Museum of History and Ethnography in Slobozia Mare

In the village of Slobozia Mare, in Cahul District, the Museum of History and Ethnography preserves the story of a community from the Lower Prut Meadow, where village history is closely connected to people, Lake Beleu, the traditional household, and local memory. The museum was founded in 1993 by teachers Ion Geantîn and Vasile Brânză, officially opened in 1998, and is housed in the former old town hall building, erected in 1938. Over time, the building served as a town hall, a border guards’ command post, a hospital for people suffering from typhus and dystrophy, and later as part of the local high school.

The museum collection includes more than 11,000 objects, displayed in six rooms. Visitors can discover the history of the village, archaeological finds, a diorama of Lake Beleu, household objects, tools, ceramics, traditional costumes, carpets, and handwoven towels. In the ethnography room, old towels, some embroidered with names and years, are presented as signs of family life and old customs, while the carpets preserve stories of dowry, longing, joy, and farewell. The Casa Mare brings together the most beautiful objects of the household: white textiles, dowry chests, festive clothing, and items kept for the important moments of life.

One of the museum’s most moving spaces is the Memory Room, dedicated to wars, deportations, famine, participants in the war in Afghanistan, the Transnistria conflict, and those involved in the liquidation of the consequences of Chernobyl. In the peasant house, the objects speak about working the land, the stove, the oven, the child’s cradle, and the hand mills used in difficult times. The museum is also a place of living encounters: weaving workshops, educational activities with pupils, and local food workshops such as “The Secret of Crinkled Cheese Pastry Sheets” or “Grandmother’s Cheese Rusks” bring together taste, story, and village memory.