Iaşi

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Iaşi in County Iaşi

Iaşi is the vibrant capital city of Iaşi County in north-eastern Romania, in the informal region of Moldavia.

From 78,000 in 1900 to today's 315,000, Iaşi is the second largest city in Romania, after the capital Bucharest.  The city lies on the Bahlui river, a tributary of the Jijia (tributary of the Prut).

The surrounding country is one of uplands and woods, featuring the monasteries of Cetăţuia, Frumoasa, Galata (with nearby mineral springs), and the dendrologic park of Repedea. Iaşi itself stands amid vineyards and gardens, partly on two hills, partly in the in-between valley.

Iaşi is an outstanding educational centre, and preserves some beautiful pieces of architecture, such as the Trei Ierarhi Church and the neo-Gothic Palace of Culture (the site of four museums - of History, of Technology, of Ethnography, and of Art). Many buildings in the old city centre were demolished during the Communist regime, with a few Soviet-style blocks of flats built in their stead.

Churches

Iaşi is the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Church Metropolitan bishopric of Moldavia, and of a Roman Catholic bishopric. The city houses more than 40 churches. The oldest one is Saint Nicholas, dating from the reign of Stephen the Great (1457-1504); perhaps the finest, however, are the 17th century older metropolitan church, Saint Spiridion and Trei Ierarhi, the last a curious example of Byzantine art, erected in 1635-1639 by Vasile Lupu, and adorned with countless gilded carvings on its outer walls and twin towers. Other beautiful churches, some surrounded by big walls, are: Galata (1581), Golia, St. Sava, Barnovschi, Bărboi (17th century), Cetăţuia (the end of the 17th century) and Frumoasa (18th century).

A society of physicians and natural historians has existed in Iaşi since the early part of the 19th century, and a number of periodicals are published. One of the oldest medical universities in Romania, founded in 1879, is in Iaşi. It is now known as the "Grigore T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

The first Technical High Education structure in Romanian language was established in the autumn of 1813, when engineer Gheorghe Asachi laid the foundations of a class of engineers, its activities taking place within the Greek Academy of Iaşi.

After 1813, other moments marked the development of higher education in Romanian, regarding both humanities and the technical science. In 1835, Academia Mihăileană was founded in Iaşi by Prince Mihail Sturdza.

Iaşi is home to the oldest Romanian university (University of Iaşi), opened by (and nowadays named after) Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza in 1860. The city is host to five universities, and is widely regarded as the cultural "heart" of the Old Kingdom (that is Moldavia, Wallachia, and Dobruja - the three regions comprising Romania until 1918).

In 1937, the two applied science sections of the university of Iaşi became departments of the newly created Gheorghe Asachi Polytechnic School; In the period before and after World War II, the later (renamed Polytechnic Institute in 1948) extended its domain of activity, especially in the field of engineering, and became adopted a Technical University in 1993.

Besides the universities, there are schools of art and music; the university library, where the chief records of Romanian history are preserved; a chamber of commerce, and several banks.

The city is the headquarters of the 10th army corps. It has an active trade in metals, medical drugs (antibiotics), wine, preserved meat, textiles and clothing.

Eminescu's Iaşi

Famed poet and national hero Mihai Eminescu worked in Iaşi from 1874 to 1877 as the Central Library Director, as well as a teacher and school inspector for the counties of Iaşi and nearby County Vaslui to the south.   See more in our Literature section

 Eminescu was the Iaşi Courier newspaper editor, owing largely to his friendship with Titu Maiorescu, the leader of the Junimea Society, and rector of the University of Iaşi.  He continued to publish in Convorbiri literare. He became a good friend of Ion Creangă, whom he convinced to become a writer and introduced to the Junimea literary club. 

From Mike Ormsby's new must-read book 'NEVER MIND THE BALKANS, HERE'S ROMANIA!', with a laconic English perspective on life in Romania and the Romanian people Read More Here

A Treasure in English

Someone taps my arm, a delicate touch like a butterfly.  I turn and find a young lady offering me a book.  It's old and yellow with dog-eared corners and a familiar face printed on the front: Mihai Eminescu, the national romantic poet with rock-star looks.  

"In English, buried in our cupboard!"  Says the librarian, with a perfect smile.  I thanked her and open the book.   The poems are lyrical, dreamy and evocative.   

For a translation, the language has an authentic fluidity, the meter rises and falls just at the right time, the rhymes are not forced. 

Eminescu had a good translator for this collection.  I turn back the pages keen to find out who.   A youthful face gazes up from the fly leaf.  The young man looks about 18 years old.  His features are symmetrical and very Romanian: a strong nose, firm jaw and dark eyes -- intense but mischievous.

The young man's name is Corneliu M. Popescu.  I get the feeling he is a clever kid.  But did he really translate all these beloved poems?  There are dozens.  I'm intrigued, now.

-- from the tale "Buried"