Andrei Mocioni de Foen (also spelled Andrea de Mocioni or Andreiu Mocionĭ, last name also Mocsonyi, Mocsoni, Mocionyi or Mocsony; german: Andreas Mocioni de Foen or ''Andreas von Mocsonyi'', hu, fényi Mocsonyi András; June 27, 1812 – April 23/May 5, 1880) was an
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
and
Hungarian jurist, politician, and informal leader of the
ethnic Romanian community, one of the founding members of the
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
. Of a mixed
Aromanian and
Albanian background, raised as a
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
, he belonged to the
Mocioni family
The Mocioni family ( hu, Mocsonyi de Foen), also spelled as Mocsony, was an Austro-Hungarian family that produced barons, philanthropists and bankers. It had branches in Romania, Serbia (Belgrade) and Hungary (Pest). The family was of Aromanian or ...
, which had been elevated to
Hungarian nobility
The Hungarian nobility consisted of a privileged group of individuals, most of whom owned landed property, in the Kingdom of Hungary. Initially, a diverse body of people were described as noblemen, but from the late 12th century only high ...
. He was brought up at his family estate in the
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
, at
Foeni
Foeni ( hu, Fény; german: Fün or ''Feuenfeld''; sr, Фењ, Fenj) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Cruceni and Foeni (commune seat). Geography
Foeni is located in the southwest of Timiș County, on the bo ...
, where he joined the administrative apparatus, and identified as a Romanian since at least the 1830s. He rose to prominence during the
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although t ...
: he was a supporter of the
House of Lorraine
The House of Lorraine (german: link=no, Haus Lothringen) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Fra ...
, trying to obtain increased autonomy for Banat Romanians in exchange for loyalism. The Austrians appointed Mocioni to an executive position over that region, but curbed his expectations by including the Banat as a whole into the
Voivodeship of Serbia. This disappointment pushed Mocioni to renounce politics during much of the 1850s.
The attempt by Austria to ensure a new administrative formula in the 1860s saw Mocioni's co-option into the
Imperial Diet. He also organized, in 1860, the National Assembly in the Banat—an abortive project, seeking to obtain autonomy on ethnic grounds. He then oscillated between
ethnic federalism
Ethnic federalism, multi-ethnic or multi-national federalism,Liam D. Anderson (2016),"Ethnofederalism: The Worst form of institutional arrangement...?" Academia is a form of federal system in which the federated regional or state units are define ...
within a nominal Hungarian realm and full centralism in Austria's custody, while failing in his bid to promote
election boycott
An election boycott is the boycotting of an election by a group of voters, each of whom abstains from voting.
Boycotting may be used as a form of political protest where voters feel that electoral fraud is likely, or that the electoral system ...
as a political weapon. He had noted political rivalries with Romanians who sided with
Hungarian radicalism, in particular
Eftimie Murgu
Eftimie Murgu (28 December 1805 – 12 May 1870) was a Romanian philosopher and politician who took part in the 1848 Revolutions.
Biography
He was born in Rudăria (today Eftimie Murgu, Caraș-Severin County) to Samu Murgu, an officer in the I ...
. Serving one full term in the
Diet of Hungary
The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale ( hu, Országgyűlés) became the supreme legislative institution in the medieval kingdom of Hungary from the 1290s, and in its successor states, Royal Hungary and ...
, Mocioni also turned to cooperation with the Romanians of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, and helped
Andrei Șaguna
Andrei Șaguna (; 20 January 1808, Miskolc, Hungary – 28 June 1873, Nagyszeben, Hungary) was a Metropolitan bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Transylvania, and one of the Romanian community political leaders in the Habsburg monarchy, ...
to reestablish an independent
Transylvanian Metropolis for Romanian Orthodox Christians. Alongside his brothers
Gheorghe Gheorghe is a Romanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to:
Given name
* Gheorghe Adamescu
* Gheorghe Albu
* Gheorghe Alexandrescu
* Gheorghe Andriev
* Gheorghe Apostol
...
and
Anton
Anton may refer to: People
*Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name
*Anton (surname)
Places
*Anton Municipality, Bulgaria
**Anton, Sofia Province, a village
*Antón District, Panama
**Antón, a town and capital of th ...
, and his lawyer
Vincențiu Babeș
, known_for = Founding member of the Romanian Academy
, television =
, education =
, alma_mater = Royal University of Pest
, employer =
, organization ...
, he founded the newspaper ''Albina'' of
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
The creation of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
and the Banat's absorption into the
Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen
The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ( hu, a Szent Korona Országai), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River) were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire exis ...
were significant blows for Mocioni's nationalist-loyalist campaign. Mocioni withdrew to Foeni, ailing and out of the public eye for the final decade of his life. He was still a noted philanthropist and sponsor of the Romanian press, but had conflicts with
Krassó County voters and the Romanian peasants on his estates, a matter which contributed to his voluntary isolation. He was survived by his wife Laura, daughter of
Petar Čarnojević, and by his nephew, the politician
Alexandru Mocioni.
Biography
Origins and early life
The Mocionis were probably descended from Petru Mucină, an
Aromanian (or "Macedo-Romanian") priest from
Aspropotamos in Thessaly or
Moscopole
Moscopole or Voskopoja ( sq, Voskopojë; rup, Moscopole, with several other variants; el, Μοσχόπολις, Moschopolis) is a village in Korçë County in southeastern Albania. During the 18th century, it was the cultural and commercial ...
, who declared loyalty to the
Habsburg monarchy and served in the
Great Turkish War. He and one of his brothers were killed in action somewhere in the Banat.
Archpriest Constantin Mocioni, or "Constantinus Motsonyi", who may have been Mucină's son, settled among the Greek Orthodox (Greek, Romanian, and Aromanian) community of
Pest in the 1740s. Family documents suggest that he was originally from Moscopole, and that he died at 110 years of age; under his watch, the family established lucrative businesses and began purchasing estates in Hungary and the Banat. His two sons Andrei and Mihai were raised into the nobility by
King-Emperor
A king-emperor (the female equivalent being queen-empress) is a sovereign ruler who is simultaneously a king of one territory and emperor of another. This title usually results from a merger of a royal and imperial crown, but recognises that the ...
Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
: the former in February 1783, the latter in June 1798, after distinguished service in the
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...
. The Mocionis were thus one of some 200 Aromanian families to receive titles, and became integrated with the 12,500 Romanian noble families attested in Hungary by 1800 (from a total 340,000).
Andrei the elder was killed in mysterious circumstances before he could receive his diploma, but this was granted to his wife.
[ Ștefan Both]
"Cum și-au bătut joc de conacul familiei Mocioni de la Foeni. A fost pe rând baie comunală, grădiniță, depozit, sală de sport și discotecă"
in '' Adevărul'' (Timișoara edition), October 21, 2015 The more senior branch established by them became known as ''Mocioni de Foen'', or ''fényi Mocsonyi'', in reference to its core estate of
Foeni (Fény). This was by contrast with Mihai's descendants, the ''armalist'' Mocionis, who did not hold a titular estate—although they built a manor at
Birchiș (Marosberkes), they were mostly based in Pest, where they founded the Kefala Library. Andrei the second was a grandson of the original Andrei, born to lawyer Ioan Mocioni de Foen (1780–1854) and his wife Iuliana Panaiot (1787–1858). On his mother's side, Andrei had
Albanian roots.
Theodor Capidan
Theodor Capidan (–September 1, 1953) was an Ottoman-born Romanian linguist. An ethnic Aromanian from the Macedonia region, he studied at Leipzig before teaching school at Thessaloniki. Following the creation of Greater Romania at the end ...
, "Românii din Macedonia. Rolul Românilor Macedoneni în Ardeal. IV", in ''Cultura Poporului'', Issue 30/1923, p. 1Atanasie Marian Marienescu
Atanasie Marian Marienescu (–) was an Austro-Hungarian ethnic Romanian folklorist, ethnographer and judge.
Born in Lipova, Arad County, in the Banat region, his father Ion Marian was a trader, while his mother Persida (''née'' Șandor) cam ...
, "Macedo-Românii din Ungaria", in V. A. Urechia
V. A. Urechia (most common version of Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia, ; born Vasile Alexandrescu and also known as Urechiă, Urechea, Ureche, Popovici-Ureche or Vasile Urechea-Alexandrescu; 15 February 1834 – 21 November 1901) was a Moldavian, ...
, ''Albumul Macedo-Român'', p. 72. Bucharest: Socecŭ, Sander & Teclu, 1880. He had an elder brother, Petru, born in 1808, and two junior ones:
Anton
Anton may refer to: People
*Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name
*Anton (surname)
Places
*Anton Municipality, Bulgaria
**Anton, Sofia Province, a village
*Antón District, Panama
**Antón, a town and capital of th ...
and
Gheorghe Gheorghe is a Romanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to:
Given name
* Gheorghe Adamescu
* Gheorghe Albu
* Gheorghe Alexandrescu
* Gheorghe Andriev
* Gheorghe Apostol
...
(born 1816 and 1823, respectively). Other siblings included brothers George and Lucian (the latter of whom died young) and sister Ecaterina.
Ioan and Iuliana together had as many as 11 other children. Andrei was simultaneously the uncle and cousin of writer
Alexandru Mocioni, born from a
consanguine marriage
Consanguine marriage is marriage between individuals who are closely related. Though it may involve incest, it implies more than the sexual nature of incest. In a clinical sense, marriage between two family members who are second cousins or closer ...
between Ecaterina and her uncle Mihai Mocioni.
Andrei the younger was a native of Pest, but grew up mostly in Foeni where, according to scholar
Păun Otiman, he received "a profoundly Christian Orthodox education, inspired by Macedo-Romanian traditions and culture". Originally, the Mocionis only spoke Aromanian and Hungarian. Nevertheless, the family encouraged intercultural contacts, with Ioan speaking as many as eleven languages.
According to the
Banatian Serb journalist
Mihailo Polit-Desančić, the local Mocionis, including Andrei, also made a point of learning Serbian, and "sort of carried themselves like Serbs". Seen by his contemporaries as a man of outstanding culture and upbringing, Andrei had "perfect" command of Aromanian, Romanian, Hungarian, Serbian, as well as Latin, French, and German. Like his father, he took a law degree in 1828 or 1832, from the
Royal University of Pest
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a c ...
. He then worked in the local administration of Banat. In 1836, he was the second-ranked
notary
A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems.
A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...
of
Torontál County
Torontál (, , , ) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now divided between Serbia and Romania, except for a small area which is part of Hungary. The capital of the county was Nagybecskerek (, , ), t ...
, being appointed first
pretor in 1843. Ethnologist Elena Rodica Colta dates the Mocionis' definitive self-identification as Romanians to this period, noting that they believed the entire Aromanian ethnos to be a branch of the Romanian community. During his time in Pest, Andrei began frequenting the literary salon organized by
Atanasiu Grabovski de Apadia in
Terézváros
Terézváros (English: Theresa Town, German: Theresienstadt) is the District VI of Budapest, and was named after Queen Maria Theresa in 1777, who visited the neighbourhood 26 years earlier in 1751. The territory was first inhabited in the early 1 ...
, meeting with exponents of Aromanian and Romanian causes.
While participating in Torontál's ''congregatio generalis'', Andrei Mocioni sat with the "conservative-progressive" side of the Romanian caucus, taking his distance from the
revolutionary liberals. Thanks in part to his contribution, Torontál remained a safe seat for the conservative club of
István Széchenyi
Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék ( hu, sárvár-felsővidéki gróf Széchenyi István, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and wri ...
, committed to "moderate progress" for the country at large, with "national conservation" for the Romanians. In 1847, he managed to obtain a seat in the
Diet of Hungary
The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale ( hu, Országgyűlés) became the supreme legislative institution in the medieval kingdom of Hungary from the 1290s, and in its successor states, Royal Hungary and ...
, for his brother Petru, canvassing votes from conservative Hungarians, Serbs,
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...
,
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...
and
Swabians.
[Bugariu, p. 399]
1848 revolution and Banat leadership
The same period saw him dragged into the
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
and
Hungarian Revolutions. Like many Romanians, Mocioni supported the former's liberal reforms, and remained loyal to
Franz Joseph I
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
, opposing the rise of
Hungarian nationalism
Hungarian nationalism developed in the late 18th century and early 19th century along the classic lines of scholarly interest leading to political nationalism and mass participation. In the 1790s, Hungarian nobles pushed for the adoption of Hungar ...
. This pitted him against the pro-Hungarian revolutionary
Eftimie Murgu
Eftimie Murgu (28 December 1805 – 12 May 1870) was a Romanian philosopher and politician who took part in the 1848 Revolutions.
Biography
He was born in Rudăria (today Eftimie Murgu, Caraș-Severin County) to Samu Murgu, an officer in the I ...
, who enlisted the loyalties of various other Banatians.
[Deheleanu, p. 220] The
Hungarian State
) was a short-lived state that existed for 4 months in the last phase of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848–49.
Constitutional tensions between the Hungarian parliament and Franz Joseph
On 2 December 1848 Ferdinand V of Hungary "abdicated" in fa ...
reacted by confiscating Mocioni's property and forcing him into exile. By September 1849, he was in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, where he acted as a Romanian representative, alongside
Ioan Dobran and
Vincențiu Babeș
, known_for = Founding member of the Romanian Academy
, television =
, education =
, alma_mater = Royal University of Pest
, employer =
, organization ...
. Petru Mocioni was also active there as a "man of trust" of the Banatian Romanians,
[Mureșan & Suciu, p. 107] presenting
Franz Stadion with a set of political proposals on their behalf.
[Ciorănescu, p. 218]
Following the
surrender at Világos and the resumption of Austrian control, Mocioni's loyalty was rewarded, and he was appointed supreme commissioner for the Banat, within the new
Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar
, conventional_long_name = Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banate
, common_name = Serbia and Banat
, subdivision = Crownland
, nation = the Austrian Empire
, year_start = 1849
, date_start = 18 November
, year_end = 1860
, date_end = ...
.
As such, he governed directly over some 600,000 people.
However, he disliked this arrangement, and, in December 1849, petitioned
Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg
Felix Ludwig Johann Friedrich, Prince of Schwarzenberg (german: Felix Ludwig Johann Friedrich Prinz zu Schwarzenberg; cs, Felix Ludvík Jan Bedřich princ ze Schwarzenbergu; 2 October 1800 – 5 April 1852) was a Bohemian nobleman and an Au ...
to obtain the secession of Banat as an autonomous, Romanian, province.
[Tiron, p. 30] During his mandate, the administration was staffed with a growing number of Romanians.
In tandem, his Mocioni relatives approached the Romanians of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, also loyalists, and together with them began pressing for a Romanian dukedom to be created out of Romanian territories in Hungary. The commissioner was also involved in such projects, proposing that a Romanian press be set up in
Arad, located on the Banat's traditional border with Transylvania and
Partium
Partium (from Latin '' partium'', the genitive of ''pars'' "part, portion") or ''Részek'' (in Hungarian) was a historical and geographical region in the Kingdom of Hungary during the early modern and modern periods. It consisted of the eastern a ...
. By 1850, Mocioni was also campaigning to reestablish a
Transylvanian (Romanian) Orthodox Metropolis, fully separated from the
Patriarchate of Karlovci
The Patriarchate of Karlovci ( sr, Карловачка патријаршија, Karlovačka patrijaršija) or Serbian Patriarchate of Sremski Karlovci ( sr, Српска патријаршија у Сремским Карловцима, Srpska ...
.
The cause had first been embraced by Petru in the 1840s.
In 1852, Mocioni ultimately resigned as commissioner, expressing his protest toward the treatment of Romanians by the Austrian government. However, he was asked to reconsider by the authorities, who feared that they were becoming unpopular with the majority population.
Although he did not resume his earlier posting, he went on to serve as president of the Central Commission in
Temeschwar (Timișoara); he was also a counsel for the
Austrian Court of Cassation. He resigned all positions in the state apparatus in 1856, and withdrew to Foeni. This decision was cemented in 1858 by the death of brother Petru, killed by his own landlord or doorman in Pest. The killing, which some authors see as a political assassination,
ended with a celebrity trial in which
Emanoil Gojdu
Emanuil Gojdu ( Hungarian: ''Gozsdu Emánuel'', mostly referred as ''Gozsdu Manó''; 9 February 1802, Nagyvárad, Hungary (now Oradea, Romania)—3 February 1870, Pest-Buda, Hungary) was a Romanian lawyer in the Kingdom of Hungary and patrio ...
represented the Mocionis as plaintiffs.
In 1859, at Foeni, Mocioni married a Serb coreligionist, Laura, the Countess Csernovich (Čarnojević).
["Ce e nou?", in '' Familia'', Issue 33/1880, p. 211] A woman of "outstanding beauty", she was also noted for collecting Ancient Roman coins and paintings with Roman subjects by Nicola Popescu. Her father, ''
Graf
(feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...
''
Petar Čarnojević, had been an ally of the Hungarian revolutionaries; dispossessed and bankrupt, he moved to Foeni to live with the couple. They also shared the manor with Alexandru and the other ''armalist'' Mocionis, who were similarly disappointed with Hungarian politics, and who progressively withdrew from Pest.
Author
Atanasie Marian Marienescu
Atanasie Marian Marienescu (–) was an Austro-Hungarian ethnic Romanian folklorist, ethnographer and judge.
Born in Lipova, Arad County, in the Banat region, his father Ion Marian was a trader, while his mother Persida (''née'' Șandor) cam ...
notes that Mocioni, "everywhere encouraged and supported by the Romanian
intelligentsia, became in all places a leader of the Romanians in national and church causes, and this leadership was recognized by his brothers as well."
His program was outlined in ''Caus'a limbelor și națiunalităților in Austri'a'' ("The Cause of Languages and Nationalities in Austria"), which was anonymously printed in 1860 by the
Mekhitarists
, image =
, image_size =
, caption =
, abbreviation = C.A.M.
, nickname = Mechitarists
, established =
, founder = Abbot Mekhitar of Sebaste, C.A.M.
, foundin ...
of Vienna, and which, according to literary historian Aurel Vasiliu, Mocioni may have authored himself. It defined as "absurd" the notion of "Hungarian self-government within Austria", while describing federalization as the best option for all Austrian Romanians, as well as for the "non-Magyar brotherly peoples". The manifesto also spoke at length about the dangers of
Magyarization, claiming that Hungarian rule had always treated Romanians as "herds of cattle". By contrast,
German nationalism
German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one n ...
was "not something Romanians have ever feared, nor will they ever fear it; it may sometimes wander off, as it has these past ten years, and as such impair our nation's culture, development and prosperity for some time: but to denationalize us—that, never!"
In October 1861,
Adolf Dobriansky, who aspired to creating a caucus for the
Ruthenians
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in ...
of
Carpathia, referred to Mocioni and
Ján Francisci as his personal examples in politics. From about 1860, Mocioni had dedicated himself to the national awakening of Romanians, networking between the Austrian subjects in the Banat, Transylvania, and the
Duchy of Bukovina
The Duchy of Bukovina (german: Herzogtum Bukowina; ro, Ducatul Bucovinei; uk, Герцогство Буковина) was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1849 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary from 1867 until 1918 ...
, and those residing in the newly formed
United Principalities
The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești), commonly called United Principalities, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, ...
. In November 1860, as
Count Mensdorff-Pouilly was sent over to report to Franz Joseph on the demands of Banat Romanians, Mocioni called in and organized a National Assembly. This demanded the creation of a Banat Captaincy, and, when the request was denied, an administrative incorporation with Transylvania. He noted that Romanians needed to form a singular "moral body", "called upon as a nation to partake in Austria's constitutional life." In his ''Memorandum to the Throne'', Mocioni also theorized that the Banat was an "individuality" distinct from the Serbian and Hungarian regions, and suggested that "never-ending problems" would result from its continued amalgamation.
Imperial Diet and church separation
On May 31, 1860, Mocioni was co-opted by the
Imperial Diet, which contemplated administrative reforms based on new ethnic arrangements. He was an "extraordinary counsel", alongside
Andrei Șaguna
Andrei Șaguna (; 20 January 1808, Miskolc, Hungary – 28 June 1873, Nagyszeben, Hungary) was a Metropolitan bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Transylvania, and one of the Romanian community political leaders in the Habsburg monarchy, ...
of Transylvania and
Nicolae de Petrino of Bukovina, supporting regional autonomy and the reestablishment and a Romanian Metropolis. By origin, all three were in fact Aromanians. Reportedly, both Șaguna and Mocioni objected to Diet selections being non-democratic, agreeing with
György Apponyi that the delegates could only be said to represent themselves. Their objection was registered, but they were asked by
Archduke Rainer not to insist on this point. Seen from his regional constituency, Mocioni was also one of two representatives of the Voivodeship, including the Banat. The other was a Serb prelate,
Samuilo Maširević. By September 1860, Mocioni clarified that he considered himself a legitimate Banat and "people's" representative.
On June 6, Mocioni was elected to the Budget Committee, and from this position campaigned to have Romanian Orthodox churches subsidized on par with other state-recognized religions. Proclaiming the equality of nations against demands for Hungarian hegemony, he found himself debating the issue with
György Majláth, who accused him of fostering the rebellious doctrines of
Giuseppe Garibaldi. Mocioni defended his ideas as mainstream, arguing that equality had been promised by Franz Joseph himself. In the end, Mocioni sided with the "centralists", who supported
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
within a centralized Austria; Petrino, a "federalist", wanted regional decentralization on the basis of old laws, which, while favoring Bukovinians, would have left Romanians in Hungary underrepresented as a group. The two made common cause in their opposition to a projected union between Bukovina and
Austrian Galicia
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...
.
[Păcățian, p. 275]
Mocioni's mandate ended with the Diet recall on September 29, 1860.
He had failed in his bid to secure Banat autonomy: the region, alongside all of the Voivodeship, was re-annexed to the Hungarian crown in December 1860. In April 1861, Mocioni persuaded the Banat Romanians to boycott future elections for the reestablished Hungarian Diet. This decision was overturned later that year, when a new ethnic assembly passed a resolution calling for single Romanian candidatures, supported by all voters.
[Bugariu, p. 400] Mocioni himself was elected for
Krassó (Caraș) County, at
Lugoj (Lugos). His rival was Murgu, who sided with the
Address Party
The Address Party ( hu, Felirati Párt) was one of the two political groups of the National Assembly of 1861 in Hungary. The group was led by Ferenc Deák. In 1865 the party was renamed to Deák Party. The Deák Party was succeeded by the Liberal ...
and supported incorporation with Hungary. Mocioni, perceived as the Romanian nationalist candidate, won 621 votes to 94, with only eight Romanians voting against him. The celebratory crowd carried the
Romanian tricolor inscribed with the slogan ''Sa traiésca D. Andreiu de Mocioni, alesu cercului Lugosiu'' ("Long Live M. Andreiu de Mocioni, Elected by Lugoj Circle"). The speaker, a Concilor Ioanovits, suggested that the election would confirm Mocioni as the Banat leader, a Romanian equivalent to
József Eötvös
József baron Eötvös de Vásárosnamény (pronunciation: jɔ:ʒef 'øtvøʃ dɛ 'va:ʃa:rɔʃnɒme:ɲ 3 September 1813 – 2 February 1871) was a Hungarian writer and statesman, the son of Ignác baron Eötvös de Vásárosnamény and ...
.
However, Mocioni had not agreed to be listed as a candidate, and immediately renounced his seat. In his address, he explained that "he had nothing in common with the Hungarian diet of Pest, since he had never intended to become a Hungarian." He also had a publicized row with the Temeschwar
Burgrave
Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especia ...
, the pro-Hungarian
Petru Cermena, but their dispute was ultimately patched up by Babeș. The Diet itself was dissolved later that year.
Mocioni's solution to these setbacks was the attempted creation of a de facto "political body" and "
crown land" for all Romanians of the Empire.
A concrete project was advanced by
Iosif Hodoșiu in early 1861. It would have established a "Romanian national diet" for Transylvania, the Banat, Bukovina, as well as
Crișana
Crișana ( hu, Körösvidék, german: Kreischgebiet) is a geographical and historical region in north-western Romania, named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Rom ...
and
Maramureș
or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, alon ...
.
In the parallel debate over church affairs, Șaguna, the designated Metropolitan, had Mocioni as one of his "most ardent supporters", one "fighting like a virile lion for the hierarchic separation".
["Epistolele parochului betranu, XIV", in ''Biseric'a si Scóla'', Issue 51/1887, pp. 412–413] Mediating between the Karlovci Patriarch
Josif Rajačić
Josif Rajačić ( sr-Cyrl, Јосиф Рајачић; 20 July 1785 – 1 December 1861), also known as Josif Rajačić-Brinski, was a metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch, administrator of Vojvodina, and baron.
Life
Rajačić was ...
and his Romanian clergy, he proposed to convene a representative
synod on the issue of separation, knowing that it would favor the Romanians. The Patriarch resisted this move and suspended the negotiations, arguing that "the
erb
Erb, ERB or ErB may refer to:
People
* Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950), American author
* Erb of Gwent (–), king of Gwent and Glywysing
Surname
* Abraham Erb (1772–1830), American-born Canadian settler
* Albrecht Erb (1628–1714), Aus ...
nation would have me stoned to death". Rajačić's death in late 1861 created confusion among the Serb bishops, empowering Mocioni to network and campaign for the national schism. He outlined his political manifesto for autonomy in articles for ''
Gazeta Transilvaniei
''Gazeta de Transilvania'' was the first Romanian-language newspaper to be published in Transylvania. It was founded by George Bariț in 1838 in Brașov. It played a very important role in the awakening of the Romanian national conscience in Trans ...
'' of
Corona
Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to:
* Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star
* Corona (beer), a Mexican beer
* Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...
, as well as in reports addressed to Franz Joseph. That year, with Șaguna and
Alexandru Sterca-Șuluțiu, Mocioni established
ASTRA Society, which promoted Romanian identity and culture, created despite continued chicanery from Hungarian officials. He also placed a bid for ASTRA's presidency, but lost to Șaguna.
He was more successful in his campaigning for an Orthodox metropolis, set up in December 1864; from 1865, it incorporated Banatian Romanian churches as the
Diocese of Caransebeș. Already in 1862, Mocioni, Șaguna, and
Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi
Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi (also spelled Eudoxiu Hurmuzache; german: link=no, Eudoxius Freiherr von Hormuzaki) (September 29, 1812, Czernawka, Austria; February 10, 1874, Czernowitz, Austria, buried in Dulcești, Romania) was a Romanian historian, polit ...
had managed to obtain Franz Joseph's sympathy on this issue. He wrote about this victory in ''
Telegraful Român'' of Transylvania and ''Concordia'' of Bukovina, persuading "right-believing Romanians" not to participate in the election of a Rajačić replacement. Nevertheless, Mocioni was disappointed with Șaguna, who did not back his plan for creating a new
bishopric at Temeschwar. During this clash, he withdrew his financial support for the church historian
Nicolae Tincu-Velea, who had to print his works with ASTRA.
Hungarian Diet
Returning to Arad, Mocioni helped establish there a National Culture and Enlightenment Association, presided upon by
Prokopije Ivačković and Anton Mocioni. It received his collection of historical documents, and appointed him a delegate to Vienna, to thank the emperor for supporting Romanian culture. In 1863, his philanthropy expanded. He donated his only source of income, the revenue of Foeni, to the famine-stricken population of that village, and even ran into debt in his effort to provide for them. He was also interested in
horse breeding, and one of his steeds became the ancestor of an equine string that populated much of Foeni.
[C. G. Wrangel, ''Ungarns Pferdezucht in Wort und Bild. Vierter Band: Die ungarische Landespferdezucht; Die Privatgestüte. Zweiter Teil'', pp. 22–23. Stuttgart: Verlag von Schickhardt & Ebner, 1895. ]
For a while, the Romanians of Banat continued to plead with the emperor for Romanian self-rule in the Banat. One such petition, circulated in December 1863, also asked Franz Joseph to surround himself with Romanian advisers, including "Andrea de Mocioni, lord of Foeni", a man distinguished by "political, patriotic, and national virtues". As noted by historian Tudor-Radu Tiron, the restoration of Hungarian rule ultimately pushed the Mocionis back into Hungarian politics, which explains why Andrei, Anton and Gheorghe all took seats in the last Diet of Hungary (1865).
[Tiron, p. 31] Elected at Lugoj, Andrei served from December 14, 1865, and joined the
Deák Party
The Deák Party ( hu, Deák Párt) was a political party in Hungary in the 1860s and 1870s led by Ferenc Deák.
History
The Deák Party was founded in 1865 as the successor to the Address Party. It won the 1865 elections in Hungary, and also w ...
during his tenure; the other brothers were independent Romanian deputies. Alexandru also won a
Rittberg seat in that legislature. Known as the theoretician of
national liberalism
National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism).
A seri ...
, he was a main proponent of the Nationalities Bill, which, if adopted, would have set up autonomous units for the Romanians in Hungary.
By then, the Mocionis' contribution to the national cause was being recognized in the United Principalities, customarily known as the "
Principality of Romania
The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești), commonly called United Principalities, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, ...
". From January 1865, he was an honorary member of the nationalist ''Bucovina'' Society. On April 22, 1866, the Romanian Regency appointed Andrei Mocioni a founding member of the
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
(or "Romanian Literary Society", as it was known at the time). He was inducted as a Banat representative, alongside Babeș—who, in 1883, wrote Mocioni's biography. From 1861, the Mocionis and Babeș had cooperated in countering Hungarian nationalist propaganda abroad, publicizing the Romanian point of view. According to Babeș, their effort was sabotaged by
Abdolonyme Ubicini
Jean-Henri-Abdolonyme Ubicini (20 October 1818 – 28 October 1884) was a French historian, journalist and honorary member of the Romanian Academy.
He was born in Issoudun, Indre in a middle-class family originating in Lombardy. After studying in ...
,
István Türr
István Türr ( it, Stefano Türr, french: Étienne Türr), (10 August 1825 in Baja, Hungary – 3 May 1908 in Budapest) was a Hungarian soldier, revolutionary, canal architect and engineer, remembered in Italy for his role in that country's ...
, and
Giovenale Vegezzi Ruscalla Giovenale Vegezzi Ruscalla (4 December 1799, Turin, Italy - December 1885, Turin), was a liberal Italian journalist, foreign honorary member of the Romanian Academy, and secretary to the Subalpine Agrarian Association. He traveled to Transylvania ...
, who wanted a Hungarian–Romanian alliance against Austria; but also found backing from
László Teleki
Count László Teleki IV de Szék (11 February 1811 – 8 May 1861) was a Hungarian writer and statesman. He is remembered as the author of the drama ''Kegyencz'' ("The Favourite", 1841). In older books in English he is given the name "Ladisla ...
of the
Resolution Party
The Resolution Party ( hu, Határozati Párt) was one of the two political groups of the National Assembly of 1861 in Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it ...
. With his parallel career as a lawyer, Babeș also helped the Mocionis win back 5 million
florins
The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
from their Hungarian debtors, and was thereafter their trusted adviser.
Later in 1866, echoes of Mocioni's "Captaincy" project were discernible in the radical proposal advanced in the Diet by Babeș, Hodoșiu, and
Sigismund Popoviciu: it recognized subjection to the Hungarian crown and government, but sought to redefine Hungary on the basis of
ethnic federalism
Ethnic federalism, multi-ethnic or multi-national federalism,Liam D. Anderson (2016),"Ethnofederalism: The Worst form of institutional arrangement...?" Academia is a form of federal system in which the federated regional or state units are define ...
and
corporatism
Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...
. These efforts also failed. By September 1866, Mocioni and Babeș began speaking out in the Diet about the wish of Austrian Romanians to be united with the Principality of Romania.
The 1866–1867 interval was a great disappointment for all factions within the Romanian caucus: the return of Hungarian nationalism was unopposed following the
Austro-Prussian War, and the
''Ausgleich'' of 1867 created
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, attaching most Romanian-inhabited to the
Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen
The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ( hu, a Szent Korona Országai), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River) were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire exis ...
. Mocioni was especially affected by the outcome.
[Bugariu, p. 400; Tiron, p. 31] In the months following the new arrangement, Mocioni and Babeș participated in the drafting of another protest, also signed by the Diet's Serb, Slovak and "
Ruthenian" deputies. The resolution, which demanded guarantees for the minorities, was supposed to be read by Mocioni. He stepped down to make way for a more popular deputy, the Serb
Milán Manojlovics. Brother Anton Mocioni, alongside Serbs
Stevan Branovački and
Svetozar Miletić
Svetozar Miletić ( sr-cyr, Светозар Милетић; 22 February 1826 – 4 February 1901) was a Serbian lawyer, journalist, author and politician who served as the mayor of Novi Sad between 1861 and 1862 and again from 1867 to 1868.
...
, continued to back the campaign, proposing to divide Hungary into six ethnic-based provinces.
Final withdrawal
In 1869, Andrei Mocioni withdrew from all activism and returned to Foeni.
That year, an analysis in ''Der Wanderer'' newspaper noted that "although Andrea Mocioni will forever remain the true leader" of the Romanian caucus, Alexandru was emerging as the tactician, and moderating the Romanians' resistance to Hungarian nationalism. Andrei also continued to be active as a sponsor and philanthropist, providing funds for Babeș's ethnological work, and for the Viennese Romanian newspaper, ''Albina''. He and his brothers published and wrote for the latter sheet, alongside Babeș, while also financing pro-Romanian campaigns in the German-language journal ''Ost und West''. Historian Andrei Sabin Faur describes ''Albina'' as the only explicitly liberal Romanian publication to appear in Austria-Hungary. This goal was stated in its first editorial, co-signed by the Mocionis, which promised that ''Albina'' would strive to be "as free and as liberal as is permitted by law and loyalty."
The
elections of March 1869 ignited a conflict between Alexandru's "Mocionist party" and the pro-government Deák Party, represented locally by
Béla Szende
Béla Szende de Keresztes (born as ''Béla Frummer'' on 4 May 1823, Lugoj – 18 August 1882) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Defence from 15 December 1872 until his death.
As a soldier he took part in the Hungarian Revol ...
. As reported by ''Albina'', the latter tried to win over Romanian voters using bribes, and used
Uhlan
Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...
s to intimidate the opposition. By then, the various factions seeking to form a
Romanian National Party
The Romanian National Party ( ro, Partidul Național Român, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the ...
had only managed to establish a Transylvanian caucus and a Banatian one. The latter, presided upon by Anton Mocioni, recognized Hungarian rule and sought to obtain Romanian rights within its jurisdiction. An 1872 report to his partisans also claimed that Andrei and the other Mocionis were "disgusted" and "demoralized" by the behavior of Romanian electors in Lugoj and Krassó, who acted as "proselytes of the
ungariangovernment".
Together with
Visarion Roman and
Partenie Cosma, the Mocioni brothers established in 1871 the Albina Bank of
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...
, providing credit for Romanian businesses. At the time, Andrei Mocioni also provided funds in hopes of creating a Romanian regional theater, and became
godfather of Andrei, the child of actors
Mihail and
Matilda Pascaly. The family as a whole provided a scholarship fund for disadvantaged children, managed by Babeș. Noted recipients include writer
Gruia Liuba Murgu, biologist
Victor Babeș, and lawyer
Coriolan Brediceanu
Coriolan Brediceanu (1849–1909) was an Austro-Hungarian Romanian lawyer and politician. Born in Lugoj, his children included Caius and Tiberiu. Maria Lădău"Coriolan Brediceanu – activitatea juridică", in ''Revista Studențească de Studii ...
. The former deputy and the
Hungarian post had an unsolved dispute about the creation of a Foeni post office, which the officials viewed as too costly. Mocioni took the
postmaster examination and, at his own expense, erected a building which, with its
mahogany furniture and silver
inkwell
An inkwell is a small jar or container, often made of glass, porcelain, silver, brass, or pewter, used for holding ink in a place convenient for the person who is writing. The artist or writer dips the brush, quill, or dip pen into the inkwell ...
s, was recognized as "the most elegant post office".
["Diverse. Biroulu postalu celu mai elegantu", in '' Gazet'a Transilvaniei'', Issue 54/1880, p. 3]
Mocioni was still pressed by his friends to make a return to politics. He refused on principle, but allowed for a theoretical possibility: "I shall no longer fight and sacrifice myself to the four winds, but will patiently wait for a national regeneration to begin, if ever."
In December 1875, he was selected a representative for the "national church congress" by the voters of
Facsád (Făget), but turned down the office, which went to Constantin Rădulescu. A local tradition, recorded in 1905 by the newspaper ''
Tribuna
''Tribuna'' (russian: Трибуна) is a weekly Russian newspaper that focuses largely on industry and the energy sector.
History
Tribunas published its first publication in July 1969. Until 1990, the newspaper titled the ''Sotsialisticheska ...
'', noted that, by then, he and his Serb wife were detested by the local Romanians, who once attacked the manor and shattered its windows.
["Concertul de la Foenĭ", in '']Tribuna
''Tribuna'' (russian: Трибуна) is a weekly Russian newspaper that focuses largely on industry and the energy sector.
History
Tribunas published its first publication in July 1969. Until 1990, the newspaper titled the ''Sotsialisticheska ...
'', Issue 37/1905, p. 2 According to a notice in the Arad Orthodox paper ''Biseric'a si Scóla'', Mocioni was also driven away from religious affairs after "a mean gossiper libeled him, out of the blue and without a shred of truthfulness".
Mocioni's health was failing, and for this reason he never attended any session of the Romanian Academy. From 1879, Mocioni's disease worsened, and, once bedridden, he was taken to Temeschwar (now officially Temesvár) to be under specialist care.
Mocioni died on May 5 (April 23), 1880. Although some sources give his death place as Foeni,
contemporary reports have it that he died in Temeschwar, after having lapsed into a brief coma, and while looked after by his wife Laura.
Their marriage had produced no heirs.
Legacy
![Cripta familiei Mocioni din Foeni](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Cripta_familiei_Mocioni_din_Foeni.jpg)
Mocioni's body was taken to Foeni for an Orthodox burial at the common Serb–Romanian church, which he and his wife had furnished.
["Noutăți. Intoleranță", in ''Tribuna Poporului'', Issue 110/1900, p. 3] Laura inherited all his wealth, which sparked a Mocioni family feud.
Already a licensed postal worker, she continued Mocioni's work as a postmaster.
She died on the estate in August 1892, aged 53, and was buried at his side.
In her late years, she had carried on with Mocioni philanthropy work, but only servicing the local Serb community and punishing Romanian ingratitude. According to ''Tribuna'', the "new generation" of Romanians, "more enlightened than the earlier one", was expressing shame and regret for having alienated her.
The family's involvement in Hungarian conservative politics were being reexamined in the 1890s by a new generation of radicals, who argued that "Mocionism" was a sample of "Magyarophilia". By then, a scandal had erupted over Andrei Mocioni's remains. The church remained a property of the Karlovci Patriarchy, which in 1900 refused to hand over the body for reburial in the Mocioni mausoleum. It cited texts which condemned the separation in death of husband and wife, but the Romanian press suspected that such resistance was proof of "intolerant"
Serb nationalism
Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, und ...
.
A separation was eventually made, and Andrei was reburied in the new location.
The various Mocioni estates went to brothers Alexandru and Eugen. Some were inherited by Eugen's sons, before passing to Ecaterina Mocioni and her husband, Jenő,
Count Teleki; others went to the Bukovinian baron
Ioan Mocsony-Stârcea
Ioan is a variation on the name John found in Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Welsh (), and Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The female equivalent in Romanian and Bulgarian is Ioana. In Russia, the name Ioann is usually reserved for the clergy ...
, who was Alexandru's adoptive son. The core manor at Foeni was nevertheless inherited by the
Csávossy counts,
while his horses continued to be bred by the Austrians Jakob Haas and Ludwig Deutsch.
The property was pillaged by peasants during the
revolutionary events which marked the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918. According to one Romanian account, this incident provided the
Hungarian Royal Gendarmerie with an excuse to murder Romanians.
Most other assets were kept by the surviving family following the establishment of
Greater Romania
The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea.
As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...
, when Anton Jr bought back the Foeni mansion, hoping to turn it into a cultural club.
According to historian Vicențiu Bugariu, by 1930 Andrei Mocioni was already forgotten, a victim of "ignorance and indifference".
This trend was censured by the Banat politician
Sever Bocu. Although a critic of "Mocionist" conservatism in Austria-Hungary, during the interwar he became noted for his work to preserve and shed light on the family's contribution as a "moral dynasty". Bocu wrote Andrei Mocioni's profile as a study in national pedagogy, declaring that any Banatian unaware of the Mocionis' role "is a Banatian in name only". Mocioni, or any other of his relatives, is also mentioned in the
dialectical Banatian poetry of the interwar. Samples include
Gheorghe Gârda's ''Că tăt Bănatu-i fruncea!'' ("And Yet the Banat Is Tops") and
Cassian R. Munteanu's ''Vicejî noștri'' ("Our Braves").
With the death of Anton Jr in 1943, the direct Mocioni lineage was extinguished; however, interest in the family was still kept alive by Bocu's nephew, the scholar Ion D. Suciu. In the 1950s, the estates were subject to
nationalization under the
communist regime
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
, which turned the Foeni complex into a public bathhouse, and then into a storage room for chemicals. Following the
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...
, the mansion was re-purposed as a cultural club and mainly functioned as a disco, before being taken over by the local town hall.
The communist and post-communist periods saw the Mocioni inheritance falling into disrepair, and the deposited collections were still being looted in 2003. In the latter period, busts of Andrei and Alexandru Mocioni were installed in Timișoara's Scudier Park.
[Lajos Kakucs, "De la Fântâna Pașei de pe lângă Mănăstirea Dervișilor până la Parcul Rozelor. Contribuții la istoria parcurilor din Timișoara", in ''Analele Banatului. Arheologie–Istorie'', Vol. XXIII, 2015, p. 356]
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mocioni, Andrei
1812 births
1880 deaths
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