Night of Museums 2012 in figures

Already at its eighth edition, Night of Museums was celebrated on Saturday, May 19th. Despite bad weather, over 130 museums in Romania participated at this great and successful event. National Network of Museums in Romania (RNMR) was the official partner of the international event and coordinated the Night of Museums in Romania. RNMR is thankful to all museums involved, to the French organizers of the European Night of Museums, to its partners and volunteers, to mass-media representatives and all supporters and participants to the event! Museums located in Aiud, Alba Iulia, Alexandria, Arad, Bacău, Baia Mare, Botoşani, Bran, Brașov, Brăila, București, Buzău, Caransebeş, Constanța, Ciucea, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Dej, Deva, Galați, Giurgiu, Golești, Iași, Oradea, Pitești, Ploiești, Reșița, Sf. Gheorghe, Sibiu, Sighișoara, Sinaia, Slatina, Slobozia, Târgoviște,Târgu-Jiu, Timișoara, Tîrgu-Mureș and Turda were open to the public. Concerts, films and animations, characters brought to life, children workshops, presentations and performances completed the program of this special night in a unique way and turned the visits to the exhibitions into unforgettable experiences.

Despite bad weather conditions, that seemed to discourage both museums and visitors, Night of Museums had a great scale in Bucharest. Although outdoor activities were more vulnerable, sometimes requiring their transfer to indoor locations, museums and public defeated unfavorable weather. In this respect, Bellu Museum hosted 10,000 visitors and “Dimitrie Gusti” National Village Museum 2,400 (within “Morning of the Museum” programe).

Museums and organizations participating in the fourth circuit for the public in Bucharest, gathered approximately 154,000 visitors. Thus, the total number of beneficiaries of the event in Bucharest exceeded last year’s record of approximately 150,000 entries. “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History - 21,600 National Museum of Romanian Aviation – 8,406 National Museum of Art - 13,150 National Museum of History - 13,000 National Museum of Geology - about 11,000 “George Enescu” National Museum - 10,078 (including Sinaia) National Museum of Romanian Peasant - 5,090 “Dimitrie Gusti” National Village Museum – 2,400 Bellu Museum - about 10,000 National Museum of Firemen - over 3,000 “Dimitrie Leonida“ National Technical Museum – 3,278 “Dumitru Furnică-Minovici“ Museum of Western Medieval Art - about 1,000 “Spiru Haret” University - about 650 Art Society Cultural Center - 600 “Carol I” Central University Library – 1,715 “Vasile Grigore” Museum – painter and collector - 484 Löwendal Fundation - 753 National Library of Romania - World Press Photo Romania (EIDOS Cultural Foundation) – approximately 15,000 Cotroceni National Museum - 3,524 Central School - approximately 2,000 Bucharest Municipal Museum (main location) - approximately 9,000 The Old Princely Court - approximately 5,000 The “Vasile Urseanu” Observatory - approximately 1,000 National Museum of Romanian Literature - approximately 2,500 National Museum of Maps and Old Books - 2,482 National Museum of Contemporary Art - 5,900 National Archives of Romania - approximately 1,000

Night of Museums 2012 was a successful event also in Cluj county. It was celebrated both by museums and other cultural organizations and the total number of visitors was close to 50,000: Cluj-Napoca Art Museum - 12,000 (70% youth) Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania -15,241 (70% youth) National History Museum of Transylvania – 6,472 (80% youth) Babes Bolyai University Museums - approximately 10,000 (65% youth) in the four departments “Petre Tutea” Cultural Center – 1,400 Virtus Antiqua - 800 (200 visitors under 16 years old) History Museum Turda – approximately 400 Dej Municipal Museum - 600 (65% youth) Frezia Gallery in Dej - 200 (70% youth)

Night of Museums had a great impact also in other cities. For example: Brăila Museum – 3,161 National Museum in Alba Iulia – 6,000 History Museum of Sighişoara - 3,600 Argeş County Museum (Piteşti) - 6,788 (compared to 4.410 in 2011) Arad Museum Complex - 1,800 (plus 200 on May 20 at Lipova Museum) “Moldova“ National Museum Complex Iaşi - 23,500 Roznovanu Palace (Iaşi City Hall) - approximately 3,000 National Museal Complex Royal Court of Targoviste - 3,327 Art Museum Timișoara - 1,700