After the recent restoration, Ion Creangă’s “Bojdeuca”, from the village of Țicău, Iași, looks more like a boarding house of three daisies, losing, due to the much too modern construction materials used, the fragrance of yesteryear.
Not only netizens brought harsh criticism to the builders responsible for the rehabilitation. And famous names from showbiz, such as popular music soloist Elena Merișoreanu and designer Mihai Albu, an architect by profession, took a stand.
Investment of 1.8 million euros
The bojdeuca of the great storyteller Ion Creangă, from the village of Țicău, Iași, which dates back to 1842, and was later transformed into the first memorial museum, intended for a Romanian writer, is to be reopened to the public, after the recent restoration.
The extensive works amount to a total of 1.8 million euros, both for the house and for the surroundings. But will tourists still be attracted to these places, to the house where the writer had spent most of his life?
Of course, nowadays heating is no longer done, as it was over 100 years ago, with a stove, but through a sophisticated heating system in the walls. In addition, there are sockets and electricity, as well as parquet, as in any guesthouse.
What the builders say: “We really have a modernized heating system in the walls”
Gheorghe Baian, the technical director of the construction company that took care of the rehabilitation, explains why modern materials were used for the restoration of the memorial house and which, now, nothing reminds of the place of Ion Creangă’s childhood:
“We kept the materials related to the walls, including plasters and limes, which are to be used for finishing. We do have an upgraded heating system in the walls, over which the plaster will be applied.
We kept the old oven, the old hearth, which will undergo a small restoration process, but we will use the rest of the plaster specific for monument buildings. An arbor will also be built, like the original one, the one behind the monument will be rehabilitated. In addition, the land on which the bojdeuca is built was also stabilized, because it was at risk of sliding along with the building.”
Elena Merișoreanu crosses herself: “I can’t believe something like that!”
The well-known popular music soloist Elena Merișoreanu, a great lover of Romanian traditions, took a stand, upon learning the news, bringing serious accusations to those who allowed that bojdeuca to undergo huge transformations:
“Wow, I can’t believe such a thing! He didn’t have to modify it, because it is the cradle of childhood, I went there when I was a student, they took us there, it was a special pleasure. When you change something, it will no longer be what it was, everyone wanted to see, in fact, how Ion Creangă lived at that time.
They also put a heating system in the wall, alas, I cannot imagine such a thing! I am completely disappointed, instead of putting the money into something else! If he collaborated with a folk craftsman, he would not have agreed to this transformation.
Well, if Creangă came back from the grave, he wouldn’t find the house anymore, he wouldn’t know where to come! Ugly, what do they want, to change our traditions?”, she told us, exclusively for Playtech News.
You might also be interested in: The last hours of Ion Creangă’s life. Where did the writer go before he died and who saw him last alive
Mihai Albu, professional architect: “Too expensive and too modern!”
And the famous designer Mihai Albu, an architect by profession, expressed his opinion about the new image of the house where Ion Creangă lived and wrote and which now looks more like a boarding house:
“It could be restored in a way closer to the original, no one would want to see a new house, now it is a modern, habitable construction, it no longer has the old charm at all. It had to be maintained and restored with a sense of responsibility, for the nostalgics who come here.
The price seems exaggerated to me, too expensive and too modern! They could use new materials, but they have a vintage, old feel, the finishes are too modern. And the houses at the Village Museum were redone, but their original appearance was preserved”, Mihai Albu told us, exclusively for Playtech News.
Internet users were scandalized: “Terrible what they did!”
Internet users reacted, on social accounts, making fun of those responsible for the restoration of the house in Țicău, Iași, where Ion Creangă, the great Romanian writer, lived between 1872-1889:
“We are also waiting for the restoration of Teiului. I wouldn’t be surprised if you cleared it and planted a palm tree. Ah, yes, and the statue of Eminescu…. It should be touched up. A trendy haircut, a bell in the nose, a tattoo, a cigarette in the mouth… something cool!” or “Yes, terrible what they did! She is no longer a witch. It’s….some house! Revolting!”
Read also: The nickname that Ion Creangă had. Many people would be embarrassed to be called that
Ion Creangă lived in difficult conditions. What he was telling Titu Maiorescu: “The little house where I’ve been living for about 18 years is a mess”
In a letter sent to Titu Maiorescu, Ion Creangă, the author of the novel “Childhood Memories”, described the house where he lived. This is what he told her about these places:
“In Bojdeuca, where I live, I sleep outside in this weather as well, on September 18 to 19. If you have patience, that kindness you have always had, you will ask, perhaps, where is my bojdeuca?
I will answer you respectfully: in the Ţicău slum, also known as Valea Pângerei, strada ţicaul de sus, no. 4 (if you can still call it a street, full of mud up to the knees, when there are long and heavy rains, it is said to be rotten, and when there is a drought, the cobbler moans on it).
And the boxwood of the house where I have lived for about 18 years is rickety and prone to falling every day, if it were not supported by about 24 oak forks and those rotten ones. In the winter they sleep in a fully furnished room, and in the summer in a shed in the back, starting from May and ending around October, when the weather is good like it is now.
That’s how I got used to it. The late Conta and Lambrior knew my little house. Pompiliu, Mr. Nica and especially poor Eminescu, too.”
