Practical Guide to Museum Selected Writings of Robert R. Janes, 1st Edition, Ethics, Rowman & Littlefield International, Ltd. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, London. Zbuchea, Alexandra, Ivan Loredana, 2008, Focus Marstine Janet (edit.), 2011, The Routledge Museum: how to better get to know museum Companion to Museum Ethics, Redefining Ethics visitors, COLIAS Publishing House, Bucharest. for the Twenty-First Century Museum, Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon. Museumus Associations, Code of Ethics for Museums, http://www.museumsassociation. org/ethics/ code-of-ethics (November 6, 2017). Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO), 2014, Action Plan 2015-2017, Berlin, Germania, http://www.ne-mo.org/fileadmin/ Sorin-Mihai Constantinescu Dateien/public/NEMO_Statements/... RATB Museum Nițulescu Virgil Ștefan, 2014, The museum landscape [email protected] after the transition, Revista Muzeelor, Volume I,

105 ICOM Code of Ethics and its applicability to museums

ABSTRACT

A code of museum ethics should represent and provide a set of consensual values and standards of behaviour that are agreed at a particular time to define a relationship of trust between the museum and the communities it serves. For example, the ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums provides a set of minimum standards, for use on a global basis. The purpose of this paper is to present and interpret the principles which are pointed out in the ICOM Code and the social responsibility of museums and to contribute to the debate on museum codes of ethics and to provide some ideas for future revisions.

Key-words: museum ethics, cultural heritage, social responsibility, transparency, ICOM Code of Ethics

Introducere

Professional codes of ethics, rules and codes of practice and procedures have been used in museology since the early 20th century, when the American Museum Association (AAM) published its first ethical code, under the name Code of Ethics for Museum Workers. The work highlights the museum’s employees’ value system as developed since the end of the nineteenth century, as well as the ethical principles of the museum profession: “Museums, in the broadest sense, are institutions that safely keep the goods for mankind and for the future welfare of the human species. Their value is directly proportional to the service they offer to people’s intellectual and emotional lives. The life of a museum employee is essentially one in the service of others.”1

The ethics codes of museums refer to the implementation of the ethical principles of employees in their daily work, being regularly reviewed and renewed. Museums have a moral influence2: they exist in a continuous dialogue with the society and represent complex institutions. Their codes of ethics reflect the values of the institution, but also the social contexts, standards, norms and philosophy that underlie the way in which museums work in accordance with their own values and those of their society.3

Museum ethics addresses two aspects related to the profession of curator: first, it addresses the internal affairs of the museum community and intends to awaken in those who work in this field a sense of self-esteem, emphasizing the conceptual unity of this profession. Secondly, museum ethics is directed to the outside and defines the admissible behaviour and responsibility of museum workers towards the society they serve.4

1 Macdonald, R. R. (1991), 178. 2 Marstine, J. (2011), 5. 3 Bounia, A. (2014), 1. 4 Edson, G. (1997), 10. 106 The 8 Principles of the ICOM Code of Conduct

One of the best-known codes of professional ethics safest conditions. An important element in museum in museums is the International Council of Museums risk management is preventive preservation, which (ICOM) ethical code, which was unanimously ensures that collections are preserved in a protected approved in 1986 and published the following year. environment, whether it be a warehouse, showcase The code was revised in 2004 as a result of the impact or a transit area. Also, it may sometimes be a of organizational and social changes on museums. problem to consolidate an object or sample, and to These influences include the adaptation of museum perform repairs or restorations. It is essential that, provisions as well as the care and protection of prior to such preservation, the advice of specialists the cultural and natural heritage they provide. If in the field be sought and then carried out under traditionally the museums were associated with a the guidance of a qualified restorer.7 cultural heritage on the move, once the conservation consciousness became more and more acute, they Normally, an active museum will always add new began to include, in addition to historical sites and items to its collections. It is necessary to establish buildings, significant dwellings and aspects related the complete history of any object before the to the living heritage of humanity, including the acquisition is taken into account. Even if a donor intangible cultural heritage.5 can have a «legal document» for an object, this does not exclude an earlier illegal purchase. To The first principle of the ICOM Code of Ethics this end, the concept of due diligence has been refers to the duty of museums to preserve, explain introduced into the ICOM Code since 2004. Any deal and promote the natural and cultural heritage of with objects or materials that have an inadequate humanity.6 Being institutions with complex public origin is considered illegal and therefore unethical. responsibilities, museums must pursue a well- Museums must take the lead in this area and defined goal and assume the mission to provide help mitigate the wave of unrealistic discoveries the resources needed to accomplish it. Protecting regarding the natural, cultural and biological and interpreting cultural heritage places museums resources of the world. in a special position in terms of public confidence. However, in some cases, funding this public trust Caring for a collection requires special attention when it has become increasingly dependent on the private comes to human remains, artifacts, or other material of or commercial sector. sacred significance. They must be preserved in a proper and decent manner, usually kept in the archives of Sponsorships that private companies make to scientific institutions, with the possibility to be studied support museums financially are two-way processes on demand and for legitimate purposes. The use of – essentially, they are a specific service exchange the material in question must be compatible with rather than unconditional support. So even though professional standards, as well as with the interests and museums are now institutions that have complex beliefs of the community they come from. One such duties and are pursuing multiple directions of example may be the New York Memorial Museum, expansion, it is important for their social mission dedicated to the victims of the terrorist attacks of and the way they are perceived by the public not September 11, 2001, where over 40,000 photos and to use their resources to serve external financial 11,000 artifacts (oral testimonies, clothes, books, etc.) purposes. are hosted, and about 9,000 of unidentified human remains of those who lost their lives at that time. Another principle underlying ICOM’s Code of Ethics is: “Museums that care for collections must These remains are kept in an underground deposit, keep them safe for the benefit of society and its a space that is not accessible to the public, but development.” Therefore, museum employees there is still the possibility to be visited only by the have a responsibility to pay special attention to the families of the victims, during the opening hours of collections they have in their preservation, so that the museum as well as outside them (but only with they can reach future generations in the best and an appointment).

5 Lewis, G. (2016), 46. 6 Idem. 7 Lewis, G. (2016), 48. 107 The third principle of the ICOM Code of Ethics presentations or various forms of online museum refers to the responsibility of museums to initiate resource promotion (virtual tours, publications, and promote actions to increase the level of phone and tablet applications that provide access knowledge of the target audience. To achieve this museum collections, etc.). This interpretative work goal, museums undertake research, for example, should preserve its standards of accuracy, honesty which may be related to their collections, to and objectivity and be academicly based. related cultural fields, or which may result in journalistic activities (newspapers or museum Another principle of the ICOM Code of Ethics is magazines). Such research should be consistent that: “Museums retain resources that provide with the mission and objectives of the museum and opportunities and benefits for other public be carried out at the highest standards in order to services”. The expertise of museum specialists can then publish the results and to bring them to the be used by other public institutions - for example, if attention of the general public and the academic they need it of information for carrying out impact community.8 studies on the development or conservation of the environment. Involvement in such projects can Museums also have to create opportunities for also provide a useful feedback to the museum as the appreciation, understanding and management well as enriching the knowledge of its employees, of cultural and natural heritage.9 In other words, but it is important that the time devoted to these facilities provided by museums should be physically activities does not compromise the institution’s and intellectually accessible on a regular basis and main mission. within reasonable hours. Sharing information and expertise to the public is fundamental to the social Many museums offer appraisal or consultancy purpose of museums, which it should achieve in a services, for example, in the field of visual arts, professional manner. where they may be required in respect of works of art held by private owners or commercial Interacting with people who represent the local organizations. Information on such material should community can help a museum develop its be treated confidentially, but if it contributes to educational role and attract larger audiences. It is making new discoveries in a field, the owner should important to point out that certain communities be encouraged to approve their publication if they may oppose and consider it inappropriate for are appropriate. Objects can only be evaluated by certain aspects of their inheritance to be exposed, recognized public organizations. If the museum is such as human remains or sacred objects, and financially or legally eligible or may have an interest these points of view must be respected. This was in a particular object, the evaluation should be also the case for the Memorial Museum dedicated carried out independently. Objects that can be to the victims of the September 11 attacks, which acquired, transferred, imported or exported in an triggered several controversies, especially from the illegal or illicit manner should not be identified families of those killed, who rejected the idea that or authenticated. In such cases, the competent loved ones would be used to serve the purpose authorities must be notified.10 of the museum to attract ticket paying visitors. As mentioned above, the solution that the museum’s Museums should also have close collaboration management found was to deposit the remains in with members of the communities from which a private space, independent of the exhibition, to their collections originate, as well as with those which only the families of the victims had access, in whose service they operate. Objects that are and not the casual visitors of the museum. part of the natural or cultural heritage of a people need to be associated with people, places and Engaging the public in supporting the museum, events, through which they are given meaning and its objectives and activities can bring mutual justification for their place in the collection of the benefits. The main contact that the public can museum. In this way, they are differentiated from have with the museum is through permanent and the common property. However, such associations temporary exhibitions, guided tours or collections can also create tensions. For example, the geographic association of an object, especially in 8 Lewis, G. (2016), 49. 9 Idem. 10 Lewis, G. (2016), 50. 108 an area where political boundaries have changed, has the right to expect these responsibilities to may be of transnational, national, regional or local be fulfilled in a professional manner, by accepting importance, and may raise various issues, such as certain standards and laws, as well as other the museum that would be most suitable to host safeguards against illegal or unethical behaviour. The it. These tensions become even more complex staff of the museums working in human resources when the object is of ethnic, political or religious departments should develop policies, procedures importance. Such situations should provide and employment conditions compatible with these opportunities to share information and exhibitions responsibilities to enable them to implement them with museums in the communities involved. in a professional and ethical manner. Loyalty to those in leadership positions and to colleagues is With regard to international collections, they an important element in professional ethics, as well must be returned to their country of origin or to as supporting the dignity and honour given by the the families of the people they held. This is all the quality of being employed in a museum in relations more relevant when an object has been illegally with those outside. exported or transferred from its home country or stolen during an occupation period. Exposing such Museum staff must have the knowledge, experience objects gives the impression of accepting such and contacts through which they can also benefit behaviour. from external opportunities such as offering consulting, teaching, writing and broadcasting Collecting cultural assets from contemporary services, or responding to the personal requests communities and interpreting their inheritance of those who need the opinion of specialists or requires close collaboration with those communities the valuations they make to cultural, scientific and involved and respect for their traditions and natural assets inherited. Museum employees should culture. Objects of sacred significance, such as also develop relationships with other specialists, human remains, must be treated with sensitivity with the commercial market or the owners of and deference to those involved. Co-operation with private collections. organizations representing their communities and their heritage can bring benefits to both parties, as However, such associations may also lead to conflicts well as the involvement of volunteer associations or of interest, which requires a fundamental and “friends” of museums.11 calculated assessment. Professional relationships must meet the highest standards, by respecting Museums are also obliged to act in a legal way every confidentiality and avoiding any situation involving time. They must comply with the laws of the country the acceptance of gifts or favours that could in which they operate, as well as with international compromise the rules of museum employees. law applicable in this field. The law that concerns the For example, private collections of employees cultural and natural heritage of communities varies should not interfere with those of the institution considerably from one country to another, and in which they work. They are also not allowed to sometimes ICOM’s Code of Ethics can play a quasi- benefit from the sale or purchase of an asset that legal role in ensuring standards for museum ethics is related to the cultural and natural heritage of a when legislation is deficient or missing. The Code community. Whenever a conflict of interest arises uses international law as a guide to professional or is anticipated, the issue must be shared with the standards, and these legal instruments apply to the competent authority and the situation clarified or practice of museum ethics, even if the treaties or rectified as soon as possible.13 conventions in question have entered into force or not in a particular State involved.12

Last but not least, museums must operate in a professional manner and realize that maintaining, preserving and interpreting the inheritance of civilizations or cultures is a public duty. The public

11 Lewis, G. (2016), 51. 12 Idem. 13 Lewis, G. (2016), 51-52. 109 Conclusions

So, the role of museums in the society is an active Thus, the Museum Code of Ethics must be a source and multiple one. There is, however, in this diversity of inspiration for new generations of specialists and of provisions a common goal: to preserve the inspire ethical thinking by encouraging honesty, collective memories of the society, expressed in fairness, respect and responsibility. Moreover, a a tangible or intangible way through cultural and museum’s code of ethics must recognize the evolution natural heritage. This concern would make no sense of museums and staff in such institutions, and if it was not associated with free access to the public provide new ways for employees to appreciate their and providing the necessary explanations for them to work, but also for the society to value and perceive better understand the past. Therefore, museums must their work, and role in the community. The ongoing ensure not only the presentation of a people’s cultural effort that museums and individuals have to make heritage, but also the facilitation of understanding of is therefore essential for the purpose of reviewing what the heritage actually means. Through ethical museum codes of ethics and supporting a renewed codes such as ICOM, minimum standards reflecting outlook on the profession and the institution itself. public expectations are ensured and museum specialists can assess their performance. References Therefore, ICOM’s code of ethics is not only a basis A. Bounia, „Codes of Ethics and Museum Research”, of minimum standards in museum ethics, it is also a Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies 12.1 way to promote the common points of members of a (2014), pp. 1-7. diverse community, but with general strategic goals. Even though the fields in which museums operate can Edson, G. (ed.). 1997. Museum Ethics. London and be extremely varied (from art, history, archaeology New York: Routledge. or geology to science, technology, agriculture, etc.), R. R. Macdonald, „Developing a Code of Ethics for and their staff come from different academic and Museums”, Curator 34.3, pp. 178-186. operative backgrounds, museums share some the The Routledge Companion to other responsibility they have towards society, namely Marstine, J. (ed.). 2011. Museum Ethics: Redefining Ethics for the Twenty- to preserve its cultural and natural heritage in a safe First Century Museum way and to expose and explain it in such a way that . London and New York: the public understands its importance and assures its Routledge. continuity. Lewis, G. (2016). The ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums, Museums, Ethics and Cultural Heritage. As far as revisions to national or international codes of London and New York: Routledge. museum ethics are concerned, they should take into account the responsibilities of museum specialists in their research towards society (for example, respect for all communities regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or culture; rejection of marginalization or exclusion, respect for gender differences, etc.), the adoption of adequate tools and standards to meet the needs and requirements of different museum categories Ana-Maria-Violeta Voloc (choice of appropriate research methods, avoidance Cultural advisor of unjustified material losses or gains, reflections on Casa de Cultură Odobești the consequences which the research commitment [email protected] can have on the participants) and the responsibility towards all the participants in the research (respect for the voluntary participation, the confidentiality and the anonymity of the data, the protection against any interference, damage or disasters).14

14 Bounia, A. (2014), 5. 110 Some ethical issues of Romanian museum management

In this article we will describe the composition of the Romanian museum management and, briefly, the programmatic document of the International Council of Museums (hereinafter ICOM) regarding the ethical standards of museums, respectively some ethical issues that we have observed regarding the activity of the Romanian museum management, a primary source of both the stagnation in our profession and the intense conflicts after 2005-2017 in the system. Because the professional guild of cultural managers is still young, the first step towards its professionalization is the recognition and assumption of real problems.

Museum Management

Often, there is a tendency to reduce management in general and the museum one in particular, to the person of the manager or the director, as the case may be. We must emphasize from the outset that this notion, of museum management, represents for us an equation with several (un) known elements but which commonly contributes but not jointly to the management of the interests of our museums.

Museum management is, in fact, made up of several components: • the local or central authority, respectively the owner of public or private law, of the cultural, natural or material heritage of the museums; • the political decision-maker present at government, regional, county or local level; • the principal of the management contract – hereinafter manager or appointed director; • collective governing bodies: scientific council, board of directors; • executives from museum organizations other than the manager or director: Deputy Directors, Chiefs of Service, Heads of Departments, Heads of Directorates, Heads of Sections, Office Chiefs - or middle management. The application or, on the contrary, the absence of ethical, written or unwritten principles to all these factors involved in museum management leads to the ethical conflicts and dilemmas we will describe in the second part of our communication.

For the sake of fairness, we must mention that some of the ethical principles of good governance are stipulated in the national legislation applicable by the National Integrity Agency, which is aimed at the transparency of the personal income sources of the managerial staff (wealth statements) respectively at eliminating small and large corruption or avoiding conflicts of interest in public procurement procedures.1

1 Law no. 184/2016 of October 17, 2016 - on the establishment of a mechanism to prevent the conflict of interest in the procedure for the award of public procurement contracts; Law no. 176 of September 1, 2010 - on integrity in the exercise of public office and dignity, amending and supplementing the Law no. 144/2007 on the establishment, organization and operation of the National Integrity Agency, as well as on the modification and completion of other normative acts, as subsequently amended and supplemented; Law no. 144 of May 21, 2007, republished - regarding the establishment, organization and operation of the National Integrity Agency, as subsequently amended and supplemented; Law no. 115 of October 16, 1996 - on the declaration and control of the wealth of dignitaries, magistrates, persons with management and control positions and civil servants, as subsequently amended and supplemented. 111 These laws do not regulate good governance the patrimony law (182/2000), the museum law rules in the specific field of activity, of protection (311/2003) or the law on the management of public and valorisation of cultural heritage, for which cultural institutions (189/2008) do not use the word the only instrument at hand is the ICOM Code of “ethics” in their content. Ethics. Perhaps it is worth mentioning here that

ICOM Code of Ethics and some issues of Romanian museum management

II. ICOM Code of Ethics and some issues of Romanian 5. Museums have resources that provide museum management opportunities for other public services and benefits; The recognized world system for structuring and 6. Museums work in close collaboration with regulating public activity in the field of culture is communities that originate collections, as well represented by the United Nations Educational, as with the ones they serve; Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO. The 7. Museums operate in a legal manner; International Council of Museums - ICOM operates 8. Museums work in a professional manner; within UNESCO. This organization alone is the only 9. Glossary. one currently providing us with an indication of the rules of good governance in the field of the We will continue to review some of the ethics issues protection and valorisation of cultural heritage, with we have identified in part of the Romanian museum a focus exclusively on specific activity issues. management, as they result from the elements of the ICOM Code of Ethics, consisting of notable The international document setting out the moral differences in the current national practice. and ethical limits of museum activity is the ICOM Code of Ethics. ICOM’s Code of Professional Ethics Chapter 1 «Museums preserves, interprets and was unanimously adopted by the 15th ICOM General promotes the natural and cultural heritage of Assembly in Buenos Aires on November 4, 1986. It humanity,» in paragraph 1.12 «Appointment of was fined by the 20th General Assembly of Barcelona the director or manager» states: «The director or on July 6, 2001 when it was renamed in the ICOM manager of the museum is a key position and when Ethics Code, and revised by the 21st General a nomination is made, the governmental body has to Assembly of Seoul on October 8, 2004.2 take into account the knowledge and skills necessary to occupy this position. These qualities must include As shown in the document, the ICOM Code is a intellectual skills and professional knowledge, minimum standard for museums. It is presented “as complemented by high-standard ethics. « a set of principles, based on models, for desirable professional practice”. The first major national deficiency is identified at the level of the director or manager›s appointment by The contents of the ICOM Code consist of several the public authority. This problem belongs to both chapters: the authority and the managers who accept to be 1. The museum preserves, interprets and promotes appointed in these positions, either through the the natural and cultural heritage of humanity; sinful formula of interim leadership or through formal 2. Museums that maintain collections keep them competitions, with participation conditions tailored . in custody for the benefit of society and its to the biographical record of the only candidate If we also add the absence of intellectual abilities or development; professional knowledge specific to the institution 3. Museums retain basic testimonies for the where management is exercised, we have a first case establishment and future of knowledge; of ethical problem of the system, which is often the 4. Museums offer opportunities for the primary reason for Romanian de-professionalization appreciation, understanding and management of Romanian museums. of natural and cultural heritage;

2 http://icom.museum/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/Codes/code_ Chapter 2, «Museums administering collections ethics2013_eng.pdf have custody on them for the benefit of society and 112 its development,» recommends the following: «2.3. In Article 2.10 “Acquisitions offered by the members Attention to origin and assets (patrimony). Every of the government body or museum staff” indicates effort must be made before the purchase to ensure that “special attention is needed in respect of any that any object or specimen offered for purchase, good, whether offered for sale or as a donation or donation, loan or exchange has not been obtained for tax relief by the members of the governmental illegally from the country of origin or intermediate institutions, museum staff, or the families or close country in which it may have been legally obtained associates of these people.” (including the country where the museum is located). Efforts in this matter must establish the complete We believe that increased attention should have history of the object from discovery or production.» been paid by the Romanian museum management to the donation offer for the establishment ofa A problem that has worsened in recent years is given museum by a ... prime minister in office. What about by the attention, or more precisely by its absence, the fact that it later turned out in court that the to the origin and assets of the patrimony. Some respective “donor” had real difficulties in explaining museums, through their management, have opened the provenance of the estate, supposed to be just Pandora›s box for the acquisition of mobile cultural fabulous. The reality is that we still have a national goods without a proven origin, let’s say resulting from museum of uncontrolled origin. their «detection» with sophisticated devices on the «roadside» or «near X-forest». Efforts to establish In Chapter 3 “Museums hold basic testimonies for the the complete history of the “discovery or production establishment and future of knowledge”, section 3.2 object” are plagued by managers› obsession with “Collection availability” states that “museums have having as many cultural assets as possible to be a special responsibility to make available collections classified as «Thesaurus». and relevant information as freely as possible, taking care only about confidentiality or security issues.” Moreover, point 2.4 «Objects or specimens from unauthorized or non-scientific discoveries» explicitly Regarding the “making available of collections and states that «museums must not acquire objects on relevant information as free as possible”, I believe which there are reasonable grounds to believe that that there is no researcher in Romania who has not their discovery implies unauthorized or unscientific been faced at least once with the limitation of the research or the wilful destruction or damage of access to the patrimony which was the object of his monuments, archaeological or natural sites, or species research on the grounds that a manager or collector and natural habitats. In the same way, the acquisition also intended to research / publish exactly the same must not take place if the discovery was not brought to cultural goods, usually in illo tempore. the attention of the owner or the occupant of the land With regard to «Museum Collection and Research» or to the appropriate governmental or legal authorities. in point 3.3 «Field Collection», it is stipulated that «This is also the case in point 4.5» Exposure of non- «Museums that collect cultural goods in the field originating materials» underlining that «museums must develop policies consistent with academic must avoid exposure or otherwise use of materials of standards and national and international laws and disputed or unknown origin. They must be aware that treaty obligations. Field research should be done such exposures or uses may be interpreted as a reason with respect and consideration for the perspective or contribution to illicit trafficking in cultural property. of local communities, their environmental resources The national practice of recent years has led to and cultural practices, as well as with efforts to the development of museum heritage through strengthen cultural and natural heritage.» «unauthorized or unknowing discoveries», but If we are to report later to the field research, this important because they are of shining gold. Let us often ends in Romania by the complete degradation also talk about the «contribution to illicit trafficking of the village or archaeological site from any relevant in cultural property»? We can only see that the material for the future of the local community, with explosion of treasures of precious metal treasures the irreparable destruction of the respective cultural is the tip of the iceberg, the shocking number of heritage. Placing cultural assets in warehouses «detectors» licensed or put up for sale is a clear without discernment, just to «save» them, has proof of this impossible reality to quantify.

113 led and leads most of the times to stopping any monetary value of objects should be made only at the initiative aimed at integrating the patrimony into request of another museum or legal, governmental the sustainable development of the place. The Roşia or public authority. However, when the museum Montană case is a sad reminder of the guild of those itself could be the recipient (of evaluation), the who want to protect the patrimony. evaluation of an object or specimen must be carried out independently.» Chapter 4 «Museums offer opportunities for appreciation, understanding and management of This is another hot topic in the last decade, especially natural and cultural heritage» states, inter alia, in from the point of view of the specialized legislation, section 4.1. «Exposures, exhibitions and special namely the control institutions that audit the activity activities»: «Temporary, physical or electronic of the museum management, namely the evaluation exposures and exhibitions must be consistent with of the patrimony. Not only did we get into the the assumed mission, policies and purposes of the situation of not evaluating our own patrimony, but museum. They must not compromise either the we are also asking for astronomical sums, including quality, the proper care or the preservation of the from our own colleagues in other institutions, in case collections.» they have the bad luck of having cultural goods for which there are no experts or evaluators in their If we are to relate the concordance between the own organization. Maybe, however, will also come «assumed mission, the policies and the aims of the time when, from pure professional courtesy, we the museum» (only if they are made public within will perform free inter-institutional evaluations of the respective institutions) and the exhibitions or cultural heritage, just because it is an honour and activities of the museum, we enter a gray area of a joy to be part of the management of the cultural our profession. Unfortunately, under the constant heritage of the national community. pressure of the employer obsessed to increase incomes, the compromises in museums have begun Perhaps the most sensitive chapter is 8 «Museums to become worrying in the last few years. Exhibitions operate in a professional manner». Section 8.13 that «attract», irrespective of the subject matter or «Employment outside (museums) and business techniques used, increasingly disregard the place interests» states, inter alia, that «members of the where they are located. It is important to have museum profession, although entitled to a certain «visitors»! Whether or not they have dilemmas extent to their own independence, must realize about where they are it does not matter if they that no private business or professional interest paid the entrance ticket. More serious is that this can be completely separated from the employing is an isolated phenomenon in the national cultural institution. heritage management economy, the other cultural goods owners (archives, libraries, cults) are not They should not accept other paid engagements so obsessed with the steady increase in revenues, or out-of-work commissions that are in conflict or perhaps because they are totally subsidized by the may be perceived as conflicting with the interests state. That does not prevent them from generating of the museum. Section 8.14 «Trade with Natural income, but they are not an end in themselves. And and Cultural Heritage» states: «The members of the last but not least, the introduction of exhibitions or museum profession should not participate, directly activities unrelated to the specifics of the museum is or indirectly, in trade (selling or buying for profit) an escape from professional obligations, imagination with natural or cultural heritage.» The ICOM Code and creativity being passed between brackets, of Ethics also points out in Section 8.16 «Private because always there are «turn-key» solutions at Collection»: «Members of the museum profession hand, for which you do not have to work, being just should not compete with their own institution either enough to be a good host. in the acquisition of objects or in other personal collection activities. An understanding between In Chapter 5, «Museums have resources that offer museum professionals and the governmental opportunities for other services and public benefits», organization on private collection must be formulated section 5.2 «Authentication and Evaluation», it is and scrupulously respected. « stated that «Evaluations can be made for the needs of museum collections insurance. Opinions about In conclusion of the analysis of the ICOM Code of

114 Ethics from a Romanian perspective, we will discuss company, or they even get to work in the teams of this delicate subject, negatively influenced by the other museums, it›s hard to pretend with a clean general state of the society in which we activate conscience that they are «completely separate from and the particular state of the museum professional the employing institution.» community. The salary paid to the staff involved in museum management (here we also refer to “Participation in the trade with natural or cultural museums, researchers, conservators or restorers heritage” is no longer a forbidden area for museum in the system more widely) and keeping it in the management, as long as we have among us, category of «contract staff» (which is obviously a colleagues who obtain or obtained profit from this lower class than that of civil servants) make us unable trade. Perhaps it is not a coincidence, therefore, to avoid engaging in private business, engagements that they, or others, some of them, even managers or commissions outside the museum, but which may of national museums, declare private collections of be in conflict or perceived as conflicting with the decorative or religious art, with declared value of interests of the museum. However, participations tens of thousands of euro (maybe if they gave us the in activities sometimes made to the detriment of declared values in Romanian lei it would look even their own museum are becoming more and more more dramatic). Perhaps it is time for this “private numerous. Whether these are archaeological collection” to be defined and clarified by law in order discharge digs for another museum or commercial to remove any suspicion from our work.

Post scriptum

Instead of concluding, we add three elements the death of the «leaders» who have lost the number that we consider to be generating ethical or moral of years since they were appointed managers, they dilemmas, which in turn cause conflicts, sometimes have the retirement age but they come to work, and perceived wrongly as conflicts between generations. were members of the Romanian Communist Party, The Romanian state is traumatized by the communist should be an ethical dilemma for some of the opinion regime, a regime characterized by the monopolization makers of 2017. of leadership for an indefinite time, state leadership at the executive level by a person who has long exceeded the retirement age and the leader›s membership to the Romanian Communist Party. Valer Rus Manager Returning to the subject proposed by the present ʺCasa Mureșenilor” Museum Brasov analysis, the fact that the Romanian museum [email protected] management can only be discarded naturally through

115 The Deaccessioning of Museum Cultural Assets

An Ethical Challenge for the Museum World

ABSTRACT

Defined as the process by which a work of art or other object is permanently removed from a museum’s collection, deaccessioning is still a controversial procedure. For this reason, many professional museum associations drafted codes of ethics governing the practice of deaccessioning, or included chapters in the existing Codes of Ethics for museum practice, such as: The Dutch Guideline for Deaccessioning Museum Objects, The Disposal Toolkit- Guidelines for Museums in UK, The AMD Policy on Deaccessioning in the United States or the chapters regarding deaccessioning in: A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections in USA or those included in the ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums. They all agree upon some ethical aspects, such as: it is within the framework of a clearly defined collections development policy, it is done with the intention that wherever possible items remain within the public domain, it is unlikely to damage public trust in museums and it is likely to increase the public benefit derived. In our country, deaccessioning is almost impossible. According to Romanian legislation the classified movable cultural goods and all those representing public assets of the State or of the territorial-administrative entities are inalienable, imprescriptible and exempt from seizure.

Key-words: deaccessioning, disposal, code of ethics, museum item, cultural mobile good, public asset

Often, when we get to work in a museum, and especially when we have to come up with the best solutions for managing it in a manner that bet fits its purpose and mission statement while also keeping in mind, on the one hand, an overarching vision and, on the other hand, the rules on museum heritage preservation, we find ourselves faced with a considerable deontological challenge. There are frequent cases when museum collections would accumulate in time an excessive amount of museum items of disparate artistic, historical, memorial and ethnographic value, as the case may be, which many times exceed the storage or the exhibit capacity of the museum and which no longer match the museum vision and mission. And the causes for this state of affairs are multiple. Over the years, large or even moderate acquisitions of museum items and the selection philosophy of the museum staff in charge building museum collections eventually cause the to amass a very large number of similar museum items (for example, ethnographic items ) to the detriment of rarer, but more valuable or more representative ones.

Grants and donations would often end up engulfing the collection completely, causing its overcrowding it with items that are incongruous in both their type and their cultural worth. A special, yet quite frequent habit of the museums is to inventory museum items that would normally not qualify for this status (mock-

116 ups, copies of old photos, newspaper clippings, and usually for acquisitions to that same collection. celebrities’ notes of no memorial, historical or artistic The ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums also stipulates value; in other words, commonplace items). Faced that museum personnel, the governing body or their with difficulties caused by their limited storage and families or close associates should not be permitted to exhibition capacity, museums have sought effective purchase objects that have been deaccessioned from a ways to eliminate their surplus collection items, as collection for which they are responsible.1 a way for the museums to support the long-term preservation of their collection and refine its scope Even if deaccessioning seems to us a novelty and, in in order to better fir their mission statement and any case, as an unfeasible museum practice, in other community expectations. countries the issue of deaccession and, in particular, the controversy over the ethical aspects of the procedure Confronted with the adverse consequences of their have been on the museums’ agenda for a long time constant accumulation tendency, contemporary by now. For example, the 1991 Code of Ethics of the museum world has become increasingly concerned American Alliance of Museums (AAM) provided that with deaccessioning, defined as the process the process disposal of collections through sale, trade or research by which a work of art or other object is permanently activities was limited strictly to the advancement of removed from the collection of a museum and the museum’s mission and use of proceeds from sold, offered as part of a cultural exchange or even the sale of collection materials was restricted to the destroyed. Obviously, the process has stirred debates acquisition of collections, arguing that a museum’s and controversies of an ethical and deontological responsibilities to care for and preserve its collections nature, even in countries with more lenient legislation were equally important as its obligations to enrich its in this field. Even the ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums collections, and that there was no point for a museum contains provisions that treat deaccession with to acquire more objects when it could not adequately caution. The Code stipulates that, where the museum cared for what it had already in store. Since the entry has laws permitting disposals or has acquired objects into force of the Code of Ethics in 1994, museums in subject to conditions of disposal, such laws and other the United States have deaccessioned objects and used requirements and procedures must be complied with the proceeds to acquire additional items considered fully. Moreover, if the original acquisition was subject to to be more representative or more valuable for their mandatory or other restrictions, such restrictions must collections and the preservation and enhancement of be adhered to unless it can be shown clearly that such the value of their existing collections. Deaccessioning adherence is impossible or is substantially detrimental or removing items from museum collections has long to the institution. An object or specimen should only been an accepted collection management practice in be removed from a museum collection, provided there US museums, governed by the institution’s collections is a full understanding of the significance of the item, management policy and code of ethics. However, two its character (whether renewable or non-renewable) decades after the passing of the Code there is still much and its legal standing and provided also that no loss controversy over the morality of the procedure. Public of public trust might result from such action. The tensions and controversy over the sale of objects from decision to deaccession should be the responsibility museums’ collections reflect the museums’ position of the governing body acting in conjunction with as a public institution in the society. While the excess the director of the museum and the curator of the of accumulated objects in a museum’s collection collection concerned. Each museum should have in might yield high proceeds from putting them up for place a deaccession policy, establishing authorized sale in the marketplace, their greatest value is that methods for permanently removing an object from its they are part of the artistic, cultural and/or natural collections through donation, transfer, exchange, sale, heritage. From this point of view, they are priceless. repatriation or destruction an should keep complete Part of a museum’s duty in caring for its collections records of all deaccessioning decisions. In addition, consists of ensuring that these objects remain in the a museum should make a strong presumption that a public domain, where people can benefit from them deaccessioned item should first be offered to another as a source of education and inspiration now and in museum. Proceeds incurred from the deaccessioning the future.2 While this may be a matter-of-course for and disposal of objects from a museum collection should be used solely for the benefit of the collection 1 ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums (2004), 12-13. 2 Yerkovich (2015), passim. 117 museum professionals, there may be situations where the state attorney general imposed rules whereby the the temptation to sell items from a collection to settle a Metropolitan Museum of Art was required to record in debt or resolve other financial problems is irresistible, its annual report the total cash proceeds gained by the as it happened, for example, in the case of the selling Museum from art sales each year and to itemize any of the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), deaccessioned objects valued at more than $50,000 which was criticized by the bankruptcy judge Steve each.5 Another example is the notorious lawsuit involving Rhodes, who argued that “a museum stands[…] as deaccessioning, instituted by the management of the an invaluable beacon of culture, education for both Brandeis University Rose Art Museum against Brandeis children and adults, personal journey, creative outlet, University over Brandeis’ Board of Trustees’ intention to family experience, worldwide visitor attraction, civic close the university’s Rose Art Museum and sell off its pride and energy, neighborhood and community collection, valued at approximately $350 to $400 million cohesion, regional cooperation, social service, and dollars. The collection included works by, among others, economic development […]” and that “to sell the DIA Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. In this lawsuit, art would only deepen Detroit’s fiscal, economic and the plaintiffs sought to maintain the Rose collection, social problems. To sell the DIA art would be to forfeit claiming that the University’s decision to close it and Detroit’s future.”3 sell its paintings violated the museum’s ethical codes. The plaintiffs also stated that the University’s decision Despite controversies of a deontological nature, violated its commitment to the Rose family to maintain deaccessioning in the US has its supporters. For the museum solely as a public museum.6 example, Dana Carlisle Kletchka4 believes that deaccessioning is commonly misunderstood by the In the United States, following a great deal of general public as simply selling off works of art for cash, controversies on the proceeds from deaccessioning, and that, while this has been known to happen in rare the Board of Directors of the American Alliance cases, the fact is that most museums are incredibly of Museums approved, at the request of the conscientious about the process of selling works of art Accreditation Commission, the setting up of a cross- that no longer fit the mission of the institution, and disciplinary group, whose main tasks were: to gather they do so only to procure funds for works of art that data to find out how museums of different disciplines will improve the collection overall or invested in the used proceeds from deaccessioning; to compile a list benefit of the museum. Another example is The New of generally accepted uses of proceeds shared by all York Times, which published an article explaining the disciplines and of those specific to each discipline; rationale and advocating for the process by providing evaluate the ethics underlying current standards and examples from major U.S. museums. According to that practices and advancing the thinking on this topic article, in 2011, at Sotheby’s in New York, the Cleveland and issuing a white paper containing the findings and Museum of Art was putting 32 old-master paintings up recommendations of the cross-disciplinary group, duly for auction, and the J. Paul Getty Museum was offering endorsed by the key discipline-specific organizations.7 15. In that same time the Pennsylvania Museum of Fine Arts and the Carnegie Museum of Art were selling However, in the United States of America, the five paintings each and the Art Institute of Chicago was “ABC” governing the application of appropriate selling two Picassos, a Matisse and a Braque at Christie’s legal solutions, including with regard to deaccession in London. The article also reported that a week before matters, is the paper called “A Legal Primer on the sales in question, the New Jersey Historical Society Managing Museum Collection”, whose authors, had sold 17 items at Christie’s in New York, including Marie C. Malaro and Ildiko Pogany DeAngelis, argue a 120-piece dinner service used to entertain President that: “Professional codes of ethics set standards Martin Van Buren had been sold for $17,000. Fact is that are deemed important in order to uphold the that deaccession is not unanimously accepted, not integrity of the profession. The goal of such codes is even in the United States. For example, in 1972, after an to encourage conduct that warrants the confidence 8 investigation into the sale by the Metropolitan Museum of the public.” of Art of pieces from its modern art collection to help finance the purchase of Velázquez’s “Juan de Pareja”, 5 Pogrebin (2011), 1. 6 Schnapp (2009), 2. 3 Idem. 7 Yerkovich (2015), ibidem. 4 Kletchka (2011), 2. 8 Malaro, Pogany de Angelis (2012) passim. 118 In Europe, the deaccessioning of museum items In the UK, in addition to the Code of Ethics Code for has traditionally been considered a violation of the Museums12 – Ethical principles for all who work for museum›s commitment to preservation and display of or govern museums in the UK, developed by the its heritage; however, many European countries have Museums Association, which outlines ethical principles advanced a number of arguments, designed to point out for all museums in the UK and represents the general the contribution of the deaccession museum practice consensus of the sector on ethical standards, a so to the sustainability and efficiency of the museum and called Disposal Toolkit – Guidelines for Museums was even to visitor welfare. As a result, deaccessioning has published.13 enjoyed increasing recognition both in academia and the museum professional world. However, excessively The Code of Ethics for Museums of the UK Museums liberal disposal policies may cause the dispersion of Association supports the disposal of items from cultural heritage as well as managerial misconduct museum collections, as long as disposal meets all the due to moral hazard. Moreover, when reviewing the legal requirements in force. According to the Code, current situation of deaccessioning in Europe, we may disposal is characterized as being ethical when it is argue that, while the subsidiary principle prevents the undertaken: within the framework of a clearly defined European Union from ruling in matters of national collections development policy; on the advice and heritage, there is still considerable interest among with the common decision of the specialized staff (not academics and professionals in Europe, resulting in a of one individual) and is agreed by the governing body; growing number of guidelines prepared by national it is done with the intention that, wherever possible, professional associations, which show a considerable the items to be disposed remain in the public domain; degree of consistency to each other and to the the disposal is unlikely to damage public trust in international codes of ethics.9 museums and it is likely to increase the public benefit derived from museum collections.14 One of the European countries that have accepted the deaccession is the Netherlands, which has even Before undertaking the disposal of any museum developed a very comprehensive guide on the item, the intended outcome of the disposal process methods of deaccessioning museum items. The should be considered and articulated. If the desired guide, known by the Dutch acronym LAMO, describes outcome cannot be achieved, the decision should the methodology and the guidelines that are widely be reviews. Decisions must be made within the accepted as a professional norm for selecting and context of an approved collections development deaccessioning objects from museum collections. policy; be based on clearly expressed intended In the Netherlands, LAMO is considered a practical outcomes; demonstrate long-term benefit to the extension of the ICOM Code of Professional Ethics. museum collection, public use of and engagement According to the principles outlined in this “handbook”, with museum collections. Unacceptable disposal of a when managing its collection, the museum, as a public museum item is defined as any disposal undertaken institution, serves a wider social purpose and, as such, for financial reasons (unless in exceptional has the responsibility to protect the collection for the circumstances; on an ad hoc basis (i.e. other than future generations. When considering the deaccession as part of an approved collections development as an option, the museum should be absolutely sure policy); without considering advice from a person that keeping an item in the public domain is no longer with specialist knowledge of the field. possible or desirable.10 Dieuwertje Wijsmuller11, a Considering the above, we may say that the deaccession specialist in the field and an advocate of deaccession, issue has become a serious subject of debate for more believes that every museum deserves a beautiful and and more countries, with pros and cons, in their attempt matching collection and that deaccessioning serves to identify the best legal and administrative solutions for precisely this purpose. She also argues that collection the benefit of the museums and the society. In Romania, profiling is important, because it gives a clear image we cannot speak of deaccessioning as a process in of what belongs to the collection and what does not. its own right. The issue is not sensitive and ethically 9 Vecco, Piazzai (2015), 221-227. controversial, but, according to the national legal 10 Bergevoet, Kok, Wit (2006), 1-7. 11 Wijsmuller, Creative Culture Consultancy, Collectiestrategie 12 Code of Ethics for Museums (2008), 20. |Collectiewaardering | Herbestemming, Raad voor Cultuur, 13 Disposal Toolkit- Guidelines for Museums (2014). Reinwardt Academy, Amsterdam Area, Netherlands. 14 Idem, 7. 119 framework, deaccession process is virtually inapplicable. cannot be remedied by restoration.18 Following the Most museums in Romania are public property, whether declassification procedure, the declassified cultural they are managed by the central government body, in asset in question changes its legal status, following its this case the Ministry of Culture and National Identity, removal from the national cultural heritage inventory, or by a regional or local government. Likewise, the vast but it does not change its owner or the holder of majority of museum assets in our museums are public other real rights over it, nor is it eliminated from the property and carry the public property characteristics, museum collection. meaning that they are inalienable, imprescriptible and non-seizable. By law, museum items may only be The term “casare” (write-off) is not applicable to given in administration or in possession, rented out or movable cultural items belonging to the national or leased.15 The rule of inalienability of public goods is not museum cultural heritage, even if it is a commonly used invalidated by the possibility of attaching them specific term. The procedure in the case of national or museum real rights such as the right to administer, the right of cultural heritage items consists of derecognizing mobile concession or the real right to use, nor is it invalidated by cultural goods from the balance sheet. In the case the possibility of renting them out. As such, we cannot of items classified in the national cultural heritage in speak of the disposal or the acquisition of proprietary museum collections, the writing-off can only be done assets from the public domain, but only about specific in the case of destroyed or disappeared items. Thus, ways of exercising the right of public ownership under derecognizing from the balance sheet of movable public law.16 cultural goods classified as Thesaurus is subject to approval by order of the Minister of Culture and Taking into account the public property character National Identity, on the basis of the opinion ofthe of the items in the collections of the Romanian National Commission of Museums and Collections, and museums, the deaccession, as a museum practice in derecognizing items classified under the Fund category its own right, is virtually unfeasible. This is, in fact, is subject to approval by the relevant department of the the main reason why the issue had not been tacked Ministry of Culture and National Identity. The board of on at great length and the reason way event the term the public institutions holding movable cultural assets “deaccession” was taken up as such from the English may approve the removal from the inventory of objects language, in the absence of an equivalent term in from the Fund category, for exchanging them with other Romanian, defining this procedure precisely. Hence, similar institutions. In the case of the cultural property confusion occurs when trying to match the meaning that were claimed and returned to their former owners, of the English word to any similar word in Romanian, the removal from the inventory is subject in all the cases such as “declasificare” (declassification)17, “casare” to a final and irrevocable restitution decision delivered (disposal) or “dezafectare” (decommissioning). In by the court.19 fact, none of these terms is a perfect synonym for the English word “deaccession”, as one may see from If we were to use the term “dezafectare” (decommissi- our considerations below. oning), the core meaning of the world is “change of destination”, with reference to immovable property, The term “declasificare” (declassification) means the or “disposal”, with reference too certain categories removal from the legal categories of the national of movable property. In the case of assets in the cultural heritage of a classified movable cultural asset public domain, the decommissioning can be done only and its deletion from the inventory of the fund or, as after transferring the assets to the private domain, appropriate, from the fund of the national cultural under the provisions of Law no. 213/1998 on public heritage thesaurus. Declassification of movable cultural property, as subsequently amended and supplemen- goods takes place at the request of property owners ted, but these legal provisions refer to immovable or ex officio, in the following cases: invalidation of the property.20 expert’s appraisal, destruction or serious damage that Considering the legal framework regarding the 15 The New Civil Code (Law ...) Art. 861, para. (1), (3). characters of the public property right, the deaccession, 16 Stoica V., voi. I, nr. 188, p. 428 https://legeaz.net/noul-cod-civil/ art-861-caracterele-dreptului-de-proprietate-publica-dispozitii- 18 Law no. 182/2000, Art. 19 and Government Decision no. 886/2008, generale. Art. 24, para. (1). 17 Government Decision no. 886/2008 for the approval of the rules 19 OMC no. 2035/ 2000 , Art. 6-9. for classifying mobile cultural goods, Art. 23, para. (1). 20 Law no. 213/1998, Art. 10. 120 as currently understood, cannot be applied by the The New Civil Code (Law no. 287/2009), Art. 861, museums in our country. And, in my opinion, things para. (1),(3) should remain as they are. No matter how tempting OMC no. 2035/2000 for the approval of the deaccessioning may be in terms of proceeds or methodological rules regarding the evidence, the clearing of museum collections from items that management and inventory of cultural goods do no longer fit the profile of the other collections or owned by museums, public collections, memorial the refined museum’s vision or mission statement, houses, cultural centers and other specialized I believe that, in the current context of Romania, to units, Art. 6-9 advocate the relaxation of the legal framework in this field would be highly risky, leading to collection Pogrebin, R, „The Permanent Collection May Not dispersion and to removal from the public circuit of Be So Permanent”, The New York Times, (27th some valuable cultural goods items. January 2011) Schnapp, D., 2009, 20th October, „Lawsuit Over Deaccessioning Of The Brandeis Rose Art Museum References: Moves Forward”, https://artlaw.foxrothschild. com/tags/deacessioning/ Bergevoet, F., Kok, A., Wit, M. de, 2006, „Dutch Guideline for Deaccessioning Museum Objects”, Stoica, V., 2014, 27th January, vol. I, no. 188, p. Instituut Collectie Nederland, 32 p. 428 în https://legeaz.net/noul-cod-civil/art-861- caracterele-dreptului-de-proprietate-publica- Code of Ethics for Museums – Ethical principles for dispozitii-generale all who work for or govern museums in the UK (2008), 23 p. Vecco, M. Piazzai, M. „Deaccessioning of museum collections: What do we know and where do we Disposal Toolkit – Guidelines for Museums (copyright stand in Europe?”, Journal of Cultural Heritage 16 Museums Association 2014), https://www. (2015), 221-227 museumsassociation.org/collections/disposal- toolkit Yerkovich,S.. 2015, March/April, „My Take: Detangling, Deaccessioning – Defining direct care Government Decision no. 886/2008 for the approval reflects an ethical obligation”, Museum, of the rules for classifying mobile cultural goods, Art. 23-24 http://www.aam-us.org/about-us/publications/ museum-magazine/archive/my-take-detangling- ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums © ICOM, 2017 deaccessioning Dépôt légal juin 2017 ISBN 978-92-9012-420-7, p. 12-13 Wijsmuller, D., Creative Culture Consultancy, Collectiestrategie | Collectiewaardering | Kletchka, D. C., 2011, 27 January, Deacessioning Herbestemming, Raad voor Cultuur, Reinwardt Defined. http://www.personal.psu.edu/dck10/ Academy, Amsterdam Area, Olanda blogs/danas_blog/2011/01/deacessioning- defined.html Law no. 182 of 25th October 2000 (*re-republished*) on the protection of mobile national cultural herigate Law no. 213/1998 on public goods, as amended and supplemented, Art. 10 Ioana Lidia Ilea, Phd Malaro, M. C., Pogany de Angelis, I. (2012), A Legal Manager Primer on Managing Museum Collections, 3rd ”Octavian Goga” Memorial Museum ed., Smithsonian Books, Washington [email protected]

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