SchoolHOUSE,CERNU, BACĂU, year 1922
The name of Cernu village from Poduri commune, Bacău county comes from the stream that crosses the locality and in the Slavic sources it means Black Water. The existence of the villages on the Cernu stream is documented since 1456, the locality being mentioned in several royal acts from the years 1460, 1462, 1507, 1617, etc.
The main occupations of the locals were animal husbandry and cultivating the land, and among the craftsmen, the most common were carpenters and coopers.
From this locality, the National Village Museum purchased a “Spiru Haret” type schoolhouse, built between 1922-1924 (the foundation stone of the building was laid on September 29, 1922, as specified in the commemorative act). The schoolhouse was built with the contribution of the villagers, being put into use in the autumn of 1924 and functioned as an educational institution until 1974.
The construction is built on a river stone foundation, over which is the oak sill plate. The walls are made of vertical softwood beams and lined with wooden slats plastered with clay filling mixed with straw, then whitewashed. The gable roof has a fir shingle cover. The main entrance is through a small open porch whose gabled roof is supported by six wooden pillars. The schoolhouse includes two classrooms, a hall and in its extension a space for the office. The classrooms and the office are equipped with terracotta stoves.
The school also had a small piece of land called the “school lot” where the children, guided by teachers, became acquainted with gardening. The pupils of the school were trained in animal husbandry and garden work, in accordance with Spiru Haret's 1906 law regarding this type of school practice.
