ARHIVELE OLTENIEI - Universitatea din Craiova

COMMUNAL MUSEUMS AND MUSEUM COLLECTIONS OFTHE DOLJ DISTICT – THEIR TURNING INTO ACCOUNT ORTHE EDUCATION AND ENTERTAIMEN OF THE PUBLICNICOLAE VÎLVOIAccording to Law No. 182/2000 on the protection of the movablenational cultural heritage, as well as to Law of museums and public collectionsNo. 311/2003, the national cultural heritage includes goods of outstanding orexceptional value - historical, archaeological, documentary, ethnographic,artistic, scientific and technical, literary, cinematographic, numismatic,philatelic, heraldic, bibliophile, cartographic and epigraphic – that representmaterial proof of the evolution of the natural environment and of man’s relationswith it, of the human creative potential and of Romanian contributions to theworld civilization.Until 1989, in the Dolj district there was a network of village museumsand public collections that hosted a rich heritage of local and national value.Because of the “guilty transition” and of some mayors’ recklessness, many ofthese museums were lost after 1990. Some of the displayed items were savedand are now in the collection of the Museum of Oltenia, some disappeared,while others were damaged. After 2001 only two important public collectionsand few of the communal museums were still opened. Among these, the “Vetrestramosesti” (Ancient Hearths) Museum in Celaru commune, the “CulaCernatestilor” communal museum, the Jitianu collection of religious art objectsand the collection of the “H.H.Catargi” Museum in Scaesti, Dolj county. Theinspections run by specialists of the Police and of the Dolj County Directoratefor Culture, Religious Affairs and National Cultural Heritage showed that nosuitable conditions were ensured, according to Law. No.182/2000 and LawNo.422/2001 on the protection of historic monuments, for the conservation andstorage that would prevent the deterioration, damage or destruction of goods, aswell as of the historic monuments housing them.So far, none of the above mentioned institution has had any movablecultural goods classified as belonging to the national cultural heritage, althoughthe Jitianu collection of religious art objects is the richest in patrimony objects.In the following section we shall make a presentation of these historicmonuments, of the existent dysfunctions and of the measures that need to betaken in order to save museum heritage.ARHIVELE OLTENIEI, Serie nouă, nr. 21, 2007, p. 123–128