The Press Pavilion

Not so long ago, producing grape juice and oil required great skill and patience. Autumn truly began when people set up presses in their yards.

The simplest models had two fixed screws and large nuts that moved along them. Turning the nuts gradually lowered the horizontal beam over the basket of grapes, pressing them. Presses of this kind were donated to the museum by villages in Vaslui County, including Corni-Huși, Câhnești, and Ardeanca.

More advanced models used a single screw in the centre to evenly press the raw material. These installations came from the villages of Saschiz and Saroș in Mureș County.

However, the most impressive are the large 'crăcană' presses, which have a hardwood screw made from pear wood and are operated by two or three people using a long lever. The massive beam set in motion by these presses was often signed by the craftsmen who made them, indicating the age of the installation. Presses dating from 1735 and 1796 came from Băgaciu and Seleuș (Mureș County) respectively, and an old oil press came from Căpâlnaș (Arad County).