The Florean Museum

The Museum of the Romanian Peasant Woman is the only museum in Romania dedicated exclusively to women. The "Maramureș Woman's Museum", as it is also called, was opened to the public in 2001 and includes a household that, both through its interior and its exterior design, pays homage to women. The wooden house on a stone foundation, located in the courtyard, is a telling proof that the things taken care of with dedication and skill survive the time. It was built in 1720 and belonged to Ileana Chiş, the owner's wish being that after her demise, the house be transformed into a museum. The house has traditional household items and furniture, as well as an important textile heritage that includes folk costumes, wedding suits, masks, bags and other pieces that were found in the dowry of the girl, as well as decorative elements. The courtyard is, in turn, a universe of tradition, a ritual area that begins with the passage through the gate carved in Maramureș style, which describes the customs of these places through signs and symbols. On the pillars of the gate we can see a bride and bridesmaids, the rooster, which is also the symbol of the locality, the Dacian flag, the rendering of the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus, as well as a group of women near a cradle, signifying the baptism. In the yard there is a wooden crucifix and a spindle, but also a group of statues that illustrate the woman in all stages of life, from childhood to old age. Another attraction is the tree in the yard, on whose branches the natives hang the housewife's pots, according to local tradition. At the top of the tree we find the red pot, reminiscent of Ileana Chiş, symbolizing that in the household there is a maiden girl.

The Village Museum, part of the Maramureș County Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art, was inaugurated in 1984 and operates outdoors. Its patrimony includes veritable masterpieces of popular architecture, representative of all four "lands" of the county. An imposing Maramureș gate, carved by the popular craftsman Găvrilă Hotico, makes the transition from the city to the village on the hill. The traditional homes and outbuildings gathered in this corner of heaven take visitors back to an era dominated by simplicity, authenticity and beauty.

The name of the museum suggests the destination that this ensemble is trying to describe for its visitors, namely that of a parental home. In fact, the entire ensemble composing this museum and which includes: the house, the barn, the stable, the shed, the wood shed and the coop, once served as a real household. The last host of the traditional household, which is about three centuries old, was auntie Florița from Bozânta Mică. Her descendants decided to donate the ensemble to the Town Hall of Tăuții-Măgherăuș. Once with its relocation it would be arranged as a museum. The museum's patrimony also includes over 300 exhibits that talk about the simple past and the traditional occupations of the locals. This interior collection preceded the arrangement of the museum-house, being initially sheltered inside the Middle  School from Tăuții-Măgherăuș. Over time, the collection has grown considerably through the efforts of teachers Ștefan Rusu and Emil Crâncău, who have dedicated themselves to enriching it. The "Home" Village Museum, beyond the traditional nature characteristic of the hearths of the Romanian nation, offers visitors a sense of familiar comfort, similar to what they once felt in the homes of their parents and grandparents.

Opened to the public in 1981, the museum, which originally looked like a scattered village, now has more than 40 heritage sites. The oldest building that enriches the museum's collection is the church, moved here from Oncești, where it was brought from the village of Criciova, on the right bank of the Tisza River. The painting of the place, dating from the 16th century, was remade in 1802. The traditional architectural monuments in the museum were arranged so as to describe the specificity of the subzones Cosău - Mara and Lower Iza, Middle Iza, Vişeu - Borşa, Tisza and the Ruscova basin, from Historic Maramureș. The houses and outbuildings were made of wood on a stone foundation or boulders, maintaining a simple floor layout. Each building illustrates the social status of the owners, either through inscriptions or through specific decorative elements. It should also be mentioned that this museum is a true example of the Maramureș village, showcasing houses specific to ethnic minorities in these areas: Jews, Hungarians, Germans, and Ukrainians. The inside of the houses is traditionally decorated, some preserving the original pieces of furniture and others having original features. The museum, included in the ICOM and UNESCO networks, hosted the 16th Conference of the European Association of Open Air Museums in 1993, and the European conference entitled "The Wood Route in Europe" in 2000. One year later, the institution received the "Gheorghe Focşa" Award from the Ministry of Culture and Cults, and in 2019 it was included in the top museums in Romania, according to the prestigious Michelin Guide. 

The museum in Chiuzbaia was founded at the initiative of Romică Breban, a local who, for over 30 years, has been collecting old ethnographic or mining objects, taking into account the local tradition in the mining industry. The small museum was inaugurated in 2016. The collections are housed in the old parental home of the local. Visitors can admire the collection of traditional clothing and household items in one of the rooms, as well as mine flowers and mining tools in the second room.

Right on the border of Maramureș County with Suceava County we find the Roots Museum, a unique exhibition that reveals the lifelong passion of Ștefan Grec, the local man who has dedicated the last 40 years to collecting tree roots with unique shape. Those more than 100 processed exhibits within the collection are sheltered in a modest old house covered with shingles. Each one of the bizarre roots found here bear the name given by the collector himself, depending on what each exhibit inspires. In addition to the impressive collection of roots, this museum located in the heart of the mountains also has a room where military objects belonging to the soldiers of the two World Wars are exhibited. These objects were found in the surrounding forests, from where the famous roots originate as well. Here, tourists can also admire small exhibitions of old banknotes, eggs decorated with Maramureș and Bucovina motifs, but also "mine flowers" (mine rocks). 

The Natural Sciences Department of the Maramureș Museum is located in the complex of buildings, in the Liberty Square (Piața Libertății). The history of this institution goes back to 1899, when a two department’s museum was established in Sighetu Marmației: Natural Sciences and History. The First World War led to the closing of the institution, with the museum's current collection containing only two exhibits that have survived the passage of time, namely a naturalized black goat and a mammoth molar. The current department of the museum was founded in 1968 and, through its valuable exhibits of plants, vertebrates, fungi, minerals, rocks and fossils, it illustrates the surprising natural richness of the Maramureș Depression. The flora and fauna of this area are captured in the over 17,000 leaves of grass which are part of the "Artur Coman Herbarium", named after the famous Borșa native, who dedicated himself to this field of research, while the collection of vertebrates includes about 96% of the species found here. More than 1000 samples of minerals, mine flowers and fossils, as well as the more than 1300 samples of macromycetes from the fungi collection are added to this collection.

The History-Archeology Department of the Maramureș Museum operates in a beautiful historical monument building which is almost 300 years old. This department of the Museum of Maramureș brings to the attention of visitors the exhibition entitled "Sighetu-Marmației - 680", which first opened its doors to the public in 2006. The valuable museum collection includes Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic exhibits, as well as one of the more comprehensive collections from the Bronze Age, comprising over 140 exhibits. The collection of knives and firearms, which still bear the marks of the conflicts that have left deep wounds in our past, is particularly interesting. Here, visitors can observe pages from the history of Sighet, the documents exhibited recreate the course of the political, economic and cultural life of this area, from the Middle Ages to the present day. The historical testimonies take us through the key moments of our national past, such as the Great Union that gave life to the centuries-old wish of our people, the horrors of the Second World War or the turning point of the Revolution of December 1989. The museum's efforts to preserve and promote Romanian cultural values ​​were recognized in 2020, when the institution was awarded the Anniversary Medal "Centenary of the Great Union", conferred by the President of Romania, Mr. Klaus Iohannis.

The "Victor Gorduza" County Museum of Mineralogy from Baia Mare, an institution that initially operated within the Natural Sciences Department of the Maramureș County Museum since 1976, received the legal status of museum in 1992. During its approximately 45 years of activity, the "Victor Gorduza" County Museum of Mineralogy from Baia Mare succeeded to be on top of geological museums in Romania. The museum’s heritage, which comes exclusively from the outcrops and mines of the northwest of the country, has brought the institution the status of the largest museum of mineralogy with regional representation on the entire European continent. The museum's four collections, namely the mineral, fossil, rock and ore collections, include over 20,800 pieces. In addition to the permanent exhibition, organized in four different departments, namely petrography, mineralogy, deposits and mine flowers, the famous museum brought to the public's attention over 195 temporary exhibitions, organized both in the country and abroad. During the permanent exhibition, the unique samples of stibin, calcite, barite, pyrite, rhodochrosite, fluorine, quartz, amethyst, gypsum and realgar fascinate visitors, revealing never-before-seen shapes, varieties, sizes and colors. Precisely this character of rarity of such exhibits, doubled by their spectacularity, gives some of them the quality of treasure of the national cultural patrimony of Romania.