Craiova: Art, Gardens and Historic Architecture

Culture

The Craiova Art Museum is housed in the Jean-Mihail Palace, which was built between 1900 and 1907 to designs by the French architect Paul Gottereau. Its cultural collection comprises more than 4,000 works of art. The Romanian Art Gallery at the Craiova Art Museum includes works by Constantin Brâncuși.

Casa Băniei is Craiova’s oldest civil building. It was rebuilt in 1699 by Constantin Brâncoveanu. At Casa Băniei, the Ethnography Section of the Muzeul Olteniei presents traditional Romanian cultural creations from the historic cultural region of Oltenia.

The Sf. Dumitru Church is Craiova’s oldest place of worship and a tourist attraction. The Nicolae-Brândușa Church is a historic monument of religious architecture dating from the 18th century. The Sfânta-Treime Church complex is an architectural complex from the 18th century located in the center of Craiova. The Madona Dudu Episcopal Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of the Mother of God, was built between 1750 and 1756 in the Brâncovenesc style.

The archive of the Museum of the Book and Romanian Exile “Cenaclul de la Neuilly” contains manuscripts, excerpts, legal and administrative documents, writings, handwritten notes and correspondence relating to creative activity in French exile under the supervision of the cultural patron Leonid Mămăligă.

The cultural areas can be considered separately for planning purposes: the art collection, ethnography, sacred architecture and exile archive each have their own focus. As a result, the historic buildings do not merely stand alongside one another but together provide different approaches to the city’s history and Romanian culture. The periods represented also range from 18th-century architecture to French exile and 20th-century art.

Nature

The Botanical Garden of the University of Craiova was established in 1952. It features systematic sections, sections devoted to the floristic provinces of the world and Romania, areas for cultivated plants, a nursery, a rose garden, greenhouses and areas for ornamental plants.

English Park is an English garden in the center of Craiova, laid out during the interwar period, with low shrubs, flower beds and a fountain. Gardening interests can be distinguished here by systematic plant sections and the design of an English garden.

City Walk

A city walk in Craiova can follow Calea Unirii through parks and gardens to the old center.

When booking a hotel in Craiova, travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions can be considered separately from the choice of cultural and botanical themes. This keeps clear comparison details available for the accommodation decision, while art, sacred architecture, gardens and events can each be classified independently as different focal points of the city.

More local pages: Afumați, Coţofenii Din Faţă, Başcov, Calafat, Podari, Călăraşi, Pielești and Bechet.

Events

The Târgul meșterilor populari takes place annually during the second ten-day period of October; representative artisans from all over Romania take part. The Shakespeare Festival in Craiova takes place every two years in April and May.

For the higher-level travel overview: Dolj.