Rather obscure for many, but nevertheless an important cultural institution in Bucharest, the National Philatelic Museum is the perfect place for those passionate about this old and delicate art of collecting stamps, mainly highly valuable ones, but also for those who are interested in the history of postal services in Romania. The museum has it's own space, administered by the National History Museum of Romania, on Calea Victoriei no 12 in Bucharest, the Neo-Classical building being made according to the project signed by Al. Savulescu.
Until 1970 this was the central post office of Bucharest, then turned into this impressive museum, with 600 squared meters of exhibition space, where visitors can admire some of the best stamps and philatelic objects and collections, as well as a selection of documents, correspondence, artefacts and different objects depicting the history of Romanian postal services. It is not the first museum dedicated to this subject, as even from the very first years of the 20th century the idea came around. The very first philatelic museum was presented to Romanian visitors in 1906, for the General Exhibition, the most impressive cultural and artistic project dedicated to celebrate the reign of the first Romanian king, Carol I. This museum was hosted in the exhibition park in a postal inn, built especially for this occasion by the architect Grigore Cerchez, who was also the director of the Postal Services. Short lived, but an interesting idea. Only in 2004 a new and real museum was opened, the one you can visit today, three exhibition halls filled with the best in this field.
Lahovary Hall : here you can see some of the 11 million stamps from the museum's collections, some of these being unique in the world. Apart from the universally famous and much sought after stamps known as "Cap de Bour", printed in 1858 as a symbol of independence, you can find several pieces depicting King Carol I, several other collections, old stamps and correspondence, prints, documents.
Cezar Librecht Hall : he was the first director of the Post Office in Moldova and Muntenia. Here you find a collection of postal objects and items from the second half of the 19 th century to the first decades of the 20th century, ranging from old paintings, prints, stamps, documents, original pieces of furniture used in postal offices, safes, boxes and even reproductions of postal carriages. There is also a small collection of uniforms wore by postal workers in those times, postal cards from the 19th century and many other interesting exhibits.
Dimitrie C. Butculescu Hall : the founder of the Romanian Philatelic Society. It is the place to find the most comprehensive books, magazines and documents collection regarding the history of philately in Romanian, as well as several diplomas and medals given to the Romanian Postal Services over the years.
2008-04-09
