HALF-BURIED HOUSE ZĂPODENI, Vaslui county, 17TH CENTURY
A valuable document of the Moldavian vernacular architecture from the 17th century, Zăpodeni is the oldest building in the museum patrimony, being transferred in 1961.
The monocellular house is specific to the corvée-peasants from the large Moldavian Plateau. It is built from oak beams with straight joints, with a hipped roof, rounded hips and covering made of reed sheaves. For this type of dwelling, the open space typical of the traditional Romanian architecture (veranda) is replaced with a bench carved hewn from a massive oak trunk. The very small and fixed windows had, in the days of yore, sheep bladder instead of glass. While the interior walls are daubed and clayed, only the interstices were daubed and then whitewashed with clay on the outside.
The interior has a simple aspect, but it is especially pleasant and practical.
The oven with hearth is next to the wall on the left of entrance; next to the other walls, supported by stakes driven into the floor, are the bed-bench and two thick benches, one made of walnut wood and the other of oak wood. The dwelling furniture is complemented by the dowry chest and the low table surrounded by four chairs made of stumps (“bedrege”). The interior fabrics and the clothes rod adorned with festive apparel reflect the owners’ tastefulness and preoccupation for beauty.
