The Iron Gates Region Museum ( ro, Muzeul Regiunii Porţilor de Fier) is a museum in

Drobeta-Turnu Severin Drobeta-Turnu Severin (), colloquially Severin, is a city in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania, on the northern bank of the Danube, close to the Iron Gates. "Drobeta" is the name of the ancient Dacian and Roman towns at the site, and the modern ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

History

In 1912, Professor Alexandru Bărcăcilă established the "History Museum of Trajan High School". It was moved in 1926 to a new home near the Roman camp that formerly hosted a museum. It was then renamed the "Museum of History and Ethnography in Turnu Severin". After 1945, the museum grew in importance and developed its research area, under the name "Museum of the Iron Gates Region". On 15 May 1972, the museum opened with its present displays having two departments: history and natural sciences, with an aquarium presenting Danubian fish species. Later on ethnography and art departments were added.

Exhibits

The exhibits include natural sciences (fauna and flora, an aquarium for the Danubian fauna and exotic fish), history, documents, archaeology (including prehistoric finds from Schela Cladovei, Roman finds from Drobeta and a

lapidarium A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited. They can include stone epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas reliefs, tombsto ...

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inc ...

, ethnography (costumes, pottery, textiles from Mehedinți and the Iron Gate areas). The history -

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

department comprises nine halls: Prehistory - the vestiges of the material and spiritual life of the Schela Cladovei culture, the Daco-Roman Wars, ancient Roman monuments (the bridge at Drobeta from the years 103 - 105), Mediaeval History, the Modern Age, Romanian Feudal Art and the Contemporary Age. The natural sciences exhibition, inaugurated on 15 May 1972, presents the physical and geographical conditions of the Iron Gates Gorge, (Hall 1), the flora and fauna of the Iron Gates Gorge (Hall 2), the Danubian ichthyofauna of the Iron Gates storage basin (aquarium), and the water fauna in the Iron Gates region. The exhibition closes with aspects relating to

cosmogony Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe. Overview Scientific theories In astronomy, cosmogony refers to the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used ...

paleontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

evidence (testimonies regarding the origin and evolution of man). The

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

and

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...

department holds a precious rich heritage, bearing documentary value. The exhibition presents first of all aspects on the rural civilization in the Iron Gates region. The museum owns goods listed in the National Cultural Heritage Treasures list. Modern Romanian fine arts are also represented, with works by Luchian, Petrașcu, Pallady, Tonitza, Dimitrescu, Șirato, Stoenescu and Ressu.

References

External links

Iron Gates Region Museum at CIMEC
Geto-Dacian Civilization Museums of Dacia Museums in Mehedinți County Archaeological museums in Romania Drobeta-Turnu Severin {{Romania-hist-stub