Casa Avramide – The House of Collections was built at the end of the 19th century by Alexandru Avramide, a successful local entrepreneur who owned mills, workshops, shops, a sawmill and vast agricultural lands.
Alexandru Avramide arrived in Tulcea in the middle of the 19th century, having an ambition and perseverance that turned him into one of the richest people in the area. Around 1890, Avramide brought in two Italian craftsmen to whom he entrusted the construction of the house, wanting it to be a symbol of the family's prosperity.
In a short time, the house, located in the center of Tulcea, in front of the Church of St. Nicholas, became the most impressive building in the city. Considered a luxury residence, Casa Avramide was notable for its ground-floor rooms, decorated with painted stucco, painted ceilings and double doors, as well as its two main facades, one of which featured a monumental marble mosaic staircase.
After 1944, Casa Avramide became the headquarters of the Greek Democratic Committee. On November 14, 1949, the foundation act of the "Danube Delta" Museum was signed, which was opened on May 1, 1950. The museum occupied two rooms in the current building and had in its collection 872 objects and complementary materials.
Between 1952-1953, the School Inspectorate of Tulcea County also functioned in the building. In 1957, the museum was reorganized for the first time, and in 1959 the campus was opened, where the departments of archeology and ethnography operated until 1962.
At the beginning of 1964, after the installation of aquarium tanks in the basement and the creation of a collection of 1500 biological specimens and an extensive herbarium, the house became a full museum of natural sciences. Recently renovated, the Avramide House presents today, in a modern exhibition way, the modern history of the city of Tulcea, the story of the Avramide family and capitalizes on heritage objects from the collections of the Gavrilă Simion Tulcea Eco-Museum Research Institute.
Sursa: www.icemtl.ro
