Mihail Sadoveanu Museum (the Tower House)
About Mihail Sadoveanu Museum (the Tower House)
The Mihail Sadoveanu Museum is housed in the “Tower House” (Casa cu turn) on Copou hill, a villa built in the first half of the 19th century as the residence of Mihail Kogălniceanu. Between 1917 and 1919 it hosted the composer George Enescu, and from 1918 it belonged to Mihail Sadoveanu (1880–1961). The writer's family lived here for eighteen years, until 1936, when they moved to Bucharest. At a desk that he kept moving from one room to another as the mood took him, Sadoveanu wrote around 35 books.
The museum was inaugurated on 5 November 1980, a hundred years after the writer's birth, and belongs to the National Museum of Romanian Literature in Iași. The building is a historic monument.
What you can see
The permanent exhibition spreads over four rooms and includes manuscripts, first editions, photographs and the writer's personal belongings: the working desk he used in his Fălticeni period, the books from his library, the woollen cloak he wore around town, a few of his hats, hunting trophies (a capercaillie and a stag's antlers), the chess table and mementoes of his passion for fishing. In the garden stands a sculptural ensemble in stone and bronze by Dan Covătaru, which includes the funerary urn with the remains of Valeria Sadoveanu, the writer's second wife.
Good to know
The museum has been closed to the public since 16 January 2024, for an indefinite period, for conservation. The building is to be restored and rehabilitated under a cross-border Romania–Republic of Moldova project; the building permit was issued in 2026, and the works are estimated to take 12 months. Announcements on the progress of the works and on the reopening appear on the website of the National Museum of Romanian Literature in Iași.
- The “Tower House” on Copou hill, the villa where Mihail Sadoveanu lived from 1918 to 1936.
- The desk at which Sadoveanu wrote, brought from his Fălticeni period, and the books from his library.
- The hunting trophies, the chess table and the fishing mementoes, three of the writer's passions.
- The sculptural ensemble in the garden, by Dan Covătaru, with Valeria Sadoveanu's urn.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: the museum is on Aleea Mihail Sadoveanu, on Copou hill, ~5.5 km from the Palace of Culture (~10 minutes) and ~4.5 km from Iași railway station (~7 minutes). Bucharest is ~435 km away (5–6 hours), Bacău ~130 km (~2 hours 20 minutes), Suceava ~150 km (~2 hours 45 minutes).
Frequently asked questions about Mihail Sadoveanu Museum (the Tower House)
How do I get to Mihail Sadoveanu Museum (the Tower House)?
Mihail Sadoveanu Museum (the Tower House) is located at Aleea Mihail Sadoveanu 12, Iași, Iași County. More under “Getting there”
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