National Geology Museum, Bucharest

The National Geology Museum is housed in the 1906 building that was originally constructed for the Geological Institute of Romania. It was designed in neo-Brâncovenesc style by Victor Ştefănescu, and is considered an architectural monument.

In 1906, King Carol I signed the royal decree establishing the institute which is now displayed in the entrance hall of the museum. A century ago, apart from conducting geological research, the institute displayed its collection of rocks and minerals for people to come and see in the designated hall, named “Collections”.

Early attempts to establish a museum failed because of two world wars and earthquakes that caused massive damage to the building. To preserve the collections they had to be temporarily moved to another building. The restoration started only in 1983 to a project that corresponded with the idea of a museum fit to accommodate a large audience. The building was restored in a strict accordance with the old photos and the museum finally opened its doors in 1990.

The National Geology Museum is unique in terms of design; it illustrates all branches of geonomy - from the emergence of planets, minerals and rocks to the evolution of life on Earth, appearance of humans and their interaction with Earth. The museum itself represents an enormous source of information from which both experts and ordinary people can learn many interesting things.