About us

The National Museum of Romanian Literature remains, above all, the preserver of a fundamental literary heritage, which constantly recomposes the vivid and surprising picture of Romanian literature. It owns over 300,000 pieces organized in 300 collections (15^th – 21^st centuries), including manuscripts of Romanian writers such as Mihai Eminescu, Ion Creanga, Vasile Alecsandri, Lucian Blaga, I.L. Caragiale, Titu Maiorescu and many others. The archives also hold numerous valuable manuscripts of foreign writers, of which we mention M. Proust, Th. Mann, Paul Valery, G. Papini or G. Ungaretti. The collections are complemented by old and rare books, historical-literary documents, works of plastic art (graphics, painting, sculpture), periodicals, objects and memorial furniture, photos, audio-video recordings.

The museum has in its custody six memorial houses as well, organized in one own network. In Bucharest, “Tudor Arghezi– Mărţişor” Memorial House, “George and Agatha Bacovia” Memorial House, “Liviu and Fanny Rebreanu” Memorial House, “Ion Minulescu – Claudia Millian” Memorial House, in Moroieni (Dambovita county), “Alexandru Ciorănescu” Memorial House, and in Vânători (Neamţ county), “Mihail Sadoveanu” Memorial House.

The Romanian Literature Museum Publishing House, affiliated to the museum and rated B + as scientific publishing house, also contributes to the profile of the institution and proposes, particularly to the specialized public, highly regarded philological works belonging both to writers, critics and well-established literary theoreticians, and to young researchers. The museum also publishes three publications – Manuscriptum, Caietele Avangardei (The Avant-garde Notebooks) and DICE  – singular publications in the Romanian cultural area, that capitalize innovative elements from the museum heritage and illustrate the latest research trends in the field of philology.

On occasion of the International Day of Poetry, March 21, 2017, the National Museum of Romanian Literature officially opened the new headquarters of the institution, situated in 8 Nicolae Creţulescu street (behind the White Church), where the basic exhibition is located. The National Museum of Romanian Literature (NMRL) also operates in 64-66 Calea Griviţei street. “We are happy that we are finally able to receive visitors that would benefit from these values. The National Museum of Romanian Literature is the one that preserves the symbols of the national identity of this nation,” said the curator of the National Museum of Literature, Lecturer Ph.D. Ioan Cristescu, on the official opening that was attended, among others, by the general mayor of Bucharest, Gabriela Firea, the academics Eugen Simion and Răzvan Theodorescu and the Minister of Culture, Ionut Vulpescu.

Every manuscript held by the National Museum of Romanian Literature has its value, regardless whether it belongs to the 17^th, 18^th or 20^th centuries, because it ultimately represents a creation. And creation, if it is original, can have no other value than time.

The manner in which the National Museum of Romanian Literature chose to reopen its gates is very modern, and it is a response to the need for interaction of the contemporary society, an attempt to capitalize the museum heritage in the most creative ways. Thus, the MNLR team will carry out public readings, conferences, temporary, fixed and itinerant thematic exhibitions, creative workshops, events with target audiences, as well as major events such as the International festival of Poetry of Bucharest, reaching its 10^th edition, which, this year, will take place between May 13-19.