COMMUNIST CONSUMER MUSEUM

Here's a place not to be missed in Timișoara: in 2009, the independent theater Aualeu took over an old house, a little way from the center, to house its small performance hall, a bar called Scârț and, since 2015, a museum of the Communist Consumer. It's a sort of Ali Baba's cave, populated by everyday objects emblematic of that era. Noting that they were often destined for the garbage can, the Aualeu team set about rescuing some of them, donated or salvaged right and left, with the aim of preserving the popular memory of this period. This is not political nostalgia, but rather an evocation of childhood and family life under Communism. Three rooms have been reconstructed in the basement: a living room, a kitchen and a child's bedroom. You'll see old radio and TV sets, bottles for making sparkling water, crockery, games, dolls, school supplies, Disney magazines (from the days when the regime had opened up a little), sets of tin labels, propaganda posters and a large collection of porcelain trinkets (a very common gift at the time, due to lack of choice). Don't hesitate to ask the staff for explanations, otherwise you may feel a little helpless in the midst of all this bric-a-brac. The bar, with its bookshelves full of old books, retro foosball table, period portraits and kitsch paintings, is already setting the mood.