IAȘI: The palace of Culture

The palace of Culture: the outside appearance and the gardens

The second day out of my two days city break in Iași is dedicated to visiting the Palace of Culture and the areas surrounding it. But first, I need coffee for the long day that’s ahead, so I am going in the Palas Mall area, which is just opposite to the palace, and end up with a Starbucks coffee.

The public garden "Palas", welcoming the visitors to the great palace

The bright building of the construction I am looking for starts to appear through the trees of The public garden “Palas” that I also enter and where I find a beautiful and clean arrangement of the exterior space.

The public garden ”Palas” belongs, of course to the Palace of Culture, being positioned just in front of the historical building, thus, creating a wonderful view and a welcoming way to the palace. The garden is surrounded by street Palat and I guess the easiest access to it is from the Palas Mall, an urban complex that’s situated, as I watch the palace, on the right side of it.

The building of the Palace of Culture is definitely enormous and long, being highlighted by the green area of the park surrounding it. As far as I understand, the actual garden is located on the former court yard of the Royal Court that preserves same elements of the oriental style in which was created back in the days.

Going up the massive stairs to change the perspective over the city 

Is early morning and as I sip on my warm coffee I start to discover both the garden and the exterior aspect of the palace. What drawn my attention towards the huge construction are the stairs, positioned in the center in aim of gently welcoming the people to the palace. Is like you cannot resist to walk up the stairs because you know that at the end of it you will find a wide impressive panorama over the city of Iași. And, yeah, indeed, this is what happened.

After I stroll to different corners of the garden in an aim of photographing the imposing construction from various angles, I start walking towards and up the stairs I go too until I reach the highest view point. From here, I can see now the arrangement of the garden as well as the complex building of Palas Mall and the other far away parts of the city. Let’s say that the old and the new are meeting here.

Let's take a look at the palace's architecture: a neo-gothic building 

The palace’s facade is very well preserved and all of the small architectural details are clear, looking brand new. I admire the exterior design of the palace because, although the construction is immense, at the same time, it is not pompous, being designed with a good taste.

There are a few architectural styles combining here, among which I recognize elements coming from neogothic, romantic and neo-baroque such as the ogival high windows, the composite capitals, the decorative friezes with vegetable, floral or zoomorphic elements and many heraldic shields which probably have a historical significance.

Small history of the actual Palace of Culture: what was here before?

Speaking of that, the construction of the actual palace started at the beginning of the 20th century, in 1906, and finished it in 1925, the architectural plans of the building belonging to I.D. Borindey. Back in these days, the edifice served as a Palace of Justice and Administration.

However, the construction didn’t looked like this in the beginning, but I discover, from some images exhibited in the Museum of History, that, at the beginning of the 19th century, the prince Alexandru Moruzi had here a royal palace in a neoclassical style. Over the years, the palace had been affected by fires, but reconstructed until the final form of today.

The entrance of the Palace of Culture is not here, on the garden side of the building, but I find it facing the “Palat” square, where the tall tower is also situated.

The "Stephen the Great and Holy" square 

The front square of the palace is also named “Ștefan cel Mare si Sfânt” square, here being placed the equestrian statue of Stephen the Great and Holy, one of the most emblematic and important ruler of Moldova during the Middle Ages. He is known for the longest reign in the medieval period of the Romanian countries, more exactly, Stephen reign for 47 years.

This part of the palace facing the Palat Square and the pedestrian Boulevard also named “Ștefan cel Mare si Sfânt” is dominated by the Clock Towerwhich can be visited by tourists.

An urban center for culture: worth it to be visited or not? 

My friend and I are ready to explore what’s inside this magnificent building, knowing that, today, the Palace of Culture is housing four museum which are open for public, more precisely the following:

• The History Museum of Moldova

• The Ethnographic Museum of Moldova

• The Art Museum

• The Museum of Science and Technology “Ștefan Procopiu”

It feels so good and time saving when all of the museums are placed into the same spot, so you don’t have to run around from one place to another.

With this being said, if you are looking for acknowledging the Moldovan Culture of Romania, the Palace of Culture with its museums and historical rooms is for sure the best point to start.

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