Bucharest Municipality Museum

The museum is located in the Suțu Palace, one of the oldest aristocratic residences in Bucharest and a rare example of a building that has remained largely unchanged for over 150 years. Constructed between 1833 and 1835 for the aristocrat Costache Suțu, the palace was designed by Viennese architects Conrad Schwenk and Johann Veit in a Neo-Gothic style. A significant interior renovation and modernization occurred around 1862, led by the renowned sculptor and decorative artist Karl Storck.

This renovation included the addition of a monumental staircase divided into two arms and the installation of a large mirror from Murano above the front wall to create a perspective effect, topped by a carved wooden medallion of Irina Suțu.

The museum's collections are diverse, encompassing over 400,000 objects. Key holdings include the 'Maria and Dr. George Severeanu' collection of antiquities, a numismatic collection of approximately 38,000 coins and bills, and a para-numismatic collection of 20,000 objects such as medals and insignias. The library houses 1,957 tomes, including manuscripts from the 18th and 19th centuries and old Romanian tomes from 1648 to 1830.

The art collections feature over 100 paintings by prominent Romanian artists like Theodor Pallady, Lucian Grigorescu, and Ion Andreescu, as well as a sculpture collection and a maps and plans collection featuring works by Abraham Ortelius and G. Mercator. The decorative arts section includes 4,747 pieces of porcelain and 227 pieces of furniture.

The Bucharest Municipality Museum serves as the primary repository for the city's historical memory, offering a comprehensive narrative of Bucharest's development through its extensive and varied holdings. Its significance lies in its ability to document the city's evolution from prehistoric eras to the modern post-Communist era through archaeological finds, photographs, and art. The museum's unique 'Time of the City' exhibition, which begins with a backward-running clock from the Collin House of Paris found within the palace, provides a narrative journey that allows visitors to explore the city's past.

The institution also preserves the legacy of the Suțu family and the architectural heritage of the 19th-century aristocratic residence, maintaining it as a cultural landmark in the historic center.