Axis Libri Nr. 5 (în limba engleză)

AXIS LIBRI

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5 issue, 2nd year, December, 2009 AXIS LIBRI

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The shock of freedom brought me, here, with this text, to another metaphor, the metaphor of the Ghost of the present, suggesting, with that apparent indecision and an increased power of suggestion, the reality of the two decades that we all live in since 89. Free at last, that is, taking advantage more or less in an appropriate

way of the social liberties real privileges: the free, secret and universal right to vote, the right of free association, expression and travel, in short the right to be happy and lucky as human beings! What we do with all these is, of course, a consequence of the will, the wake lucidity, the leaders we choose and our mental and civic reflexes that we formed under the ruling of the communists that, many still, flow unlimited from history.

This shock or the image, the presence of this ghost prevents us (and I am afraid that this will still be a problem for a while) to fully enjoy, as we would have wanted, our present and that of the communitys that we are a part of and gave us life.

NICOLAE BREBANOn

the Betrayal of criticism

5 issue, 2nd year, December, 2009AXIS LIBRI

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Editorial

Prof. Zanfir Ilie, Manager

of the V.A. Urechia Library, Galai

The dynamics of the cultural life

Galai, November 2009

The history of the human kind was crossed by all kinds of economical, political, ideological, industrial etc crisis that marked the evolution of the society. From Antiquity to the present day such phenomena came one after the other and ended by changing profoundly all levels of community. There are similarities between the characteristics of these moments of regression that manifest themselves cyclically and it is very interesting to find answers related to possible homologies, their dynamics, but especially the transformations they generated and they way they were reflected into the culture that met a course of ups and downs keeping unaltered the hope for fulfillment and accomplishment of the human being. Although there is a mixture of the economical with the social and cultural crisis, their frequency and amplitude is different, as the depth of the effects they propagate. In recession intervals, the cultural history met numerous moments of maximum spiritual explosion marking real revolutions through their consequences in the plan of the mentalities and the new forms of manifestation. We are contemporaries with a global crisis that overlapped a general Romanian crisis: political, financial, and economical and that of the values and the cultural one. In the case of the last one,

it is painful that all kinds of events of a dubitable quality appear at the same time as highly valued manifestations. It is the price paid to a transition from the centralized system to a new society, under the rules of democracy, of freedom of creation and free initiative. Nevertheless, the progressive tendencies that Romania tries to enforce to itself, preannounce an obvious tie to the western culture. The efforts made in this respect, more or less sustained, to integrate ourselves into a great family like Europe and to make whole the community of the old world come into being. The European model that we adhere to implies the keeping of certain rules that are unanimously accepted, universally valid and do not contradict the national dignity, to create the universality in diversity. Unfortunately, even twenty years of freedom later, we witness manifestations that identify us more with the specific and mentalities from the EAST more than the WEST. True, there are factors that motivate this affinity for the Orient: the deficit of the educational system, the unfavorable pecuniary status or the inability of some of distinguishing and appreciating value. That is why we need projects, programmes, well prepared and organized activities and not complaints or theories of fatality. With the sustained support of the local authorities, the staff of the V.A. Urechia Library is placing its activity on a coherent strategy of the needs for reading and documentation of the people of Galai, and the increase in the level of the inhabitants culture in collaboration with the other cultural and educational institutions, associations, foundation. Under the name of AXIS LIBRI, already a brand, The Cultural Magazine, The Book Fair, The Publishing House-Literary salon enjoy audiences and praises. The good results, as well as the extremely helpful receptivity of the administrative forum give us the right to look forward with optimism, even in these times of crisis, because wonderful quality things can be done with a staff dedicated to their profession that manages everything with effectiveness and responsibility.


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T h e U R ECH IA Ye a r 1 7 5 y e a r s s i n c e h i s b i r t h

Bio-bibliographical chart

Son of the Court Victualler Alexandru Popovici and Euphrosina Photinia, Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia begun his education in the private school of the Boyar Dumitrache Stans houses from Piatra Neam and continued it in the private boarding house of the Swiss Bailiff from Olobeni. He attended then the Trei Ierarhi Preparatory School from Iai becoming, later, in 1844 the beneficiary of a scholarship of The Mihileanu Academy in Iai. When he registered into the Academy he gave up his christian name, Popovici, in favour of Alexandrescu, after his fathers first name. Much later, he assumed the name of Urechia, when he found out from the family papers that his origins laid in the family of the great Moldavian chronicler. Between the years 1855 and 1857 he benefits from a scholarship to Paris, given to him by the Society for the help of Romanian Young Men to Study. In Paris, he gets first his Bachelors degree in philosophy (18th of August, 1856) and then becomes a student of the Faculty of Letters and attends at the same the courses of the Philosophy and letters in Sorbonne. There is also the place where he edited the Romanian language magazine The Opinion (1856) and collaborated at the same time with great French dailies like: Le Constitutionnel, Gazette de France, La Patrie, Le Sicle. In Paris he got married to Franoise Josphin Dominique Plano, daughter of Doctor de Plano (physician of Queen Izabel of Spain) but she shortly after died, in 1858. Once returned home, he starts his career as an assessor at the second section of the Iai Court House. He later becomes a teacher Romanian literature and Latin language at the superior gymnasium classes and then Universal History teacher and Literature at the college classes in what was later to become the Iai University (1858 1864). In 1859 he is a manager in the Ministry of Cults and Public Instruction of Moldavia and later ad-interim Ministry of the Department of Cults and Public Instruction in the government of Mihail Koglniceanu (1859 - 1860). He gets remarried to Luiza Pester Wirth and in 1860, his first son, Alceu Urechia is born, future humorist and friend of Ion Luca Caragiale. Vasile Alexandru Urechia had other two children, Corina Urechia, born in 1865 and Nestor Urechia, born in 1866. Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia is one of the founders of: Ateneul romn Society from Iai (1860) and Bucharest (1865) and is the one who had an essential contribution to organizing the Romanian Educational System as president of the Committee of the Inspection of Schools in Iai (1863), general manager of the Ministry of Cults and Public Instruction

(since the 31st of July, 1864) and Ministry of Cults and Public Instruction under the lead of Dimitrie Brtianu (10th of April, 1881 the 31st of July, 1882). Historian, animator of the cultural life and writer, Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia never gave up the teaching vocation and he taught till the end of his life at the Department of Romanian History and Romanian Literature of the Iai University in Bucharest (31st of July, 1864 - 1901). Involved in the political life, V.A. Urechia was a member of the Chamber of Representatives as a representative of the Tutova county (since 1866), vice president of the Romanian Senate (1901) and also Representative and Senator of Covurlui (since 1869), function that he detained till he died, in Galai. Fighter for the completion of the national union and the cultivation of national consciousness, a sublime agitator for the wellness and the greatness of the Romanian people, as Bogdan Petriceicu Hadeu wrote about him, V.A. Urechia founded and managed many cultural institutions as the Transylvania Society, The Macedo-Romanian Society and the League for the cultural Unity of all Romanians (1893 - 1897). Founder member of the Romanian Literary Society (1st of April, 1866), the future Romanian Academy (30th of March, 1879) and its General Secretary (1872 1873, 1881 - 1894) was vice president and then president of its historical department (since 1892), president of the literary department (since 1888) and vice president of the same department (1888 1894, 1892 1895, 1898 - 1901). He was also a correspondent member of the Spanish Academy and the Ethnographical Institute of Paris. He edited many publications, among which there are: The National Assembly, The Almanac of the Cults, The General Year-Book of the Public Instruction, The Romanian Athenaeum, Dacia, The Public Instruction, The Aurochs and the Eagle.Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia contributed to the spreading of the Romanian culture initiating or sponsoring essential institutions as The Romanian Athenaeum, The University, The Romanian Academy, The Antiquity Museum, The National Theatre, and The Romanian Academy. Not in the least, V.A. Urechia founded, on the 7th of December, 1889, the deposit of national culture that bears his name, donating his valuable personal library to the people of Galai and editing the bulletin of the Urechia Foundation, the first publication of a public library (1901). All along his life, V.A. Urechia had a rich journalistic activity, collaborating with numerous publications as: The Aurochs/Zimbrul, The Romanian/Romnul, The Danube Star/Steaua Dunrii, The Family/Familia, Bucharest Informations? Informaiunile bucuretene, Literary conversations/ Convorbiri literare, The Literate/Literatorul, Literary Pages/ Pagini literare, The Contemporary Magazine/ Revista contemporan, Literary Romania/ Romnia literar, The 20th Century/ Secolul XX, The New Magazine/ Revista Nou, Life/Viaa, The Universe/Universul, The Literary Universe/ Universul literar, The Romanian Historical Archive/ Arhiva istoric a Romniei, The Romanian Athenaeum/ Ateneul roman (Iai), The National Defence/Aprarea Naional, The Annals of the Romanian Academy/Analele Academiei Romne, The Romanian Horn/ Buciumul romn, The Bulletin of the Public Instruction/

As someone who was very agitated for the wellness and the greatness of the Romanian people, Urechia was sublime, no one could ever replace him, nothing will surpass him in our

national history and he will stand forever as an archangel of the enthusiasm in the memory of all Romanians.

(Bogdan Petriceicu Hadeu, 1901)

VASILE ALEXANDRESCU URECHIAV.A.Urechia

-historian, writer, playwright-27.02.1834 - 22.11.1901

Piatra Neam Bucureti


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Buletinul instruciunii publice, The House holders calendar/Calendarul gospodarului, The Oltenia Calendar/ Calendarul Olteniei, The Romanians Calendar/Calendarul Romnului, The calendar of the The Universe/Universul newspaper. The editorial debut was made with verses at the young age of 16 (1850) under the name of Vasile Alexandrescu. The real literary debut happens in 1855 with the historical narrative Baptiste Veldi Chief Chancellor published in The Literary Romania/Romnia literar (number 13 20) under the name of V. Alisandrescu, writing that places V.A. Urechia amongst the pioneers of the Romanian novel. Skimming the press of the time we can find a literary portrait of V.A. Urechia in the Popular Sheet/ Foaia popular from the 1st of March, 1898 and we can imagine our man from Galai as his contemporaries saw him:V.A. Urechi. Who doesnt know him? Everybody does.University professor, almost as old as the University, leading historian, distinguished orator, elite member of the Parliament.A heart as there is no other is Sir Vasiles: who knew him closely in any circumstance could never forget him. He has fans and honors, only, friends and proteges alone.Slowly, slowly he comes down the stairs of the University with the red bag under the arm.Once home, he sinks in the pile of books and papers, in the stack of notes and scribbles that form his monumental work.He also has a love of his own, a love as an old man, hot interest and undiminished towards a her. The one who ruins him completely because it is she who gets all of his earnings: The Urechia Library from Galai.Works: Alecsandri at Mircesci: comedy, Bucharest, The Carol

Gbl litho-printing shop, 1894. FV III 15.934 Lalliance des roumains et des hongroises en 1859,

Bucarest; Lito-Typographie Carol Gbl, 1894, FV IV786. Archimandrite Vartolomei Mzreanulu. Bucuresci: the

Romanian Academy Printing Shop, 1889, FV III 6.977 The Authographs of Varlaam the Bishop, Bucuresci, the

Romanian Academy Printing Shop, 1889. FV IV 1.208 The Church and the school, Bucuresci, The State Printing

Shop, 1877. FV III 18.561 The Matter of Basarabia, Bucuresci, C.P. Conduratu and

I.S.Rdulescu Printing Shop, 1878, FV III 5.781 Codex Bandinus: Memoir, Bucuresci: The Carol Gbl

litho-printing shop, 1895. FV 4.477 Conference of V.A. Urechia, Galai: [S.n.], [1889]. FV F.G.

III 14.230 How I met Alezandri, Bucuresci, The Carol Gbl litho-

printing shop, 1894 FV III 5.267 As it was once upon a time: legends, Bucuresci; Minerva,

1901, 320p FV II 5.279 The Debate regarding the law project of the professional

schools, Bucuresci, Gutenberg Printing Shop, 1893. FV III 9.533

On Romanian eloquence, oratoria forense, Bucuresci, Ioan Weiss Printing Shop, 1867, 59p. FV II 44.924

From the rule of Ioan Caragea, Bucureti: The Carol Gbl Institute of Graphic Arts, 1900, 160p FV IV3.389

Documents referring to 1800-1831, Bucureti, The Romanian Academy Printing Shop. 1889, 32p FV IV 3.389

Documet referring to the Romanian language, Bucureti, The Romanian Academy Printing Shop, 1889 FV IV 3.389

Edility under Carageas rule, Bucureti, The Carol Gbl Institute of Graphic Arts, 1900. FV IV 3.389

Elements of French language, Iai, Minerva printing Shop, 1860, 24p. CS II 2.112

The Romanian woman according to history and poetry, Bucureti, C.A. Rosetti Printing House, 1865, 25p. CSII 2.112

George Asaki, Bucuresci, Romnulu Printing Shop, 1890. FV III 9.533

Lide latine chez les roumains. Alais: Imprimerie-Papeterie J. Brabo, 1900, 12p. FV III 9.533

Inscriptions from manuscripts, Bucharest, The Romanian Academy printing Shop, 1887, 20p, FV IV 3.389

The History of events in the Orient, Bucureti, The Romanian Academy Printing Shop, 1889, 129 p FV IV 3.389

The Romanian history, Iai, The Romanian Horn Printing Shop, 1863, 144p, CS II 2.229

The Romanian History, the 4th edition, Bucureti, C.A Rosetti Printing Shop, 1865, 131p CSII 35.012

The History of the schools from 1800 to 1864, the 4th volume, Bucuresci, The State Printing Shop, 1892 1901. FV IV 1.227 (1-4)

Bibliographical trial for Istria and Dalmatia, Bucuresci: The Academic Society Printing Shop, 1878. FV III 18.561

Romanian Legends, Bucureti: The United Romanian Printing Shops, [19--?]. 267p. FV I 5.478

Places for village schools in Romania, Bucuresci: C.N. Rdulescu National Antreprise Printing Shop, 1868. FV IV 30

Notice sur les armoires du people roumain. Maon: Protat Freres, 1901, 20p FV III 18.561

A statistic of the Romanian Country in 1820, Bucureti: The Romanian Academy Printing shop, 1887, FV IV 3.389

Ode to Elisa, comedy in one act, Bucuresci, The Romanian Laborers Printing Shop, 1869, 56p. FV II 7.562

Complete works, Series A-D, Bucuresci: The State Printing Shop, 1878 1883. FV II 9.535 (A-D)

Till when? The Stars, Poetry, Paris: de Soye et Bouchet, 1857, 4p. CS V 2.298

[Project of Modification of the Law on Public Instruction in 1864]. [s.l.]; [s.n.], 1901. FV V 2.183

Sketches of Romanian signets, Bucureti; [s.n.], 1891, 17p. : il. [2] f. pl. FV V 3.961

The Inter-Parliamentray Union, Bucuresci: The Carol Gbl Institute of Graphic Arts, 1896.78p. FV III 3.482

Editor of: Macedo-Romanian Album under the direction of V.A.

Urechia, Bucharest, Socecu Establishment for Graphic Arts, 1880. V 2.521

Latin voices from brothers to brothers. Illustrated with autographs and various stamps by V.A. Urechia, President of the League for the cultural Unity of the Romanians, Bucharest, I. V. Socecu Establishment for Graphic Arts, 1894. FV V 2.853

References Pltnea, Paul. The Library of V.A. Urechia, a contribution

to the perennial quality of the Romanian culture, 1998. II 82.850

Goia, Vistian. V.A. Urechia: [Monographical study], Bucharest, Minerva, 1979. 264 p. II 51.543

Pltnea, Paul. The V.A. Urechia International Prize, Paris, 1882, Bucharest, 1996. II 78.543

Pltnea, Paul. V.A. Urechia: interferences avec le monde espagnol, Bucharest: The Ropmanian Academy Publishing House, 1992, III 31.933

Popa, Anioara. V.A. Urechia: History, Galai: the Danubius Academic foundation Publishing House, 2001. F.G. II 89.214 (I)

oitu, Ecaterina. Literary Pre-occupations in V.A. Urechias activity, Galai: [S.n.}. 1969. F.G. III 15.038

Camelia Topora


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Does a wealthy Romanian want to immortalize his name? He must with praise associate it to the cultural advancement of the Romanian nation ( V.A. Urechia,1900)

The literary soirees that took place in the house of V.A. Urechia near Cimigiu, at 28, Brezoianu str., gathered intellectuals from various fields: poet Al. Macedonski, epigram writer Cincinat Pavelescu, historian Gr. Tocilescu,

actors Aristizza Romanescu and C. Nottara. Al. Macedonski, a protegee of the historian, in the poem whose manuscript is in the Special Collections of the V.A. Urechia Library entitled To Urechia (1882), defined him as: Through his education a man of the new times, through his heart, a man of old times. V. A. Urechia was also a very active journalist formed at the school of Koglniceanu, sometimes around the time of the Union, as a founder or a collaborator at The Opinion (1857), The Aurochs and the Eagle (1858), The Star of the Danube (1859), The Public Instruction (1860), The Romanian Athenaeum (1860 1861), Dacia (1861), The General Year Book of the Public Instruction of Romania (1863 -1965), The Bulletin of the Public Instruction (1864 1865), The National Assembly (1869 1870), The Bucharest Informations (1870), The Contemporary magazine (1873 1876), The Urechia Foundation Bulletin (1901). The last publication appeared a month before he died and was realized almost entirely by Urechia. He sent it for the library of King Charles I, the Urechia Foundation Bulletin and His Highness expressed his vivid thanks as V.A. Urechia notes on the last pages of his diary. The bulletin, sub entitled Bibliography history literature contained information on the foundation and the functioning of the library, the list of doublet- copies offered to the Romanian Academy, the exchange of doublet-copies between the Urechia foundation and the Romanian Athenaeum, studies and reviews. The

Bulletin with the number one on the cover was sent by mail, after the authors death. Refined intellectual, as historian Anioara Popa from Galai defines him in her work dedicated to him, he knew as a young man the libraries and archives from Paris, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid. V.A. Urechia often traveled abroad to do research and also to attend congresses of history, archeology heraldry, ethnography, inter-parliamentary meetings as a delegate of the Romanian Academy. Legendary still is today his attendance at the Orientalists Congress in Rome, in 1899 where he organized a Romanian festivity to support the Latin origins of the Romanians and brought a bronze wreath at Trajans Column, the founder of Romanian Dacia, along Old Cran, dressed in folk costume that looked exactly like a Dacian that stepped down off the column. But V.A.Urechia was ridiculed many a times by his contemporaries for his participation to all the important events of the country, the erection of all monuments dedicated to the great men of the country, the opening of all branches of the Cultural leagues. The acid friend of his, Hadeu, tags him even in 1869 in his magazine, Trajan, with the emblem Nihil sine Urechia. The extensive correspondence preserved in the V.A. Urechia Library (and the Library of the Academy) shows that the venerable senator of Covurlui had the cult of friendship, entertained friendship relationships with many a great man from the country and abroad. He corresponded with M.Koglniceanu, so admired for his patriotism, considered by V.A. Urechia, the great teacher of the Romanian nation. He corresponded with V.Alecsandri, Al. Odobescu, Ion Bianu, D.A. Sturdza, poets Felibrige, orientalist A. de Gubernatis, famous ethnographer Leon de Rosny. Historian and culture man V.A. Urechia was very appreciated by the foreign contemporary specialists for his efforts to make the Romanian space known in the world. So, in 1882, The French Ethnographical Society, created an international V.A. Urechia prize (three gold, silver and bronze medals with V.A. Urechias effigy) for works in ethnography referring to Romania and the populations from the Balcans

The portrait of a man of culture (III)

Valentina One


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and Carpathians. The prize was a recognition and a reward for the much ado that V.A. Urechia has made eminent representative of the Romanian nationality to facilitate the research of a Latin geographical space so not known. The French ethnographer and Orient specialist Leon de Rosny dedicated in 1882 to V.A.Urechia his work Les populations danubiennes. La patrie des roumains dOrient, 1882-1884. And Leon de Rosny is also the one who wanted to donate his library of books on the Orient to the bibliophile friend, V.A. Urechia. In a letter from the Romanian Academy Library, dated the 25th of January, 1901, Leon de Rosny writes to Urechia that he wishes to donate to the Galai library his great Chinese library as a proof of his attachment towards our country whose citizen he wishes to become. The next one was for a young man to arrive to Paris for education. The exceptionally valuable collection would have attracted to Galai scholars from all over the world. All the volumes were to be stamped with a dry stamp with the inscription Bibliothque du Galatz, the documents were to be preserved in a special room of the Galai Library. The letter ends with Votre ami du fond du Coeur. It was sent from Paris on the 9th of November, 1901. V.A. Urechia died on the 22nd of November, 1901. Esteemed by many of his contemporaries, V.A. Urechia had the power to convince to donate to the Galai library, his great love, printings and museum objects. King Charles I, A.D. Sturdza, Vasile V. Koglniceanu, Aristizza Romanescu, The araga Brothers Romanian Authors New and Used Bookshop, from Iai contributed to the funds of the V.A. Urechia library. Passionate collector and bibliophile, V.A. Urechia loved art and wished for the library to be part of a museum complex that was to include an art collection. The Galai library had in 1890, when it was opened a valuable print collection, a very rare thing at that time. The Urechia bibliophile gathered paintings by N.Grigorescu, N.Vermont prints by Th. Aman, Gh. Asachi, lithographs by A. Raffett, a print by Rembrandt in Basan series (about 1880) For the people from Galai, V.A. Urechia built a cultural church The V.A. Urechia Library, inaugurated in 1890, that sheltered between her walls a small museum with archeological objects, coins, ethnography, heraldry, paleontology.

V.A. Urechia remains in the Romanian culture through his work and reputation. The best evidence to that, he said, to pass an exam, the exam for the Romanian culture, will always be: the dedication, passion and interest for the relics of the past, the library that has his name, the library of a historian passionate for the history of his people, that gathered and preserved for a lifetime documents regarding the history of the Romanians, the library of a scholar passionate by the love for books, a collector and a curator (in 1886 he announced the Academy that the patrimony of his collections holds over 2500 historical and juridical documents from the 17th 19th centuries). V.A.Urechia will still be in the memory of the Romanian people as the man who had an endless desire to be useful in all fields and a great talent to gain through a cute vanity so much love for the Romanians (N.Iorga, The Cultural League, In Grains of Wheat, year I, 1930). At the dusk of his life, in 1900, he defined himself in his diary as an obscure worker. As far as his contemporaries are concerned, a worker, maybe, but a very well informed one and also a very honest one towards the culture that he belonged to, towards his people whom he gave everything he had, his fortune, the personal library and his life. A

day before his death, in the morning, he had sent to The Literary Universe a historical novella and in the afternoon he was to go to the Senate, as its vice president. It is said that he died while packing books that were meant for Old Cran to be brought to Transylvania over the mountains. One thing is for sure: V.A. Urechia was part of the intellectual elite of the end of the 19th century although a great wronged to pioneer As a last homage, the inhabitants of Galai called him in the local newspaper The National from the 24th of November, 1901 a king of the Romanian thought and feeling.


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To ensure a wider and more accurate information of the French opinion about the burning desire of the Romanians to write thank you notes to all the French personalities and not only for their solidarity with the Unionist movement in the Romanian Countries, V.A.Urechia edits the Opinion magazine and talks to the patriots in the country to write thank you

letteres to all French personalities and not only who supported the Union movement. (1) (Ibidem, p.25). As a coronation of all these patriotic political contributions, as a support to the Union of the Romanian countries, they make based on the consultations with Bataillard a Memoir for the Peace Congress in Paris, another one for the Emperor of France, Napoleon III that prove beyond any shadow of a doubt based on historical, national, the right of the clans, the profoundly legitimate, objective character of the Romanian struggle to Unite the Romanian countries and the making of the modern national state. These actions that materialize in spite of huge and numerous difficulties in the capital of a country that decided destinies of peoples and loomed so many diplomatic maneuvers, were more than a noble title of patriotism for an only 22 years old man, that showed a glimpse of his virtues as a lucid politician, fueled by profound national feelings that were about to mark his print with his personality the whole epoch that was to follow. After the making of the crucially important act, on the 24th of January, 1959, event that involved him, as we already saw, with all his soul with the rest of the leaders of the Union movement, V.A. Urechia participates with the same energy and abnegation to the involvement of the whole range of social reforms initiated by the wise Al.I.Cuza bringing this way a new contribution to the modernization of the Romanian society structures, the consolidation of the modern united Romanian state.V.A. Urechia understood, based on a political intuition that the first Union, The Small Union, must be the starting point for the alignment to the motherland of all Romanian territories under foreign ruling. That is why he never allowed himself a moment of rest or interruption in his efforts to organize and mobilize he movement for the completion of the national state. He understands the imperative of his time and dedicates himself more passionately, more decided to the fight for supporting the movement of freeing the Romanians from Transylvania,

Basarabia and Bucovina not forgetting the hopes of other groups of Romanians, especially those in the Balcans that needed so his moral, political and spiritual support of those in The COUNTRY THAT WAS FREE FROM NATIONAL OPRESSION. As president of the Macedo-Romanian society he was to substantially contribute, in several ways, to the maintaining and developing of the national conscience of these people, the preparation in the country of several teachers, professors, priests, the sponsoring of schools, newspapers, magazines, scholarships for Romanian students from the Balcans that studied in various Europea centres etc. This way another historical event takes form, the one of the fight for the completion of the Union of the Romanian state, act that deeply involves V.A. Urechia on multiple levels. Thus, he becomes one of the main founders and animators of the national movement from Old Romania, dedicated to this national ideal, movement made of several PATRIOTIC AND CULTURAL, POLITICAL, SCIENTIFIC, LITERARY SOCIETIES AND CLUBS etc., movement that will be joined by all social classes and groups. This movement, with V.A. Urechia at the centre, intends to support, using the most diverse ways and means the fight of the Romanians from Transylvania, Basarabia and Bucovina to nationally free themselves and unite with the country. V.A. Urechia manifested himself both as a founder and leader of many such cultural-patriotic societies, some from the country, some from abroad but also as a popular tribune, animator in deed, speech and model for the masses as an organizer of huge demonstrations of national solidarity, author of numerous protests and memoranda, manifests, motions addressed to international personalities from everywhere , the international public opinion, that revealed the national oppression politics lead by the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and Russia, proving the justification of the desire of political and state union f the Romanians from Transylvania, Basarabia and Bucovina with their brothers of Romania. An uncontestable activity, prodigious, theoretical and practical, political and cultural meant to materialize the programme of the completing the unification of the national state is performed by the ardent leader in the League for the National Unity of all Romanians. He is not only one of the founders of this society, along with other professors and prestigious scholars of the spiritual and political life like Al.Orscu, Grigorie Tocilescu, S. Mehedini, Gr.Brtianu, P.S.Aurelian, Iacob Negruzzi, C.C. Arion s.o. and one of the most dynamic, most energetic presidents that manage to make a programme and a fight strategy on a national and international plan in the last decade of the 19th century. Founded in 1891, the League for the National

Patriotical contributions of V.A. Urechias (II)

Constantin Gh.Marinescu



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Union of all Romanians was to become, after 1893, when his president was V.A. Urechia the flagpole of the fight for national unity, the headquarters of the Romanian movement from all historical provinces to reach the ideal of statal-teritorial union with over 100 sections in the country and abroad that reunited over 20,000 active members. Under a theoretical approach, V.A. Urechia has the great merit to give the League such a programme that was meant to awaken the development of the national conscience on the way to develop the spiritual horizon of the masses through the act of culture. V.A. Urechia saw the cultural unity of the Romanians as a premise, a sine qua non condition of the poltical (state) union. The scholar and politician lawfully considered that it is not possible to convince the masses of the necessity of the Great Political Act of Union without a solid cultural preparation, without the conscience of the spiritual perennial values, common to all Romanians. He stressed in this respect that the necessity of the awareness of all Romanians of the virtues of our national past, the ethno-genesis, the common Dacian-Roman origins, the historical continuity on the territory of ancient Dacia, the common language, the traditions, beliefs and aspirations as fundamental component elements of the national consciousness (1) (Constantin Marinescu, Al.Tnase, The national consciousness of the national values, Junimea Publishing House, Iai, 1982, pag.20 29, 54 80, 147 196). The cultural League, lead by V.A. Urechia did not consider one of its goals to be the cultural union, the cultural movement but it was just a means to reach the goal, the resuscitation of the political movement to complete the national state union. This motivated, repeatedly, the fact that the official name of the society does not reflect the final goal. Only for political reasons, not to ruin the diplomatic relationships Romania had with Austria-Hungaria on a larger scale, with the Triple Alliance, that it was a part of, they chose this name, as a symbol of expressing, ab initio an ideal of cultural union. The league, actually, as its own documents prove, in the time of V.A. Urechias leadership intended from the very beginning to bring into fact the political union of all Romanians. (2) (C.G. Marinescu, The League for the Cultural Unity of all Romanians, Arge, no.9 (28), 1968; see also C. Marinescu, The Role of The cultural league in the Union of Transylvania and Romania, The Chronicle, no. 48 (670), 01.12.1980). Actually, after V.A. Urechia died, in conditions favourable to us (determined by The First World War),

that is in December, 1914, the society adopted the name of The League for the Political Union of all Romanians. To present its programme to the general public, its aims and goals they published What is the cultural league and what it wants, and the author undoubtedly was professor V.A. Urechia. Even since he led the League it had the greatest contributions to he Romanian fight for completion of the national union. We have to take into consideration, first of all, the role this society had in ample actions to make known the documents of the national movement in Transylvania, especially of the Answer of the Romanian Academic Youth from Transylvania and Hungary and The Memorandum of the P.N.R. in Transylvania that revealed, in a critical, profoundly argumented and objective argument the discriminatory measures of the national, chauvinistic of the dual Austrian Hungarian Empire towards the Romanian population, majoritary in number in Transylvania. (1) (C.Gh. Marinescu. The role of the Cultural League in the Union of Transylvania with Romania, no.48 (670), 01.12.1980). Both through the personal press of the League :the Romanian League, The National Unity amd the pamphlets, calendars etc they ensured a wide popularization and spread of these

documents in the country and abroad to raise awareness about the problems of the Romanians beyond the Carpathians. (2) (C.Gh. Marinescu, The Memoranda movement, crucial moment in the fight of Romanians for union, The Chronicle, no.45 (928), 1983, p. 1-2). From Urechias initiative, at the same time, they organized in 1893, in the main cities of the country, with the support of the local branches of the League, meetings of national solidarity with the memoranda cause. Through the ardent speeches, filled with patriotism, V.A. Urechia addresses to folk masses, traveling all

over the country to explain how the national cause is one for all of them, in all historical provinces and so it is the cause of the memoranda, a common cause of the whole people. (3) (Ibidem). The activity of the Cultural League under the initiative and decisive leadership of V.A. Urechia, came to higher superior values in the year 1894 when the Hungarian authorities organize in Cluj an abusive trial to the Memoranda as we can see from many documents from the archives, preserved by V.A. Urechia and donated with his whole library to Galai, at the end of the last century, (4) (The V.A. Urechia Library. Galai, the V.A. Urechia archives, fond, notes, programmes, manifestations, flyers, telegrams, motions, letters, File X). The Cultural League, lead by V.A. Urechia becomes the main moral political force in the support



8

of the Memoranda organizing, in the country, hundreds of meetings of reprobation of the trial itself but also the strong feelings against the leaders of the P.N.R. in Transylvania lead by Dr. Ioan Raiu, Dean Vasile Lucaciu and so on. Only on the day of the trial there were 123 popular meetings only in Romania, attended by tens of thousands of people from all layers of society and speeches were held by famous personalities of the universal political life. At the end of these impressive manifestations, the participants addressed telegrams, motions to condemn the trial and its sentences to the King, the Government and the International Public Opinion, the European Governments and Parliaments (5). (The V.A. Urechia Library, Galai, V.A. Urechia Archives, see also C.Gh. Marinescu Pages from the activity of the Cultural League for the completion of the state Union of Romania Studies and Historical materials, volume II, Suceava, 1971, passim.) The same archive documents obviously reveal the role V.A. Urechia played not only in organizing all these activities but also in: the material support of travel expenses for several thousands of Romanians that filled the streets of Cluj and the halls of the Court House on the day f the trial; he hired many prestigious lawyers from Europe through the Cultural League; he organizes a press service in favor of the defendants by inviting to trial many notorious journalists from Europe; he sent League representatives to morally support the defendants to observe and inform the country about the trial; he paid for the defendants all the trial expenses, the fines and family support etc (1) - (Ibidem, see also V. Neta, C. Gh. Marinescu The Cultural League and the Union of Transylvania and Romania, Junimea Publishing House, Iai, 1978. pag. 322-333). Understanding perfectly that the trial at Cluj was started in 1892 against the leaders of the Romanian National Party in Transylvania by the Budapest government surpassed the limits of the memoranda, being in fact a political trial sued against the whole Romanian nation, V.A. Urechia, the president of the Cultural League uses his the prestige and the authority he enjoyed at an international level (the political, academic, scientific circles) addressing, in May, 1894, before the beginning of the trial, of a Pathetic Appeal to the international public opinion. Through this appeal, V.A. Urechia was requesting the support of European peoples in favor of the Romanian oppressed by Austro-Hungary. Through its contents, the appeal sent on the address of over 150 European personalities: heads of state and Governments, ministries, representatives, university professors, members of Academies, journalists etc are a true indictment against the discriminatory politics

practiced deliberately against Romanians in Transylvania. (2) (tefan Pascu, C.Gh. Marinescu the International echoes of the Romanians fight for the national unity, Dacia Publishing House, 1980, p. 47-50, see also C. Gh. Marinescu Solidarity with the Romanian cause, The Chronicle, no.48 (931), 1983, p.1-2). In his Appeal, V.A. Urechia proceeded to a dialectic approach of the links between the national history in the European history proving, eloquently, the contribution of the Romanian people in the protection of Occidental Europe from the Turkish expansion, the guard role in protecting the European values of civilization, of stability factor in this perimetre of the continent, placed at the crossroads between West and East, of some forms of civilization and interests that became not only once virulently contradictory in the course of history. V.A. Urechia proved the fact that this is the reason why the Latin Occident had a real moral duty to support the Romanians, The Latin cousins from the Carpathians into fulfilling some vital national aspirations (3). (The V.A. Urechia Library, Galai, V.A. Urechia Archive the fond of posters, programmes, flyers, manifests, telegrams). The Appeal of V.A. Urechia addressed to the International Public Opinion is deeply immersed into a: high political-national ethics (1) (C.Gh. Marinescu V.A. Urechia and the State-National Unity of the Romanians pag. 112 115). The document stressed on the fact that beyond the Carpathians, in Transylvania and Banat there are almost 4 million Romanians, descendents of the colonies Emperor Trajan settled on these lands after he conquered Dacia. These are our brothers, of the Romanians from Free Romania but are also your younger brothers that make the glory for the Latin people. (2) (C. Gh. Marinescu V.A. Urechia and the national-state union of the Romanians, pag.112 115). I dont intend - underlined the Appeal to make here the sketch of the history of the 4 million brothers of

ours along more than 18 centuries since they were here, in Dacia. It is enough to remember that they never lost the consciousness of their origins and in the midst of evil times they kept their Latin individuality, their language and their customs. A people that manifested a national vitality, a people that saved Europe from the Otoman invasion, this people that in the

East of Europe is the depositary of the Occidental Latin civilization is today threatened in the very core of its national existence. In full century of nationalities, The right of being and staying Romanian is denied to the Romanians in Transylvania and Banat.



9

Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia nu s-a bucurat, pe timpul vieii, doar de recunoatereenjoyed during his life, not only the recognition of friends and people from Galai, city that chose his for 35 years in a row to represent them in the Parliament, but especially, by the continuous appreciation of his friends from the western or oriental Europe. First of all, he was appreciated for the act of culture that was the foundation of a European size library in Galai, city considered to be in a special geo-strategic position. His whole life was dedicated to the national culture because he bought with his own money, with priority books that spread his beliefs about the historical truth and the legitimacy of the Romanians amongst the European peoples. He brought this way to Galai over 19,000 volumes and created links between the library and Cultural centres from the country and abroad, a very well appreciated fact by the press of the time. A newspaper in Rome noticed in 1899: Passion generates miracles; Urechia is the man who generates miracles. Angelo De Gubernatis considered that the Library is an important monument of culture and scholar Leon de Rosny, president of the Ethnographical Institute from Paris wanted to donate his library in the idea of transforming this institution from the Lower Danube into an international research centre. Minute researches on the line of links with the Spanish world of Paul Plltnea revealed that as a consequence of the many cultural relationships, as well as the introduction of the Spanish press to the La Discussion newspaper, managed by N. Rivero or to Iberia, managed by E. Castelar, the scholar attracted to himself a special sympathy (maestro siempre respectabile qurido amigo

don Basilio Aleaxandrescu Urechia, in La Esenza, 1868). In the same year, 1868, the La Reforma Newspaper announced the admittance of Urechia as correspondent member in the Real Academia de la Lengua.1 The action that had the greatest impact in the epoch was the attraction of the whole Europe attention to the role the memoranda defense had, put into practice

in the press by a collection of adhesions of supporters from the West (Latin voices. From brothers to brothers), as well as the success of the Balkan peoples defense is concerned. against the Turks by the alliance of several illustrious writers for the making of a real peace symbol (The Macedon-Romanian album, 1880). Among the foreign people who signed the document there are: Leon de Rosny, Emile Picot, Emil Girardin, and A. Ubicini. The echoes of this campaign will spread to France where one of the Felibrige poets, A. Roque-Ferrier, president of the Historical Society in Compiegne, Count of Marsyand poet Luc de Berluc-

Perussis saluted the event, offered help and made publicity in the favour of the book and the idea it stands for. On the other hand, one beneficiary of his relentless fight noticed it in the Albanian newspaper (Shqipetari) calling it thankfully The relentless and foreseeing guard of the Balkans. In fact, Urechia managed by cultivating these friendship relationships in influential European persons to place the national cause of Romania under the umbrella of pan-Latinity. His activity on a national and international level was defined by historian Paul Pltnea

1 Paul Pltnea, V.A. Urechia interferences with the Spanich world in: the Romanians in the World history, III, 1, Al.I. Cuza University. Iai, 1988, pp.897-909.

The International recognition of V.A. Urechia

Letiia Buruian

What I can promise to you, more than anything else is that I will teach you to love your nation and its language to warm your heart, starting that feeling, that I took the liberty to name for the first time as Romanism, and that feeling I will not share with

you forgering the Historical truth in favor of nationalism. (V.A.Urechia)



10

as the expression of a political programme dedicated to imposing Romania in the concert of the great Latin nations, the spiritual regeneration of the people and its union into one country. On the doorstep of an agitated century of nationalities Urechia is to be praised, as Anioara Popa underlined, for outlining a pacifist politics by getting as allies the forces that intended to create a European balance. In the researchers opinion he managed to impose in the European area what only after the First World War was to become the principle of nationalities. As a recognition of the merits he had as a negotiator and patriot militant for the faith of the Romanians South of the Danube, The Ethnographic society from Paris instituted in 1882, at the proposal of Auguste Lesonef of an international prize named V.A. Urechia awarded in 1883 to Emile Legrand for Recueil des poemes historiques en grec vulgaire and Efemerides Daces ou Cronique de la guerre de quatre ans. There are no known details for the next years. We do know, though,

that in 1900 the theme of the contest was the riverside populations of the Black sea. The prize was awarded to works about Romania and the neighboring populations, written in French or Latin. A very important approach, un-signaled by researchers, was Urechias participation to the projects of the Universal Scientific Alliance. This international organization founded in 1876 intended to support researches from various fields, organizing congresses, conferences and editing international publications. The members enjoyed a lot of support and they benefited from a special passport (Diplome - Circulaire)2 . So we find out from the Family Magazine3 that in 1895, in Bucharest was edited Bibliothque Internationale de lAlliance Scientifique Universelle, after the previous 2 Crawford, Elisabeth. Nationalism and Internationalism in Sci-ence, 1880-1939; Four studies of the Nobel Population, Cambridge Univer-sity Press, New York, 1992, 172 p;3 In: Familia/The Family, year 26, 1895, no.28, 9th of July, p.334.

series were published in Paris, Lyon, Bruxelles and Qubec. As the Dictionary of the Romanian Press mentions (Rduic, 1995) these leaflets published personalities of the Romanian and foreign culture and science. The note from The Family also contains a piece of information the dictionary doesnt mention: The alliance had a committee in Bucharest, a committee whose general delegate for Romania was V.A. Urechia himself and the vice president was V. Butculescu.As a consequence of his activity in the Inter parliamentary Union (formed in 1889) where he was president of the Romanian group, of the relationships he forged with the Bulgarians and the Albanians, Urechia was the first Romanian contender for the Nobel Prize for Peace, in 1901. The International Notoriety, the intellectual affinity he enjoyed from Albert Gobart, president of the permanent bureau from Berna, and the support of his application by ten members of the union would have brought him a strong advantage. At the same time, the preference of the Swedish committee, in the following years, for some of the Unions applicants makes us believe that V.A. Urechia would have had real chances if the formalities would have been done on time or if he wasnt dead at the age of only 67 years old, on the 22nd of November 1901.In short, the picture of the recognition of the merits and qualities of V.A. Urechia at an international level is as follows: he was distinguished with honorary diplomas starting with the Congress on Orientalism, in 1873, and continuing with the Ethnographic Institute from Paris (that, in 1880, placed his portrait in the gallery of the Institute) and in 1882, with the Organization of the Scientists, Literature and Art the Prix Urechia- Urechia Prize was instituted, prize awarded to researchers who specialized in Eastern Europe. He was chosen as an honorary president of the Heraldic Council of France, member of the French archeology society, correspondent member of the Spanish Academy. Of the Economic Society and of the Peace Friends Society from Madrid and the International Red Cross, the Spanish branch awarded him the diploma and the gold medal. The V.A. Urechia library preserves a great deal of the titles and diplomas received by its founder, with the exception of the medals from the Urechia prize (see the photos from the collections of the History Museum Galai).Bibliography:

1. The Bibliography of the relationships between the foreign literatures in periodicals (1859-1918), vol. I, R.S.R. Academy publishing house, Bucharest, 1980, 317 p.

2. Crawford, Elisabeth. Nationalism and Internationalism in science, 1880-1939: four studies of the Nobel Population, Cambridge University press, New York, 1992, 172 p.

3. Goia, Vistian, V.A. Urechia, Minerva Publishing House, Bucharest, 1979, 264p.

4. Pltnea, Paul. V.A.Urechia. Interferences with the Spanish world, in Romanians in World history, III, 1, Al.I.Cuza University, Iai, 1988, pp.897-909;

5. Popa, Anioara, V.A.Urechia, historian, The Danubius Academic Foundation Publishing House, Galai, 2001, 303 p.



11

V.A. Urechia, personality of an encyclopedic vocation has incontestable merits in the development of the Romanian culture of the second half of the second of the 19th century. Enterprising spirit, action and an extremely perseverant man,

Urechia contributes as an organizer to the foundation of fundamental for the Romanian culture institutions. The Romanian Athenaeum, The University, The Romanian Academy, The Antiques museum, The National Theatre, the urban and rural educational institutions are made at the initiative and with the enthusiastic contribution of the great patriot.

The sustained interest for bibliography and the organizing of a library was a constant in his life as a scholar and a teacher. As a young man, after he finished his studies in Paris, with Al. Odobescu and other personalities, he made lobby for the foundation of the Library of Romanian Academic Society (1876), of the library of the Romanian Athenaeum (1873), his contribution in book donations and inestimably valuable historical documents being a major share in their collections.

But, the most important moment in his activity is the patriotic act of 11th November 1890 the foundation with his own library of the Public Library from Galai. His soul child , the library from Galai illustrates the essence of his conceptions about the role of the book and the library, here being applied, more than anywhere else, his bibliographic knowledge regarding a library organization. The publications were arranged in the order of their inventory number, a formal method, of course, but in the conditions of the time, when most of the libraries were not scientifically organized. This system assured a certain order in the publication pile. To make the collections of the library available to the public, Urechia developed the General catalogue that was printed from the 1st of October, 1890 till 1901. In the three volumes and the three supplements 33.852 books and booklets were registered. After V.A. Urechia died, the ministry, not further funding the printing of the catalogue and the Board of administration of the Library considering the expense of printing such an instrument too high, disposed the development of a manuscript inventory registry that would continue the registration of the publication up to date. Except for this printed registry, Urechia also developed two

catalogues made of files: an alphabetical one and a thematic one, continued after his death by Valeriu Surdu, the one who followed him at the reigns of the library.

The alphabetic catalogue developed on the Schedarie and Stederini1 models is made up in its form that is still in use today approximately 7000 files and approximately 20,000 descriptions. On file, there are works by the same author (1-6 descriptions). The format of the files is probably dictated by the printed catalogue, a great deal of the charts being made of cuttings from the descriptions of the books applied alphabetically on cardboard or parchment cards. The elements of the descriptions on the charts are the ones in the printed catalogue: inventory number, author, title, year of publication, publisher and format. The charts are arranged in wooden boxes in appropriate size and the boxes are fixed on a table.

The catalogue on subjects is also original in a way; the organizing plan contains 40 fields of activity. The fields are placed alphabetically with no connection between them: I. agriculture, economy, commerce and industry; II. Archeology. Antiquities. Numismatics; III. Architecture; IV. Arts and so on. So it comes that Geography is next to Philosophy, Criticism next to Travels, Theatre next to Theology etc. The files, as in the alphabetic catalogue are tied into smaller volumes containing the works of a subdivision of the subject. The volumes made this way are

arranged in boxes- file organizers the size of a book.

The present state of the catalogues is an obvious clue to how intensely they were used by the readers and researchers that frequented the library a long time.

Through the catalogues as a proof of the library organization knowledge, V.A. Urechia places the library that bares his name among the first libraries in Romania that had organized catalogues. It is regrettable that, after the founder died although

the library reorganization issue and the introduction of decimal classification were raised the intention stage was never surpassed.

The contribution of V.A. Urechia in the field of library science is still a valuable inheritance that we, the present day servants of this invaluable culture institution have the duty to modernize and dimension at the level required by the European demands.Bibliography: Goia, V., Urechia, Bucharest, Minerva, 1979, 264p.; Oprea, N., The V.A. Urechia Public Library from Galai: monograph, 2 volumes, Galai, V.A. Urechia Library, 2002; Surdu, V. The History of the V.A. Urechia Public Library from Galai, Bucharest, The Albert Baer Graphic Establishment, 1906, 48 p.

1 Surdu, V., The History of the Urechiapublic library in Galai. Bucharest, Albert Baer Graphic Establishment, 1906.

Mia Braru

Contribution to the library scienceVASILE ALEXANDRESCU URECHIA

Th e U R ECH IA Ye a r 1 7 5 y e a r s s i n c e h i s b i r t h


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Complex personality with visions in almost all fields of culture, eager to know as much as possible from all there is Romanian Culture and at the same time to give forward, Urechia is the man of a major importance from a documentary point of view for the beginning of the 19th century.The History of schools is circumscribed to the authors exigencies that

cannot conceive a scientific work without research.

Actually this is underlined clearly in the Introduction to the History of the Romanians Course in 1865 where some parts of information were taken from in writing1 the volumes: If Neculce wrote well what his heart dictated, and not without error, we will ask to find out the truth, often asking the heart to shut up .2 The History of the Romanian schools, as the work was conceived initially, is not only a history of all branches that, at that time, contributed at the development of the Romanian intellectuals including fields like biology, religion press, exact sciences, art, printing etc that made the work to be subtitled The History of National Culture. Theoretically speaking, Urechia starts with an introduction on the educational system of the 18th century exactly because of his conviction that a reform of the educational system cannot be made without knowing the historical past of this complex field, fact that, he says, made the knowledgeable body that called itself to make the reform of public instruction to publish such a history3 The material is seen by the author as a portable archive4 that will help the members of the Parliament create a legislation on this subject, following the footsteps of their forefathers. The aim towards which Urechia reached and dedicated an extensive research, was, in fact, a much higher one, that is to make all these information, sustained by documents, to lead to the creation of a 1 Urechia, V.A, The History of schools, Volume II, Bucharest: the State Publishing House, 1892, Preface to tome I2 The Bulletin of the Public Instruction, no.1, 1965, page 753 Urechia, V.A. The History of Schools, Volume I, Bucharest, The State Printing Shop, 1892, Preface.4 Idem, quoted work, Preface.

Dissertation on the History of Romania. The aim that the savant dreamed of was later abandoned later because he realized the magnitude of the project and he admitted to that in 1891: We leave time to bring new resources and to the next generations leave them to use and accomplish a perfect work, better than what we can do today.5 It is still possible that Urechia gave this dream up because of the characteristic modesty being forced to speak of the time contemporary to him when he was involved with other friends that he didnt want to praise or criticize. This opinion is suported by the author himself: to talk about cultural and educational things from the years 1858 and before was for us a too sweet and large part of this work. 6 The result of a 30 years work of research that made the great M. Koglniceanu called him an archive mouse when he supported the work in the Academy, the writing was possible because of the contest announced by the Academy about the making of a work about the history of schools from the beginnings of the 19th century to 1864. The manuscript is presented anonymously and the historian, to attract a certain number of votes from those against him, adopts a sly tactics: he criticizes himself several times to not lead to the idea that he is the author of the manuscript: I admonished V.A. Urechia a couple of times7 The monumental work that clears a land almost unknown to his contemporaries8 is structured in 4 volumes. The first volume contains 406 pages. It starts with

5 Popa, Anioara. V.A. Urechia, Galai, Zigotto, 2001, p.303.6 Urechia, V.A. The History f Schools, Volume III, Bucharest, The State Printing House, 1892, Preface7 Idem, quoted works, preface8 Goia, Vistian. V.A. Urechia, Bucharest, Minerva, 1979, p.7

Dorina Blan

V.A. URECHIA:The history of schools



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an Introduction that refers to the factors that influenced the national culture even since the 15th century and 9 chapters that reflect the history of schools in 1800-1837. Of a special importance, as a document, as a source of information but also for the autographs of all the personalities of the time, there are facsimiles of the first volume: The gratification table from 1832 (it comprises the gratification of the teachers from St. Sava High school), the Seal of the Trei Ierarhi gymnasium and the writing of King M. Sturdza (with an autograph signature) that approves the inauguration of the Mihilescu Academy. Also here, there are the first Rules of the Romanian educational system and also comparative studies for the various regions of the country. The second volume of the work contains 366 pages and corresponds to a 10 year period of history of the Romanian Educational system. Structured in 9 chapters that coincide almost to the history of the years they refer to, starting with 1838, the volume is abundant in information about Moldavia (Iai and Galai) but also some information about Transylvania, Banat and Bucovina. We find information on the way schools were divided on types, school subjects, curricula that familiarize us to the level of education of the students in Moldavia at that time (1843 1844). Of an essential historical importance for the polemics generated at that time 1838 are the reproductions of the Teachers Petition against Maiorescu, the letter from Maiorescu to Poenaru and the Minutes of the declaration asked for by Maiorescu. This was about the imprudence of the Craiova Central Schools Inspectors office, National History and national Style teacher Ion Maiorescu to call the teachers of the time uneducated, with no conscious or patriotic feeling 9 and who, as a consequence of the petition of the teachers of the time lead to his suspension, penalty enforced by the director of the schools. Poenaru. With volume III of The History of schools, the author states that he finishes his writings about the culture of the Romanian nation until 186410 with the outspoken regret that he would have wanted to illustrate the facts of culture in Charles Is times but this would have attracted the rejection from The Academy. On 6 chapters, volume III presents information 9 Urechia, V.A., quoted works, volume II, p.6710 Urechia, V.A., Quoted works, volume III, preface

contemporary to the author who quoted himself various times for his own contributions to the Romanian educational system, facts often sustained by references to the IVth volume. All this references to his publications made, along with many others a solid data base for the monograph The V.A.Urechia Public Library, Galai, an ample study that, through author Nedelcu Oprea continues the ideas of Urechias, that is :A nation that aspires to living must know how to remember.11 The volume number IV of the history contains 507 pages and is made, as the author himself says, to support and enlighten the already published work12 . Actually, this fourth volume contains the most documents that Urechia consulted in order to write a vast history,

presented by the author as an arsenal for the historian, mostly unknown, that will arm him for the making of a definitive version of the History of the Romanian culture. All documents that support this statement are rendered in order they were consulted by the author. At the end of the volume we can find the name of the document and the page they can be found. The work of this author is not unnoticed but fully rewarded13 with the Eliad Prize of the Romanian Academy in 1890, his merits of a man of the school being recognized for his works of history of the Romanian Educational system, the most documented kind, until the appearance of Iorgas writings, the great historian quotes him very often in his major work The History of the Romanian Educational System. Through the work that he does to make the sole history of the educational system at the time, Urechia prove, once more, if it really was necessary that he was an always thirsty for knowledge man. Willing to uncover the deeds of his forefathers and continue in a manner as close to perfection as possible.

Bibliography:1. The Bulletin of the Public Instruction, nr.1, 19652. Goia, Vistian, V.A.Urechia, Bucharest, Minerva Publishing House, 1979, 264 p3.Oprea, Nedelcu. V.A.Urechia Public Library, Galai, volume 2, V.A.Urechia Public Library, 20024. Popa, Anioara. V.A.Urechia, Galai, Zigotto, 2001, 303p.5. Urechia, V.A., The History of Schools, 4 volumes, Bucharest, The State Printing Shop, 1892.

11 Urechia, V.A., Documents and the National Cel-ebration of Inauguration for the Grammar and Glossary of the Romanian Language, Bucharest, 1867, p.29 apud Oprea, Nedelcu, V.A.Urechia Public Library, Galai, V.A. Urechia Lubrary, 2002, p.712 Urechia, The History of schools, volume IV, Bu-chares, The State Printing Shop, 1892, Preface13 Idem, quoted works, volume III, page 124



14

If in the first half of the 19th century the historians concentrated mostly on the gathering and the publication of the common traits of the three Romanian Countries1 in the second half of the 19the century, period of great transformation on a national level (in 1859 The Union of the Romanian Countries, Moldova and Walachia took place, in 1866 a

foreign Prince is given the throne and in 1877-1878 Romania wins its independence) there is the need of a new approach in the way the national history is written. Now is the moment to try the writing of a synthetic history of the Romanians.

V.A. Urechia (1834-1901) was a prominent personality of the last half of the 19th century, he is the one who we owe, among others, the organizing of the Romanian educational system until Spiru Haret. He also ruled, as a president, The Cultural League, founded the Public Library from Galai that has his name (1890), he was a university professor, academician, member of the Koglniceanu government (1860), Ministry of the Cults and Public Instruction in Dumitru Brtianu government (1881)2

As far as the historian activity of V.A. Urechia is concerned, he is part of the Romantic phase of the Romanian historiography because of the research of the Romanian past through his personal vision and conception and, not in the least, through his opinion that history can be a source of inspiration for writers, as Koglniceanu recommended in Introduction to Dacia Literar/Literary Dacia3.

The main contribution as a historian of V.A. Urechia is the History of The Romanians (published in 1891-1902) that materialized the course he held at The Letters Faculty in Bucharest. The publication of this work coincided with the publication of the History of the Romanians in Trajans Dacia by A.D. Xenopol.

The History of the Romanians of V.A. Urechia contains 13 volumes that sum up to 9.468 pages. Although V.A. Urechia announced at the beginning of the first volume that he will write about the period 1774-1848 and at the end of the IXth volume the period up to 1834 and the last volume, XVII, as a general index of the series, he died after finishing the XIIIth volume, dedicated to the Revolution of Tudor Vladimirescu.

V.A. Urechia chose to treat the 18th century of the national history because this century was neglected by most of the previous historians up to then. Except for C. Erbiceanu (Greek Historians that wrote about Romanians in the epoch of Fanar rulers-1888) and A.D.Xenopol (The History of the Romanians In Trajans Dacia, vol.V, the era of Fanar rulers -1892) this particular era was not in the interest of the Romanian historians until the last two decades of the 19th

1 Frederick Kellogg. A history of the Romanian historiography, Iai, The European Institute Publishing House, 1996, p.52.2 Valentin Borda. Romanian travelers and explorers, Bucharest, Sport-Turism Publishing House, 1985, p.4543 Vistian Goia. V.A.Urechia., Bucharest, Minerva Publishing House, 1979, p.86.

century4. The fact that

V.A. Urechia treated in The History of the Romanians only the period between 1774 and 1821 is explained, on one hand, through the fugitive and the p r e c o n c e p t i o n s of the era of the Fanar ruling by the previous historians and on the other hand, historian V.A. Urechia was convinced that the history of the Romanians after 1821 could only be understood with the previous accurate understanding of the previous period5.

V.A. Urechia does more than limit himself to enumerating the Fanar rulings and wars against Russia, Turkey and Austria but also regards every reign under an administrative, political, economical, social and cultural point of view and every statement he makes is accompanied by tens of documents that unfortunately are only summarily comments by the historian6.

That is why, The History of the Romanians was considered a vast collection of documents sometimes accompanied by comments7 and not a historiography work in itself. The critics brought to it referred to the lack of an index for every volume and the lack of judgment in selecting the thousand of documents8. However, we must not ignore that before the publication of a synthesis of the 18th century owed to young Nicolae Iorga (The history of the Romanian literature in the 18th century, 1901), V.A. Urechia was on of the first archivists of this century. In spite of the shortcomings, The history of the Romanians that V.A. Urechia worked on until the last years of his life was an irreplaceable source for all scholars preoccupied by the era, starting with Iorga, continuing with D. Popovici and Al. Duu or Paul Cornea9.

As Vistian Goia concluded in his work dedicated to V.A. Urechia, The History of the Romanians of V.A. Urechias is the vastest collection of internal documents regarding such a short an epoch of the history of Moldavia and Walachia, but so important through its consequences in the evolution of the Romanian society in the next century.10 Bibliography:Borda, Valentin. Romanian Travelers and Explorers, Bucharest, Spor-

Turism Publishing House, 1985Goia, Vistian. V.A. Urechia, Bucharest, Minerva Publishing House,

1979.Kellogg, Frederick. A History of the Romanian Historiography, Iai,

European Institute Publishing House, 1996Popa, Anioara. V.A. Urechia, vol.I, Galai, Danubius Academic

Foundation Publishing House, 2001.4 Ibidem p.93.5 Ibidem, p.966 Ibidem, p.977 Anioara Popa, V.A. Urechia, volume I, Galai, Danubius Founda-tion Publishing House, 2001. p.498 Ibidem, p.509 Vistian Goia, Quoted works, p.9210 Ibidem, p.98

Simona Felea

V.A. URECHIA:The History of the Romanians



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The journalistic activity in a national sense of Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia reached its peak in 1894, in the difficult period when the chauvinistic courthouse from Cluj decided the condemnation of the Romanian patriots from Transylvania guilty of the charge of bringing into the

European attention of the injustices suffered by the non-Hungarian nationalities from Hungary. As much as the president of the League for the Cultural Unity of all Romanians and as a historian as well, Urechia coordinated the publication of the volumes Lalliance des roumains et des hongroises en 1859 contre lAutriche, new documents and Latin voices from Brothers to Brothers, meant to contribute to the better knowledge of the history of he relationships between Romanians and Hungarians but also to prove the support of the European public opinion for the Romanian cause. The two volumes were presented to the superiors in Vienna in a report sent from Sinaia on the 2nd of September, 1894 by the secretary of the Austrian League in Bucharest, C. Dumba, who considered that the publishing of these works crowned an excessively large description of the conventions signed by Prince Cuza in 1860 with the leaders of the Hungarian emigration, accompanied by several documentary appendixes. Lacking in value, the leaflet will reach its goal with great difficulty (the exposure of the falsities and the malfoy manifested by the Hungarians). A special attention was given to other publications, Voix latines: Mr. Urechia, altogether with other numerous Romanian students from abroad or established outside the borders of the country managed to create abroad an atmosphere averse to Hungary using the Cluj trial. The editors intention was to publish all the declarations favourable to the Romanians from three groups of countries, from which were published those from the Latin countries. The next two volumes should

have contained the expression of the analogue voices from Germany and England that is the Germanic countries as well as the adhesions from the Slavic world. As the author of the report noticed, The Latin Voices are mostly originated from Italy and France. The fact that the Italian state, constituted based on the bases of a revolution and on the principle of nationalities will prove very sympathetic to an oppressed nationality that is also a relative through language and origins is self explanatory. The French opinion in favour of the sister nation is justified by the hatred towards the Triple Alliance whose enthusiastic supporters are the Hungarians. From the point of view of the content I have to stress on the fact that a very interesting reading is the essay of Mr. Henri Gaidoz, Les roumains de Hongrie, it contains a summary, not a very objective one but clear and concise of the historical development and the present situation of the Romanians in Hungary. The conclusion of this author fully demonstrates the success of the editorial initiative of V.A. Urechia: The reading of the volume unfortunately enforces the impression that the trial of the Memoranda patriots from Cluj was a terrible political error that resulted in the creation of a false and unfavourable image abroad on this matter giving the Romanians a welcomed pretext for slandering the Hungarian government and the Hungarians. 1. The document is published in the volume The European and the memoranda movement (1892-1896); coordinated by Corneliu Mihail Lunga, Bucharest, The Romanian State Archives, 1995, document 78, p.365 -368.

An Austrian Report regarding the journalistic activity of Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia

in the context of the trial of the Memoranda patriots (1894)

Constantin Ardeleanu



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Historian and academician Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia, although born in Piatra Neam, is claimed by the inhabitants of Galai as a prominent personality of these places, through the great cultural act he made: the foundation on

the 7th of December, 1890 of the public library, institution that

has his name even today. The library was inaugurated on the 11th of November, 1890 in the building of the Vasile Alecsandri High School with a book fund of 6007 volumes, in the presence of the great scholar Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia and some of the most representative citizens of the city and the country. The library was the favourite child of the professor and he took care of it with great love till the end of his life, continuously enriching the fortune gathered in 30 years of work with numerous publications, documents and stamps and given to Galai. On this occasion, as sign of recognition for the present given to the community, the bust of V.A. Urechia was inaugurated and we can still admire it in front of the Vasile Alecsandri College next to the one of Ioan Cetianu, first headmaster of the college and patron of the high school poet Vasile Alecsandri. On the occasion of the inauguration, G. Mihilescu, teacher of the Commercial School, handed to academician Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia a parchment representing the thank you document from the citizens of Galai for his donation. In his speech, G. Mihilescu saw in the bust of the great academician the engagement ring of the marriage between the scientist and abnegation and the grateful inhabitants of Galai expressing at the same time his conviction that the bust we salute today will be here tomorrow among those who never left you. V.A. Urechia insisted on drawing attention to those who are present that they are not even and they should consider this a I owe you note and as he loves the inhabitants of Galai, they should love one another!, thanking for the manifestations organized

in his honor and his carved face. On the 20th of November, 1971 in front of the present location of the Library, once the building of the European Commission of the Danube, on the occasion of the celebration of the centenary of the first public library from Galai and 70 years since historian V.A. Urechia died, the inauguration of the bust of the librarys founder took place in the presence of a numerous public. The stone bust is the work of sculptor Nicolae Pascu-Goia (born on the 27th of January, 1922 in Benic, Alba County). A graduate of The Art Academy of Bucharest he transposed the faces of many historical personalities in stone and metal, apart from his artistic career. The sculptor manages to transpose in time an expressive portrait of V.A. Urechia, portrait that shows the dignity of the one represented. The ceremony of inauguration of the bust was followed by homages of the participants and the opening night of the exhibition entitled Pages from the history of the book. The exhibition showed manuscripts, incunabula, books, prints and other precious documents from the collections of the V.A. Urechia Library, many part of the precious donation of the Librarys founder.

Next to the two busts of Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia from Galai, a third bust of the historian can be admired in Dorohoi, Botoani County. This bust was inaugurated in front of the Administrative Palace in 1906 in the honor of the V.A. Urechia, as homage to the cultural activity as an honorary president of the Dorohoi Athenaeum. The stone or marble representations of V.A. Urechias face are still standing to prove over time the important contribution he had in the modernization of the Romanian cultural or educational institutions to remind us and to the

following generations of the great personality of the scholar and historian Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia and the immortal cultural monuments he left behind because, as he said, the fortress that defends itself with learning and science is indeed very strong.

VASILE ALEXANDRESCU URECHIAThe scholars busts

Mihaela Bute



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The contest Library: cultural and information thesaurus launched in the XXIXth Edition of the Children Book Days ( the 30th of May the 4th of June, 2009) on the occasion of the International Childrens Day has as themes: V.A. Urechia portrait of a man of culture and The Library of

the future. What is new about this contest is that the entries are mde on electronic support. The contest intends to introduce the modern means of communication in the educational activity of the students but also the diversification of the knowledge they have on the personality of the culture man Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia, founder of the V.A. Urechia Public Library from Galai. The interested ones can access the site of the Library and are expected at the Library to study the traditional documents from their own collections.Requests: The work can be made by one or a group of

maximum 3-4 people; It must be made in Power Point (15-20 slides); Every slide must have 50-70 words;

It must contain relevant illustrations (minimum 2)

First slide must contain the name of the contestants, as well as the follwing data: age, grade, school, telephone, e-mail address;

The last slides must contain the bibliographical list adjacent to the chosen theme.

The contest can be entered by students aged 10-16 that will register the competition no later than the 20th of October, 2009 at the Childrens section of the V.A. Urechia County Library. The students of the Vasile Alecsandri National College , The Dumitru Mooc Technical College, the students of the No. 28 Mihai Eminescu School, No. 25 Petru Rare School, No. 16 Nicolae Blcescu School, No. 11 Mihail Sadoveanu School already registred. The presentation and the award ceremony for the most interesting works will be done on the occasion of the V.A. Urechia Library Days (9-15the of November, 2009). The prizes will be books. The results of the contest will be made public on the Librarys site and the Axis Libri Magazine and the most valuable will be posted at www.bvau.ro.

THE LIBRARY, cultural and information thesaurus

MaricicaTrl-Sava



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F r om t h e l i f e o f t h e V. A . U r e c h i a L i b r a r y


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The days of the V.A.Urechia LibraryF r om t h e l i f e o f t h e V. A . U r e c h i a L i b r a r y

In 9-15 November, 2009 in the place that holds the cultural heart of our city and county. The V.A. Urechia County Library from Galai, a series of activities and manifestations took place in the Days of the library, manifestations included in the local program The Days of the city of Galai. In this 119th year of our existence. On the occasion of the official inauguration of the manifestations dedicated to The Days of the Library, the followings honored us by being there: Mr. Eugen Chebac, president of the Galai Council sent us a very optimistic message referring to the accomplishment of our performance indicators, Lord Mayor eng. Dumitru Nicolae, colleagues from cultural institutions, writers, other friends of the library. The manager of the Library, Mr. Zanfir Ilie, in the speech he held at the opening of these manifestations mentioned this generous space of rest for the Galai inhabitants who love study, reading and beauty, The V.A. Urechia Library that is as the great literary critic Nicolae Manolescu said not only a place to deposit several thousands volumes but a living, warm and familiar thing Nicolae Manolescu knows how to introduce us so nicely in the world of books and reading: It is enough to watch closely the shelves that cover the walls to realize they ooze calming fluids. You are never lonely among books There arent any more friendly presences, things more able to keep us company and not for an hour or two when we travel but for a life time.. All they ask in return from us is that we make some time for them There are, on the shelves, books we havent read in a long time but they are not bored waiting because they know that an expert hand will shelter them later will skim a bit or move them on the night stand. The patience of the books is infinitely greater than that of the people. They are use to seeing even centuries flowing one after the other. Officially inaugurated on the 11th of November 1890 in the presence of the Prefect and the Mayor and the representative of the Ministry

of Cults and Public Instruction, The V.A. Urechia County Library from Galai enjoying on this anniversary moment the presence of high officials from Galai of today and the representatives from the County and city institutions that we collaborate with and have partnerships, men of culture and science, researchers and lovers of the written word.At that inaugural moment, our spiritual patron, academician Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia gave his personal library to the local community, urging its preservation and multiplication. This proved true with time and if the Library had today a new and modern presentation as well as from a material point of view and of the computerization and the collection and services point of view, this is owed in great measure to the generous and friendly reception that the local administration manifested.

The facts are proofs. In full world and national economic and financial crisis the library was able to continue the projects from 2008 and started new ones so at the end of this year when we celebrate 175 years since the founder of the library was born, the staff can proudly answer to the calling made by the great patriot V.A. Urechia.

The publishing of a new Axis Libri trimestrial cultural magazine the republication after 11 years break of the Urechia foundation Bulletin as well as the publication of the Association Bulletin, the organizing for the first time in Galai , in 27-30th of June of the Axis Libri National Festival and Book Fair with 83 publishing houses attending and presenting over 3000 titles with an impressive range of themes and fields, The Axis Libri literary salon including book launches, poetry recitals, literary debates, the foundation of an own publishing house under the same name, made Axis Libri a brand recognized not only in the local community. Another notable accomplishment of the library is that on the 15th of June, this year, a new


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branch of the library was opened in Gara Cltori, branch that has the name of the great national poet from beyond the Prut River, Grigore Vieru. Prioritary objective in the management project, the optimum approach of the services to the beneficiaries of the reading and the organizing this autumn of the Paul Pltnea Branch in the Airport area. These are reasons for satisfaction and, at the same time, occasion to express our thanks to the local authorities that through a politic of wise coordination of priorities where the economy and efficiency make the frame of financial management, sustained our projects and actions. The last week, dedicated to the Days of the Library I this year we had the joy of having among us representatives of important publishing Houses among whom there were: Aurel tefanachi, representative of the Tipo Modova Iai Publishing House and the friend of the library, Valentin Ajder, representative of the Eikon Publishing House and others. The book stands in the hall attracted those who came to attend the opening nights of some important exhibitions of previously unpublihed

documents: Vasile A l e x a n d r e s c u Urechia A life

dedicated to books that shows the complex activity of over 50 years of the historian and professor in the favour of the Romanian culture. V.A. Urechia ambassador of Latinity and Romanianism and the lithographs and prints exhibition V.A. Urechia and

his Time. During the whole period of these manifestations the second edition of the activity entitled; Give the books a new life! a book donation campaign that took place all along the week under the slogan: Give the library a book for the community. With this action, apart from the citizens donations an important book donation was received of over 50, 000 volumes from the book collections and encyclopedias of the Cotidianul newspaper. On the first day of the manifestations we had the joy of receiving the famous historian and researcher Ghe

Axis Libri Nr. 5 (în limba engleză)

Documents

Transcript of Axis Libri Nr. 5 (în limba engleză)