The Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and the Culture of the Romanian People (, ASTRA) is a cultural association founded in 1861 in
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...
(Hermannstadt). It had an important role in the cultural life and the movement of national awakening for the
Romanians
Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...
in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
.
Its first president was the ethnic Romanian
Orthodox Metropolitan of Sibiu —
Andrei Şaguna. Its vice-president was the
Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to:
* The Catholic Church in Greece
* The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite:
** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church
** The Belarusian Gr ...
priest
Timotei Cipariu, and
George Bariţiu was secretary.
Shortly after its founding, the association established a boarding school, museum, and large library in its provenance of Sibiu, and later developed a network of ASTRA libraries in Transylvanian towns. On 7 February 1895, ASTRA decided to edit and publish a ''Romanian Encyclopedia'' under the supervision of
Cornel Diaconovici. It was published in three volumes between 1898 and 1904, and had an important role in the culture and politics of the Romanians.
Today, the central ASTRA library contains approximately half a million works, mostly acquired through donations of the Transylvanian population, local publishing houses, or publication exchanges organized with other libraries.
Gallery
File:ASTRA Sibiu Palace.jpg, ASTRA Palace in Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...
See also
*
Transylvanian School
*
ASTRA National Museum Complex
"ASTRA" National Museum Complex () is a museum complex in Sibiu, Romania, which gathers under the same authority four ethnology and civilisation museums in the city, a series of laboratories for conservation and research, and a documentation centre ...
References
*
Sibiu
Culture of Romania
Romanian nationalism
Society of Austria-Hungary
Culture of Transylvania
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