A special attraction point fot those who decide to travel through the Apuseni Mountains, a mountain range in Transylvania, part of the Western Carpathians from Romania is the mineralogical collection from Brad, also known as The Gold Museum.
This museum was founded after more than 100 years. In this time here gathered more than 2.000 exhibits from many countries from all continents. All the exhibits are remarkable, especially those with native gold from the Metaliferi Mountains that make this collection one of the most important in the world.
The collection begins with the presentation of some archaeological objects found in the area of Brad-Criscior that proves the existence of the humans 5.000 years ago. This also proves the gold mining activities for more than 2.000 years.
In the Museum of Gold are exhibited tools used in extracting and processing gold ore two centuries ago. There are also presented some evocative photographic images regarding these activities.
In the halls of the museum the visitor has the opportunity to meet the gold in a unique hypostasis in which he appears in different forms: finely dispersed, free or in concrescence with other minerals, plates, filaments, dendrites, grains and rare chemical combinations between gold and tellurium. Among these chemical combinations some were identified for the first time in the world in the deposits from Apuseni Mountains.
The deposits from Bradului area are the best represented. From here there can be seen today the mos spectacular forms. From these there are some remarcable ones that suggests to the visitors plants, animals or ither things like leaves flowers, snake, dog, bird wings, gun or the map of Romania.
The museum still shows a general mineralogical collection with over 800 exhibits from many countries. Organised on scientifical criteria it starts with general concepts about minerals, the genesis of minerals and the physical properties that can be determined, being exposed after the chemical composition criteria.
The exhibition begins with native elements and continues with metal sulfides, oxides, oxygenated salts (carbonates, sulfates, silicates, etc.) and ends with an interesting window that presents some of the first minerals that were identified for the first time in the world in deposits located in Romania.
