"The Dowry Chest Museum"

Just an hour from Piatra-Neamț, in the village of Miron Costin (Trifești commune), a former school has been transformed into a unique private museum called “The Dowry Chest,” showcasing dozens of traditional Romanian blouses known as ii from the interwar period, CE Report quotes Agerpres

The collection is the passion project of local priest Iustin Lehonschi, who began gathering folk costumes in 2014 while preparing for New Year’s festivities. What began as a necessity soon became a lifelong commitment. “It turned into a passion, even a beautiful obsession,” he says.

Housed in the old village school where he once studied, the museum’s three rooms guide visitors through traditional woodcraft tools, old church objects, and finally a rich display of local folk costumes, some over a century old. Lehonschi now owns over 100 garments, all handmade from homespun canvas and decorated with intricate regional motifs.

“These costumes are like the ID card of our village,” he says. “Through them, we preserve identity, beauty, and history.”

One of the antique ii even made it to this year’s International Tourism Fair in Berlin, worn proudly by Mihaela Isciuc, vice president of Neamț County Council and native of Trifești. “Thanks to Father Iustin, I started wearing our traditional costume again,” she shared.

Lehonschi continues to grow the collection, supported by local villagers eager to keep their cultural heritage alive.