The Natural History Museum in Iași was founded on 4 February 1834, on the initiative of a small group of members of the Society of Physicians and Naturalists in Iași, led by Iacob Cihac, Gheorghe Asachi, Mihail Zotta, Constantin Sturza and Costachi Negri. It is the first museum of its kind established in the Romanian Principalities and, as a cultural institution of prime importance in the country, its purpose was to present to the public in Iași “the earthly and subterranean riches of Moldavia, as well as curiosities from other parts of the world.” The solemn inauguration of the Museum took place in the Balș house, on Podu Verde Street, today Carol I Boulevard.
The museum operated in this house until 1838, when it moved to the Great Hall of the Mihăileană Academy. In 1840, the house of Costachi Sturza, located on Hagioaiei Street, today Independence Boulevard No. 16, was purchased for the Museum, a building in which the Museum, together with the Society of Doctors and Naturalists, still operates today.
Article 5 of the draft purchase agreement states: “The purchase of this house is intended specifically for the Natural History Cabinet or Museum, being made for the public good.”
The building, also known as Casa Roset, was built at the end of the 18th century in neoclassical style, with a carriage arch, and is today one of the few architectural monuments in Iași with a ground floor structure consisting of arches.
In order to meet the growing needs of the Museum, the “Inner Department”, through Order 11,599 of 16 April 1844, approved the conversion of the vacant lot east of the Museum into a public market for the sale of agricultural products: hay, flour, honey, wine, firewood, lumber, etc. Producers paid a fee that benefited the Society and the Museum. The public market was abolished in 1872, when, on the initiative of Grigore Cobălcescu and Anastasie Fătu, the site was fenced off and a small Botanical Garden was organised, in which Dimitrie Brândză, the Museum’s curator at the time, planted various trees, including the two centuries-old oaks, which were declared Natural Monuments in 1973.
The Natural History Cabinet also became known to the public because, in one of its rooms, on the night of 3/15 January 1859, the deputies of the National Party decided to nominate Colonel Alexandru Ioan Cuza as candidate for the throne of Moldavia.
The building is declared a historical and architectural monument, listed in Romania’s National Cultural Heritage, position IS-II-m-B-03917 (RAN: 95079.13), in the List of Historical Monuments in Iași County.
