The Romanian Crown Estate was a group of companies or properties belonging to the
Romanian state
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
, intended to partially fund the activities of the Romanian Crown (
Romanian royal family
The Romanian royal family ( ro, Familia regală a României) was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Romania, a constitutional monarchy in Central-Eastern Europe. The kingdom existed from 1881, when Carol I of Romania was proclaimed king, until ...
and the Romanian royal court).
The Crown Estate income is in addition to the
civil list
A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. It is a term especially associated with the United Kingdom and its former colonies of Canada, India, New Zeal ...
and other income from private funds (donations etc.). The Crown Estate aims at ensuring a normal funding of the
Romanian royal family
The Romanian royal family ( ro, Familia regală a României) was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Romania, a constitutional monarchy in Central-Eastern Europe. The kingdom existed from 1881, when Carol I of Romania was proclaimed king, until ...
and limiting the funding from the Romanian state budget; usually the,
civil list
A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. It is a term especially associated with the United Kingdom and its former colonies of Canada, India, New Zeal ...
, a relatively low amount, cannot ensure a sufficient financing.
History
The Crown Estates were born by the law of June 9, 1884, at the initiative of liberal politician
Ion C. Brătianu. Since the establishment, for a long time (1884–1913), the position of Administrator of the Crown Estates has been owned by Romanian lawyer and forester
Ioan Kalinderu.
In 1918, at the request of His Majesty
King Ferdinand I of Romania
Ferdinand (Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad; 24 August 1865 – 20 July 1927), nicknamed ''Întregitorul'' ("the Unifier"), was King of Romania from 1914 until his death in 1927. Ferdinand was the second son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and ...
, the
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
legislated the passage of a part of the land belonging to the Crown Estates in exploitation - and later in the property - of the Romanian peasants (v. 1921 Agrarian Reform).
In 1948, after the
coup d'état of December 30, 1947, the Crown Estates were nationalized.
After 1989, the
Romanian Royal Family
The Romanian royal family ( ro, Familia regală a României) was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Romania, a constitutional monarchy in Central-Eastern Europe. The kingdom existed from 1881, when Carol I of Romania was proclaimed king, until ...
only claimed in court the restitution of (personal) property belonging to
King Mihai I.
List of Crown Estates administrators
*
Ioan Kalinderu, 1884–1913
* Barbu A. Știrbey, 1913–1927
* Ernest Ballif, 1927–1940
* Dimitrie Negel, 22 July 1942 – 4 January 1948
Traditional Crown Estate properties
According to the ''
Minerva Encyclopedia'' of 1929, the following Romanian properties were part, historically, of the Crown Estate:
[Enciclopedia Minerva, Editura Comitetului de redacție al Enciclopediei Române Minerva, Cluj 1929] (prewar
Romanian county references)
The estates totaled 129.989 hectares, divided into:
[
* Brăila county (prewar) 6.367 ha
* ]Dolj County
Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)- Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova.
Demographics
In 2011, the cou ...
: Sadova, Dolj
Sadova is a commune in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to ...
19.353 ha; Segarcea
Segarcea is a small town in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania. It has 7,019 inhabitants (2011 census), in an area of .
The town is located towards the western end of the Wallachian Plain, about north of the Danube and south of Craiova, the coun ...
11.800 ha;
* Ilfov County
Ilfov () is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of Communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like suburbs ...
: Cocioc 3.674 ha;
* Neamț County
Neamț County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamț. The county takes its name from the Neamț River.
Demographics
Population
In 2011, it had a population of 470,76 ...
: Bicaz 13.224 ha;
* Prahova County
Prahova County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești.
Demographics
In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/km². It is Romania's third mos ...
: Gherghița 2.900 ha; Clăbucet mountains with the Caraiman Peak
The Caraiman Peak is a mountain peak located in Romania, in the Bucegi Mountains of the Southern Carpathians. It has a height of 2,384 m. The nearest town is Buşteni.
The Heroes' Monument
Close to Caraiman peak lies the Heroes' Cross, a ...
1.953 ha;
* Buzău County
Buzău County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Buzău.
Demographics
In 2011, it had a population of 432,054 and the population density was 70.7/km2.
* Romanians – 97%
* Roma ...
: Domnița 5.487 ha;
* Suceava County
Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper.
The county seat is the historical town ...
: Mălini
Mălini is a commune located in Suceava County, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Iesle, Mălini, Pâraie, Poiana Mărului and Văleni-Stânișoara.
Administration and local politics
Communal council
The commune's current local counc ...
27.405 ha; Borca, Neamț
Borca is a commune in Neamț County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of seven villages: Borca, Lunca, Mădei, Pârâul Cârjei, Pârâul Pântei, Sabasa and Soci.
Natives
*Gheorghe Cartianu-Popescu
Gheorghe Cartianu-Popescu (8 August ...
17.871 ha; Sabasa and Fărcașa 3.955 ha;
* Vaslui County
Vaslui County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Western Moldavia, with the seat at Vaslui.
Demographics
In 2011, it had a population of 395,499 and the population density was 74/km².
* Romanians - over 98%
* Rom ...
: Dobrovăț 6.300 ha.
Between 1900 and 1901, the Crown Estate had twelve estates throughout Romania totalling 132112 hectares, 85000 hectares of forest and 48000 hectares agricultural land.
From an administrative point of view, the Estates had ten districts with their own manager qualified in agricultural and forestry sciences.
The agricultural estate was made up of eight estates mostly in Muntenia
Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the seldom used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in R ...
. The soil was of best quality and the crops were fertilised. To be able to fully use the allocated land, the ponds were drained. On that land orchards have been planted and fodder has been grown.
Vineyard represented around 3.19% of the total land and were found mainly on the Sadova and Segarcea Estate sandy land. Agricultural machinery was introduced, farms were established and crops were improved. The last segment was cattle breeding that benefited from the fodder infrastructure. Moldavian cattles were brought that were bred with the Algan breed with aim of improving the traction oxen breed. Next to Periș, on the Cancioc Estate in 1897 a dairy was established that had in 1901 160 cattles. In Dubravăț sheep were bred. Likewise to the cattle breeding, the sheep breeds were bred with other foreign breeds.
At Mălini and Bicaz there were pig farms as well as bee farms. From agriculture the activities expanded to industry, linen, mill, ceramic and factories have been built. As such, offices, dwellings for workers, stables, workshops and sheepfolds were built. In addition, a stud farm was set up in Durovats where the indigenous breed of horses was intended to be improved.
File:Ferma de porci de pe Domeniul Dobrovet.jpg, Pig farm on Dobroveț Estate
File:Stuparia de pe Domeniul Cocioc.jpg, Bee farm on Cocioc Estate
File:Grajduri de pe Domeniul Bicaz.jpg, Stables on Bicaz Estate
File:Laptaria de pe Domeniul Peris.jpg, Dairy on Periș Estate
The forests of the Crown Estate numbered 84,000 ha, of which 67,000 ha in the mountains, 5,000 at the hill, and 12,000 at the plains. 97.3% of the forest was exploitable and only 2.7% was unproductive. The forests were beech, fir, oak, acacia or elm. Afforestations were made in the Sadova sands, and forest exploitation followed a strict forestry system. The transport of logs harvested to the sawmills or railway station was made on the water, narrow railways, or access roads existing at that time. 60 kilometers of railway and a 1.5 km funicular were built with 6 locomotives that had a power of 240 horses. The sawmills were at Poiana Doamnei, Găinești and Borca at Mălini and at Piatra Corbului and Ața at Bicaz. Industry wise workshops were built for the manufacture of gates, windows, wooden vessels, furniture, etc. There were also hunting parks, one in Mălini și unul la Bicaz, in Dubroveț there was a pheasantry, etc.
File:Arbori taiati din padurea de la Bicaz.jpg, Trees cut from the Bicaz forest
File:Tren funicular de la Malini.jpg, Funicular train from Mălini
File:Frangherie pe Domeniul Dobrovet.jpg, Rope factory at Dobroveț Estate
File:Plute cu lemne pe Bistrita.jpg, Rafts with logs on Bistrița
Legal status, ownership and taxation
The Crown Estates are the property of the Romanian State; only the income from their commercial exploitation (usufruct
Usufruct () is a limited real right (or ''in rem'' right) found in civil-law and mixed jurisdictions that unites the two property interests of ''usus'' and ''fructus'':
* ''Usus'' (''use'') is the right to use or enjoy a thing possessed, directl ...
) is intended to support the activity of the Royal Family.
The Crown Estate properties can only be sold by law.
By the operating law, the Crown Estate properties do not pay tax
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
es to the central budget, but only to the local budgets (counties and communes).
In 1918, at the request of His Majesty King Ferdinand I of Romania
Ferdinand (Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad; 24 August 1865 – 20 July 1927), nicknamed ''Întregitorul'' ("the Unifier"), was King of Romania from 1914 until his death in 1927. Ferdinand was the second son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and ...
, the Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
legislated the passage of a part of the land belonging to the Crown Estates in exploitation - and later in the property - of the Romanian peasants (v. 1921 Agrarian Reform).
After the abdication of King Mihai I of Romania, which took place on December 30, 1947, the Romanian Communists
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language
Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește ...
issued an act of nationalization
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of the Crown Estates.
After 1989, the Royal Family of Romania only claimed in court the restitution of (personal) property belonging to King Mihai I.
Segarcea vineyard
Currently in private ownership, the vineyard and wine cellars of Segarcea
Segarcea is a small town in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania. It has 7,019 inhabitants (2011 census), in an area of .
The town is located towards the western end of the Wallachian Plain, about north of the Danube and south of Craiova, the coun ...
, Dolj County
Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)- Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova.
Demographics
In 2011, the cou ...
, one of the vineyards belonging to the Estates, have gained international fame for wines produced and exported to many countries of the world under the trade name "The Crown Domain".
The Segarcea vineyard is one of the current suppliers of the Romanian Royal House. One of the wines produced in Segarcea bears the name of His Royal Highness Princess Margaret of Romania.
Besides the Segarcea Estate, among the current suppliers of the Royal House of Romania there are also other wine producers, such as the Tohani Domains, which produce the assortment bearing the name of His Royal Highness Prince Radu of Romania
Prince Radu of Romania (born Radu Duda on 7 June 1960, formerly known as Prince Radu of Hohenzollern-Veringen from 1999 to 2007) is the husband of Margareta of Romania, head of the House of Romania and a disputed pretender to the former Roman ...
.
See also
* Civil list
A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. It is a term especially associated with the United Kingdom and its former colonies of Canada, India, New Zeal ...
* Segarcea
Segarcea is a small town in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania. It has 7,019 inhabitants (2011 census), in an area of .
The town is located towards the western end of the Wallachian Plain, about north of the Danube and south of Craiova, the coun ...
References
{{reflist
Romanian monarchy