On May 17, Dumbrava Sibiului will turn into the scene of an unforgettable night. Astra – the largest outdoor museum in Romania and one of the largest in Central and Eastern Europe – invites the public on a living journey into the heart of traditions. Visitors can learn to weave, carve or make shingle, play childhood games, taste pastoral recipes and participate in dozens of craft workshops. “Museum Night” It becomes more than just an event – it becomes an authentic cultural experience.
Night of Museums at the Astra Museum in Sibiu Collage Archive Astra Museum
The 2025 edition is distinguished by a wide and diversified program, which combines tradition with innovation, giving visitors a unique cultural experience. With a redefined concept, Astra sets the tone of a spectacular edition in which the conventional borders of art and heritage become a true exercise of social cohesion. Under the sign of collaboration, the event aims to bring together public institutions, NGOs and private companies.
“We want to show that, working together, we can overcome the differences and build a future based on respect and trust. Through this project, we emphasize the importance of dialogue and collaboration for a stronger and more united community ”said Daniela Cîmpean, the president of the Sibiu County Council – an institution that organizes the event together with the Astra Museum.
Traditional food served in land vessels at the Night of Museums 2025 Astra Sibiu Museum Archive
Dumbrava, the place where tradition catches life and children play
This year, on the occasion of the Night of the Museums, the corner of heaven in Dumbrava Sibiului turns into an interactive universe, where the public will be able to experience over 30 traditional crafts. From the pottery and carpentry, to the dogie, made shingles, carved or stray (traditional way of washing), visitors will discover how culture is born – on their own. They will model the clay, we will braid fences of the nurses, and the roller of the dance in Jina and the sounds of music – traditional or classic – near the church in Bezded or from the Dumbrăvii alleys will accompany their steps.
There will also be painting, sewing and fishing workshops, and traditional dance will be celebrated in two special places: the exhibition “Dance”from the multicultural pavilion, and the Jina’s play pavilion, between Ion Barbu’s cartoons.
In the gardens of the households, beets will be chopped and “end ” Corn, old recipes will be cooked and stories will be told, while the restorers and conservatives of the Astra Museum will open the gates of heritage monuments for guided tours and demonstrations from vernacular architecture – from wooden nails to traditional constructions.
For the little ones and for young people, Ethno-Tehno Park is preparing unique activities. “The traveling trunk” will reveal the secrets of wood, clay, canvas or wool, through interactive workshops as “Oița Năzdrăvană”. Here they will find out how the students of other times lived and will enjoy childhood games: “Elastic”, “Moara” or “Choose a job and play”.
The visiting program at the Night of Museums 2025 from Astra Sibiu Photo Astra Sibiu Museum
Multisensory experiences at Astra: movie, tastes and literature
In the three outdoor amphitheater, Astra Film will bring the documentary in the middle of the public, and at Stâna in Puru, the director Dumitru Budrala will cook pastoral recipes, in the Sibiu area and from Oltenia, transforming the cinematic art into a multisensory experience.
The writers of Transilvania magazine invite visitors to creative writing workshops within the ASTRA exhibition “Poetic. Histories”while “The country fair” It will host gastronomic workshops curated by the manager of the museum, Ciprian Stefan, in order to raise funds to restore the oldest house in the permanent exhibition – the Dogar household in Obârșa.
Living heritage in action: restoration and crafts
The Astra Center for heritage will open its laboratories for the general public, offering guided tours and presentations of the restoration works – from the church in Surduc to the impressive church in Vința.
And in the Little Square, at the House of Arts, the new regional activities center and resources will be the host of the exhibition “Doing Transylvania”accompanied by carpentry, ceramic, tailoring and carpentry workshops – in an interactive space dedicated to creation and community (between 16:00 – 23:00).
Free entry and extended program
On May 17, 2025, the entrance will be free at Astra both during the day and during the night of museums (between 4:00 pm and 24:00, the last entrance at 23:00).
The full program is available on the website www.muzeulastra.ro and in the mobile application museum_osta_app.
The Night of Museums 2025 in Astra is not only a cultural holiday, but also a declaration of solidarity, a call for involvement and a celebration of collective identity.
The Museum of Dumbrava Sibiului covers 96 hectares and houses over 300 traditional constructions, including windmills, craft workshops, wooden churches and authentic households, offering a living image of Romanian rural civilization.
Culture does not sleep: 70 institutions await you at museum night throughout the country
Over 70 cultural institutions from all over the country give life to the 21st edition of the Museum Night, coordinated by the national network of museums in Romania and, for the first time, officially supported by the Ministry of Culture.
The event transforms museums into living and participatory spaces, open to the public into an unconventional interval, with unique exhibitions, creative activations and cultural experiences specially designed for this night. Below the message “Education through culture. Development through culture”Museum Night reconfirms the essential role of heritage in the life of communities and in the evolution of society.
For example, in Bucharest, Art Safari presents “The exhibition of 1,000,000 euros”a rare collection with works signed by great masters of Romanian art, accessible for a fee (60 lei). At the Romanian Peasant Museum, visitors can discover the exhibition “Christian law”next to six other temporary exhibitions, with free entry between 18:00 – 20:00.
Museum of Immersive New Art (mine) proposes a spectacular foray into Egyptian mythology, through the show “Ancient Egypt – under the eyes of the gods”with half -price tickets, between 20:30 and 01:30.
In Cluj, the National Museum of History of Transylvania opens its doors from 4:00 pm, and in Iași, the Municipal Museum “Regina Maria” Invite the public to a rare exhibition of Japanese stamps from Edo and Meiji periods.
The full program and details about access in all these institutions can be consulted on the official Facebook.com/o -nights page.
