A visit to the Guild History Museum in Târgu Secuiesc
MúzeumCafé 12.
Among its many other items, the museum in Târgu Secuiesc in Romania is noted for its unique collection of 355 dolls in folk costume. The building was designed for the Town Hall in 1857, though the halls are small. The two main exhibitions – about the history of the 1848-49 War of Independence in the region and another introducing local crafts have been more or less unchanged since 1972. One room displays objects connected to Áron Gábor, a noted participant in the war. A local history unit was added but that had to be included in the archaeological display and an exhibition presenting the ‘golden age’ of socialist industry. This was closed down following the 1989 events, since when no one has been keen to recall the painful years of communism. The rearranged local history museum, reopened in 1997, documents the town’s history since 1407. On the ground floor eight rooms exhibit the museum’s collection of guild history, featuring nine of the town’s eleven guilds. Most items have been compiled from the boot makers’ guild. At the end of the 19th century more than a hundred tradesmen of the guild worked in the locality. Another room introduces the blacksmith where equipment from the old workshop is supplemented by a panoramic photograph of a present-day blacksmith’s. That is a still-existing craft. Two natural light photographic studios remain in Transylvania, but in order that the one in Târgu Secuiesc could open for the public it would be necessary to loan the salon furniture recalling the studio atmosphere of the time from Odorheiu Secuiesc. In 2012 the museum will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its foundation. A temporary exhibition is planned for the end of 2011 when items currently hidden in storage will be displayed as a gesture of gratitude to the museum’s donors.