Built between 1963 and 1969 and opened for the public in 1967, the Museum offers an elaborate demonstration of pre-industrial folk technology and development in Romania.
Located in the middle of a magnificent landscape, with cool forests and sunny glades surrounding a 6 ha lake it is the most attractive open-air museum in the country.
It spreads on a huge area of 96 hectares crossed by 10 km of trails.
Divided in 6 sections includes 340 buildings, including watermills and windmills, gigantic wine, fruit and oil presses, fueling mills, forges and 16,000 inventory values, structures representing architectural styles from many parts of Romania.
The first sector is ‘Processes and procedures to Obtain and Fabric Vegetal and Animal products, for Food Purpose’. You can find here fishing units and beeswaxing units as well as groups concerning cattle and sheep breeding and viticulture and fruit growing. In the same section can be seen installations for oil processing and grinding installations (hand mills with bucket, hydraulic mills with vertical wheel, floating mills and wind mills)
The sector dedicated to the ‘Techniques of Communications and Transportation Means’ is represented by two objectives: the floating bridge on Olt river (from Turnu Rosu) and the ferry with toss from Topalu – Constanta.
Another sector is the ‘Processes and Procedures to produce Raw Material in order to Obtain Construction Materials and Household Outfits’ Thus, there are exhibited workshops of wood and metal processing and the pottery.
The sector ‘Process and procedures for Working the Leather and the Vegetal and Animal Fibres, for Clothes and Household Outfits’ includes a household from Saliste, a mill with blades from Bihor, a fulling-mill from Caras Severin and a complex of rustic industries from Gura Raului.
The most recent sector is dedicated to Edifices of Public Use which includes 'The Inn from Tulghe's – Harghita and the Country Inn from Ancient Times – Prahova, both in use and visisted by the public.
Trolleybuses T1 and T4 both run to Hanul Dumbrava or take buses 17 (to Rasinari) or 15 (to Paltinis).
Trams run past the museum from Calea Dumbravii and from Rasinari.
The museum has its own minibus, which will ferry you from the Large Square.
Guided tours are available. You can also visit the museum by horse-drawn cart.
Traditionally entertainment held here annually are:
- Romanian Craftsmen Fair (around mid August)
-Traditional Artistic Handcrafts competition organized in June since 1992.