Archaeological Museum of Silistra

1 LOCATION

The Archaeological Museum of Silistra is located on 74 Simeon Veliki Street, Silistra, Silistra Municipality. It is located 429 km away from the capital Sofia. There is a bus three times a day leaving from the Sofia Central Bus Station to Silistra, as well as a train three times a day from the Sofia Central Railway Station.

SITE CLASSIFICATION: Historical site

2 DESCRIPTION

The Archeological Museum in Silistra is housed in a building built between 1923 and 1924 as a branch of the Romanian National Bank in the city. Since 1990 the archaeological expositions of the Historical Museum – Silistra have been exhibited there. It is situated on an area of 400 sq.m and holds over 60 000 monuments from prehistory to 18th century.

Among the most valuable exhibits are the Roman stone sundial (the most impressive one ever discovered on the Bulgarian lands), a gold ring of the third century, a column with the name of Khan Omurtag, seals of Bulgarian and Byzantine rulers, golden jewels from the time of the Drastar fortress etc.

3 HISTORY

The town of Silistra is one of the first towns in Bulgaria to start museum activities. The museum was established on 18 November 1898 as a school session at the State Pedagogical School in the city. In 1951 the museum was converted to a state institute. It was declared a professional cultural institute and was directly subordinate to the People’s Council. In 1959, it was declared a district museum and since July 2006 it functioned as a regional museum. The main fund of the museum contains more than 50,000 cultural assets. Its main activities are the preservation, exhibition and promotion of movable cultural assets, the material and intangible cultural heritage, the study of the history of the city and of Dobrudzha.

The credit for creating the first museum in Silistra and Dobrudzha belongs to the teachers from the State Pedagogic School in the town. By Protocol No. 9 of November 18, 1898, the school’s council adopted a decision to build a museum. Its status was approved on 11 January 1899 by the Minister of National Enlightenment Ivan Vazov. The museum was housed in one of the school rooms. It displayed coins and other archaeological objects found in Silistra, which were donatd by students, teachers and citizens. Dobrudzha folk costumes, old books, manuscripts and others were also preserved. The first person in charge of the museum was the history teacher Todor Ikonomov, a native of Oryahovo, who graduated from the Sofia University (Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski”).

The first and second Romanian occupations of Southern Dobrudja (1913 – 1916 and 1919 – 1940) put an end to all cultural and educational events of the Bulgarian population, including the museum work in Silistra. Much of the archaeological objects in the city, exposed outdoors, were taken by the withdrawing Romanian troops.

The accession of South Dobrudzha to Bulgaria under the Craiova Treaty in 1940 created conditions for the rise of cultural life and the revival of the museum as an institution. As soon as the Bulgarian authorities were established, the idea of establishing a museum in Silistra was launched. This idea took place on October 19, 1941 when local public figures, mainly teachers, lawyers and prominent community centers, created a Historical – Ethnographic Museum in Silistra. The charter of the museum was adopted as well. It was governed by the teacher Zhechko Rusev.

4 SITE SIGNIFICANCE

The expositions in the Archaeological Museum include prehistoric, antique and medieval times.

5 VISITOR INFORMATION

The museum does not have a dedicated parking space, but there are parking spaces nearby. Not accessible for disabled guests. Photos are allowed only against payment and without a flash. Taking photos in the treasury is totally forbidden. Tourist talks are delivered in English and French. Up to 40 people per visit are allowed.

Schedule:

May – October

From Tuesday to Saturday – 09.30 – 12.00, 12.30 – 17.00

Day off – Sunday and Monday

October – May

From Monday to Friday – 09.30 – 12.00, 12.30 – 17.00

Holiday Day – Saturday and Sunday

Entrance fee

for Students, Students and Pensioners – BGN 1.00

For adults – 2.00 lv.

Discussion – 6.00 leva

Photos with camera – 5.00 lv.

Contacts:

086 / 822,075

museumsilistra@abv.bg