The Tudor Arghezhi Memorial House (Casa Memorială Tudor Arghezi), also known as Mărțișor House (Casa Mărțișor), is the former residence of the famous Romanian writer and poet Tudor Arghezi (1880-1967). The house, located in Bucharest, is now a museum dedicated to the writer, which is administered by the National Museum of Romanian Literature.
About Tudor Arghezi
Born on 21 May 1880 as Ion N. Theodorescu, the writer and poet adopted the pen name Tudor Arghezi, explaining the name came from Argesis, the Latin name for the Argeș River. Arghezi is best known for his contribution to poetry and children’s literature.
History Of The Tudor Arghezi House
In 1926 Tudor Arghezi becomes the owner of a piece of land and asks the architect George Matei Cantacuzino to design a house for his family. In 1930, when three out of 18 rooms of the house were ready, Tudor and his wife Paraschiva moved into their new residence, which he called Mărțișor. Between 1935-1937, the house was extended with an annex for the writer’s printing press.
Under the Communist regime, Arghezi’s house was nationalized in 1948, but in return the writer demanded that it should be used as a memorial house after his death. On 20 May 1974, seven years after his death, the Tudor Arghezi Memorial House opened its doors to the public, with his daughter Mitzura Domnica as the director. Since 2006, the memorial house is under the coordination of the National Museum of Romanian Literature.
Visiting The Tudor Arghezi Memorial House
The house has two floors and a total of 18 rooms which are sober in style. The collection of the museum includes most of the original furniture, books, art objects, photographs, notes, and other documents of the poet. You can also watch the 1956 documentary film Prisaca by Paul Anghel with English subtitles. In the yard of the house you can also find the graves of the Arghezi family.
