How do you get to the 'Franz Binder' Museum? // The 'Franz Binder' World Ethnographic Museum is set in Sibiu, 11 Piata Mica (Small Square), Romania. Sibiu is one of the oldest towns attested in Transylvania. It is a major economical, cultural and tourist centre in Romania, an example of the multi-ethnical and multicultural cohabitation. For further information about our city, you can access www.sibiu.ro - the official site of Sibiu City Hall.

Why do we have a world ethnographic museum at Sibiu? // The 'Franz Binder' Museum is the only extra-European ethnographic institution from Romania, which, due to the exceptional value of its patrimony, represents an important department within the 'ASTRA' National Museum Complex - that also includes other subdivisions such as Romanian, Saxon or Romany ethnography: www.muzeulastra.ro

The 'Franz Binder' Museum Collections // The exotic collections of the 'Franz Binder' Museum fall into two categories: the old collections constituted between the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century as a result of the Transylvanian Saxon travellers' donations to the Ardelean Society for the Natural Sciences from Sibiu; and the new collections established by exchanging collections, distributions, donations, acquisitions a.s.o. Thus, the exotic ethnographic patrimony of our museum, starting with the Egyptian mummy and ending with the latest handicraft acquisitions, can find its place within a very diverse historical, geographical, ethno-cultural, and anthropological background.

The museum premises are a historical monument. The existing 'Hermes House', initially called 'The House of the Small Handicraftsmen's Association' (Burger- und Gewerbeverein-Haus) was built between 1865 and 1867 and inaugurated on November 24, 1867, thus, becoming the administrative centre of this Association as well as a place where various activities took place (club, library, school for journeymen, exhibition room for handicraft products). Then, this building had several destinations and, only in 1990, it became the premises for the new ethnographic museum, regaining its true purpose of popularizing the authentic values of material and spiritual civilization.