Palace of Culture, Iasi
Neo-Gothic palace of 1925 housing four national museums and a chiming clock tower.
The Palace of Culture stands on the site of the medieval princely court of Moldavia, whose foundations survive beneath it. Designed by the Bucharest architect Ion D. Berindey in a Flamboyant Neo-Gothic manner, it was begun in 1906 and finished in 1925, and was inaugurated the following year in the presence of King Ferdinand. Built partly on the walls of an earlier neoclassical administrative palace, it has around 300 rooms and was originally used as the city's courts and administrative offices.
Since 1955 the building has housed what is now the Moldova National Museum Complex, bringing together the Museum of the History of Moldavia, the Art Museum, the Ethnographic Museum of Moldavia and the Stefan Procopiu Museum of Science and Technology. A major restoration was completed in 2016. The central clock tower rises some 55 metres and its bells play Hora Unirii at each hour. The Voivodes' Hall, the Gothic Hall with its mosaic floor and the grand staircase are shown on guided tours.
Highlights
- Four national museums under one roof
- Clock tower whose bells play Hora Unirii on the hour
- Gothic Hall with a mosaic floor of heraldic beasts
- Voivodes' Hall with portraits of Moldavian rulers
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