Andrei Mureșanu National College () is a high school located at 1 Mai Street, nr. 10, Dej, Romania. By the early 1890s, when the area was part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, the local inhabitants were demanding a high school for Dej, which only had a gymnasium with lower grades. Their petition to the Education Ministry at Budapest, sent in 1892, was met with a vague reply, and was not actively approved until 1897, when a grade of high school opened in the former gymnasium building, which had belonged to

George II Rákóczi George II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I and Zsuzsanna Lorántffy. Early life He was elected Prince of Transylvania during his father' ...

. The new building was begun in spring 1899 and completed the following autumn. The school had the full eight grades by 1904–1905, with the first graduates finishing at the end of the year. By 1918, nearly 500 pupils had graduated; 84 were ethnic Romanians, often noted for their academic performance.Short history
at the Andrei Mureșanu National College site Following the

union of Transylvania with Romania The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a Public holidays in Romani ...

, the school was taken over by the Romanian state. The revamped institution opened in October 1919 with 282 regular and 43 private pupils taught by eleven faculty; several months later, they were joined by a French teacher from the French military mission. There were almost no textbooks, and while the natural sciences collection was highly developed, materials for chemistry, geography and history were lacking. The library was well-stocked, but none of the books were in Romanian; various donors, including the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) 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 bylaws, the academy's ma ...

and

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...

, sent books. From the beginning, thanks to

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

Teodor Mihali, students from rural areas were provided with a dormitory; in 1930, they moved into a former palace. The interwar period produced a further 590 graduates. From 1940 to 1944, due to the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

, the school once again became a Hungarian institution. Starting in 1948, new

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

renamed the school and ordered the admission of girls. In 1969, its traditional name, after poet and revolutionary

Andrei Mureșanu Andrei Mureșanu (; November 16, 1816 in Bistrița – October 12, 1863 in Brașov) was a Romanian poet and revolutionary of Transylvania. Born in a family of a small business owner in the countryside, he studied philosophy and theology ...

, was revived. The following year, his statue was unveiled on the school grounds. From 1977 until the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...

, the institution was an industrial high school. It was declared a national college in 1997. The school offers extra hours of English in grades 5–8, while one class in each of grades 9-12 is taught in Hungarian.

Alumni

Teofil Herineanu Teofil Herineanu (November 11, 1909–November 3, 1992) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian cleric. Biography Origins and Greek-Catholic priesthood Born into a family of Romanian Greek-Catholic Church, Greek-Catholic peasant ...

Cornel Itu Cornel Itu (born October 17, 1955) is a Romanian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), he has represented Cluj County in the Chamber of Deputies since 2008. Biography Born in Ciubanca, Cluj County, he attended Andrei Mure� ...

Notes

External links

Official site
{{coord, 47.1415, 23.8785, type:edu_region:RO, display=title Dej Educational institutions established in 1897 1897 establishments in Austria-Hungary National Colleges in Romania School buildings completed in 1900 Schools in Cluj County