Anton Pann Memorial House

Anton Pann (born Antonie Pantoleon-Petroveanu, and also mentioned as Anton Pantoleon or Petrovici; 1794, Sliven, Bulgaria — November 2, 1854, Bucharest), was a Wallachian composer, musicologist, and Romanian-language poet, also noted for his activities as a printer, translator, and schoolteacher. Pann was an influential folklorist and collector of proverbs, as well as a lexicographer and textbook author. Anton Pann came to Romania in 1812, settling at first in Chişinău, Bessarabia, then in Bucharest; in 1827 he started teaching church music in Rîmnicu Vîlcea. He later moved to Braşov, where he married, and changed his name to Anton Pann, the name that would later make him famous. The writer and teacher returned to Bucharest in 1828 and worked as a music teacher and printer, with his own printing shop, a rather large investment that proved to be successful.


The Anton Pann Memorial House can be found in Rîmnicu Vîlcea, on Ştirbei Vodă Street and it is still one of the most important and popular touristic attractions and cultural landmarks of the city. The house has three rooms, with a porch and a cellar.


The building itself is a wonderful example of traditional urban architecture, built by the middle of the 18th century, perfect for hosting the exhibition dedicated to the life, work and times of Anton Pann. The exhibition was intended to reveal the travels on Vîlcea land, between 1826-1828, 1836-1840, of the man who rose to public awareness as "witty as a proverb" and who taught music at the school organized by Rîmnic Bishopric.


The memorial house was actually moved 37 meters away from its original site, when that part of the city was changed and reorganized. Luckily, due to the importance of the writer and the good condition of the building - not to mention it's traditional style and architecture - the original building was wonderfully preserved.


The exhibition dedicated to Anton Pann is presented in such as manner as to offer visitors the chance to see the real atmosphere of a simple house from the middle of the 18th century, with most of it's original furniture, personal objects, decorative arts, together with an impressive collection of books, portraits, documents, letters and so on. In the last room of the memorial house is the real treasure of the collection: a rich selection of music sheets, folklore volumes and studies, manuscripts of Anton Pann and several of his first editions.