International exhibition of the colonization of Swabians, at the Banat Museum
Written by Florin Puscas, 05 Mar 2013
Translated from Romanian to English by Nick Tullius, 08 Mar 2013
[Published at DVHH.org 15 Mar 2013 by Jody McKim Pharr]
300 years since the colonization of the first Swabians
Some 300 years ago, early settlers from the Southwestern regions of Germany started down the Danube with the so-called "Ulmer Schachteln". They were brought in by the Habsburg emperors Maria Theresa and Josif II, as well as by private landowners. Over 400,000 settlers came in the 18th century in the Banat, Batschka, Sathmar and other regions along the Danube. The immigrants brought with them not only a knowledge of modern methods of farming and craft, but also cultural values and habits. Viewed from the perspective of today, the Swabians gave impetus to the modernization of the country. The colonization and its aftermath are the object of the next major exhibition at the Museum of the Banat in Timisoara. Thursday, March 7, 2013, in the Bastion I, Theresia Gallery (str. Martin Luther, no. 4), at 6: 00 pm, will be opened the exhibition "Danube Swabians. Colonization in the 18th century ". The exhibition can be visited until April 15.
The latest discoveries
The touring exhibition, conceived by Christian Glass, Andrea Vadapalli, Leni Perencevic (Central Museum of the Danube Swabians, Ulm, Germany), presents the colonization of the Swabians Danube in the spaces and its aftermath. In this sense it addresses themes such as viticulture, mining, the construction of churches, architecture, urbanism, landscape, construction of pipe organs, gastronomy, celebrations. The exhibition brings to the public the latest discoveries relating to the emigration and colonization of the Swabians in the Danube region, in the 18th century. It presents original exhibits relating to the history of emigration, with numerous loans from museums in Germany, Romania, Hungary and Serbia. For example, a coffin of a child in a family of emigrants, illustrates the high infant mortality affecting the 18th-century immigrants. The exhibition was presented already in Ulm (Germany), Satu Mare and Arad.
Theproject of museums from four countries
The exhibition is part of a European project intended to celebrate 300 years from the colonization of the first Swabians in the Danube area in 1712, an initiative of the Central Museum of the Danube Swabians, in partnership with the Museum Complex of Arad and the Museum of Vojvodina in Novi Sad (Serbia), associate partners being the Museum of the Banat in Timisoara, the Montan Banat Museum in Resita, the County Museum of Satu Mare (Romania), the Janus Pannonius Museum from Pécs and the Baranya County Museums Directorate (Hungary). The project "Migration towards the Danube Area", valued at over 200,000 euro, is financed by the European Union and is part of the cultural programme of the European Union in 2012/2013. The exhibition, which will be presented at the Museum of the Banat in the Romanian language, is contained in the catalogue of "Migration towards the Danube Area". The Romanian-language catalog contains illustrations and texts on 128 pages. The project also includes a multilingual tourist guide and the buildingof a website. The public may visit the exhibition in Timisoara daily (except Monday) from 10.00-16.00, until April 15, 2013.
