The house from Cerbu village, Albota commune

A new permanent exhibition of the Goleşti Museum

The commune of Albota, of which the Cerbu village is a part, is located in the central area of the Argeș County. At the end of the 19th century, the commune was part of the Pitești region („plasă”). The commune had two churches and a rural school.

The house of Cerbu, now located in the Golești Museum, comes from a fruit-growing area. Plum and pear trees were the most common trees in the plantations.

The old house from Cerbu is set on thick, bark-carved oak boards, which in turn are set on large stones at the four corners.

The Cerbu house is representative for this area. The porch rested on stakes driven into the ground and was connected to the top of the house by wooden posts decorated by carving. The dwelling house consists of two chambers: a kitchen and a room.

In the kitchen we found the stove, which had a double function: it heated the tent and the living room. The furniture of the kitchen is minimal: the low, three-legged kitchen table, some chairs, cooking pots, a water jug, and other household tools. On one of the walls was a cupboard where smaller dishes and cutlery were kept.

The living room had one or two beds made of wooden planks, over which the peasants placed straw mattresses and woolen blankets. On the bed there were also long, loom-woven cushions of wool or hemp. Here we also find the dowry chest. Woven or sewn cloths were placed on the walls. On the dowry chest were kept the fabrics: blankets, velvets, quilts. On the walls there were also pictures of family members.

Text authors:

Daniela Busuioc, head of the Ethnography Exhibitions Department

Adrian Titov, museographer, Ethnography-Exhibitions Department