Museum of Banat

Museum of Banat in Timișoara

The Museum of Banat (Romanian: Muzeul Banatului) is a museum in Timișoara, Romania, headquartered in Huniade Castle. It was founded in 1872 under the name "Societatea de Istorie și Arheologie" (The Society for History and Archaeology). It hosts the largest collection of archaeological objects Banat. The ground floor houses the Parța Neolithic Sanctuary, a unique monument in Europe.

The museum includes departments for history, archaeology, ethnography and natural sciences. The museum also has a laboratory for conservation and preservation of objects of cultural heritage and history.

History[]

The museum is located in a historic monument building. Hunyadi János built the castle in the early Renaissance style of the first Italian bulwark system type. It was restored during the 18th century. The north facade, damaged by the Hungarian revolutionary army, was restored in 1856.^[1]

In 1872 the History and Archaeology Society was established in Timișoara and they began to collect historical material. In the interwar period the history and archaeology collections grew. The building has housed them since 1947.^[2]

The permanent exhibition presents archaeological material on the Neolithic, Daco-Roman periods and the Middle Ages. The museum owns goods listed in the National Cultural Heritage Treasure.^[3]