Northeastern Romania: 18th-century mansion enters state ownership, will become training center for restorers

The Culture Ministry announced it signed the paperwork to accept the donation of the Vârnav Liteanu mansion, a historical monument set to become a training center for restores.

The descendants of the Sturdza family, an old Romanian aristocratic family, donated the mansion and a plot of land of 150,000 sqm in Suceava county, in northeastern Romania.

The Culture Ministry plans to refurbish the monument and convert it into a training center.

“In this way, Suceava county can turn into a center for the development and consolidation of jobs involved in the preservation of architectural heritage, but also for the training of museum and research institute professionals,” culture minister Bogdan Gheorghiu said.

The minister explained that he encountered the project at the beginning of his mandate and that its potential had been overlooked.

“It is a clear example of how apathy can stop evolution. The Vârnav Liteanu mansion and the restorer profession will be in good hands, especially that the professionalism of the specialists working for the National Institute of Patrimony is exceptional,” he said.

Boyar Teodor Vârnav Liteanu built the mansion in 1790. It was then rebuilt in 1900. During communism, the state took over the building and its land from Alexandru C. Crupenschi, the son-in-law of Alexandru Vârnav Liteanu, Digi24 reported. After nationalization, the mansion was used by the Itcani State Farm, and between 1960 and 2001 it housed an orphanage. The building was returned to Johannes Sturdza in 2003.

(Photo: Direcția Județeană pentru Cultură Suceava Facebook Page)