Societatea Academică Junimea (Romanian for "Junimea Academic Society") was a society (''
Studentenverbindung
() or , often referred to as , is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousand in ...
'') for Romanian students in the
Austro-Hungarian
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 between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
city of
Czernowitz
Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivtsi serv ...
, located in the
Bukovina
Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...
region of
Cisleithania
Cisleithania, officially The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council (), was the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in the Compromise of 1867—as distinguished from ''Transleithania'' (i.e., ...
. The city was called ''Cernăuți'' after the region united with Romania in 1918, and today is
Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. The society operated between 1878 and 1938, spanning both the Austro-Hungarian and the Romanian periods.
Founding and initial phase
Affiliated with
Czernowitz University, Junimea was established on December 7, 1878. It carried forth the patriotic ideals proclaimed by
Arboroasa, which the authorities had suppressed the previous November. Nearly all the members of the defunct society joined Junimea. The initial leadership included
Dimitrie Onciul and president and
Ciprian Porumbescu
Ciprian Porumbescu (; born Cyprian Gołęmbiowski on 14 October 1853 – 6 June 1883) was a Romanian composer born in Șipotele Sucevei in Bucovina. He was among the most celebrated Romanian composers of his time; his popular works include ...
as secretary. Members habitually wore a ribbon patterned after the
Romanian tricolor. They raised the flag on festive occasions, as well as an insignia inscribed ''Vivat, crescat, floreat Junimea''.
A festive celebration was held in January 1879, following which Junimea began its activities, which were of a cultural and patriotic nature, with particular attention given to the cultural history of Romanians in Bukovina. By the end of 1880, the society had 39 regular members and 49 supporters, and focused on refinement of the Romanian language for the 1880–1881 academic year. Among those who visited the members were
Gheorghe Sion
Gheorghe Sion (May 22, 1822 – October 1, 1892) was a Moldavian, later Romanian poet, playwright, translator and memoirist.
He was born in Mamornița to '' paharnic'' (royal cup-bearer) Ioniță Sion and his wife Eufrosina (''née'' Schina), th ...
,
Titu Maiorescu
Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Culture of Romania, Romanian culture in ...
and
Agatha Bârsescu. In 1884, Junimea strongly lobbied against plans by the Austrian government to move the university to
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
.
Over the course of the 1880s, members consciously viewed themselves as upholding a Romanian culture imperiled by foreign domination, and propagated patriotic ideals.
[Jumară, p.174] In towns and villages, they organized conferences devoted to national history and literature; musical, literary and theatrical evening performances; celebrations with folk songs and traditional dances; and commemorations of national heroes. By 1900, they were raising the tricolor at every occasion; marking 300 years since
Michael the Brave
Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...
briefly united the Romanian lands; and feasting in honor of
Vasile Alecsandri
Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...
, "the king of poetry". They actively combated the cosmopolitanism of the empire, instead promoting national pride.
Early 20th century
At Junimea's 25th jubilee in 1904, guests arrived from the
Romanian Old Kingdom
The Romanian Old Kingdom ( or just ''Regat''; or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia and Moldavia. The union of the ...
,
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 ...
,
Banat
Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...
and
Crișana
Crișana (, , ) is a geographical and historical region of Romania named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Romania, the term is sometimes extended to include areas ...
, as well as
Aromanians
The Aromanians () are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgari ...
from
Macedonia
Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
. Meanwhile, local women donated a tricolor they had stitched together. The celebration happened to fall on the four hundredth anniversary of
Stephen the Great
Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 2 July 1504), was List of rulers of Moldavia, Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II of Moldavia, Bogdan II, who was murdered in ...
's death, and the Junimea leadership was selected as part of the festive committee. Members were concerned with the economic well-being of Bukovina's Romanian peasants and craftsmen, and especially after 1892, helped create reading rooms in villages and cooperative banks. They also adopted a combative posture against the authorities, traveling to
Cluj
Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
in 1894 to support the
Transylvanian Memorandum
The ''Transylvanian Memorandum'' () was a petition sent in 1892 by the leaders of the Romanians of Transylvania to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor-King Franz Joseph, asking for equal ethnic rights with the Hungarians, and demanding an end to perse ...
defendants, campaigning in favor of the tricolor in 1898–1899, protesting against the Germanophilia of Czernowitz professors in 1900, electing
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 ...
as an honorary member in 1908 when he was forbidden to enter Bukovina.
[Jumară, p.176]
The society edited several publications: ''Tinerimea română'', ''
Junimea literară'' and ''Deșteptarea'', as well as a number of short-lived satirical magazines. Its 30th anniversary in 1908 brought a number of prominent Romanian intellectuals, including
Simion Mehedinți,
Constantin Stere
Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea (Romanian language, Romanian; , ''Konstantin Yegorovich Stere'' or Константин Георгиевич Стере, ''Konstantin Georgiyevich Stere''; also known under his pen name ''Șărcăleanu''; ...
,
Mihail Sadoveanu
Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; 5 November 1880 – 19 October 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting President of Romania, head of st ...
,
Ștefan Octavian Iosif
Ștefan Octavian Iosif (; 11 October 1875 – 22 June 1913) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian poet and translator.
Life
Born in Brașov, Transylvania (part of Austria-Hungary at the time), he studied in his native town and in Sibiu befor ...
and
Dimitrie Anghel
Dimitrie Anghel (; July 16, 1872 – November 13, 1914) was a Romanian poet.
Anghel was of Aromanian descent from his father. His first poem was published in '' Contemporanul'' (1890). His debut editorial ''Traduceri din Paul Verlaine'' was publ ...
, as well as delegates from the universities of
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
and
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
, and representatives from Romanian students in other provinces. By 1914, participants maintained ties with Romanian student societies in, among other places, Vienna, Graz, Munich, Budapest, Berlin and Kraków, as well as other cultural organizations in Bukovina.
Junimea's activity was interrupted upon the outbreak of World War I. The war's implication was quickly clear to its followers: upon the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was one of the key events that led to World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg ...
, one member brought the news and exclaimed, "this is a war of liberation!" The society's flag was brought to 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 ...
in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
. Half the leadership committee, including president
Traian Popovici, left for the Old Kingdom right away, with others soon following. A number of members,
Ion Grămadă
Ion Grămadă (January 3, 1886—August 27, 1917) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian writer, historian and journalist. A native of Bukovina, he joined the Romanian Army and died in battle during World War I.
Biography
Born in Zaharești ( ...
among them, would eventually die fighting in the
Romanian Army
The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces.
The Romanian Land Forc ...
. Others, including
Ion Nistor and
George Tofan, publicized the difficult situation of Bukovina's Romanians while working within various cultural organizations, and worked to hasten Romania's entry into the war, which eventually happened in August 1916.
[Jumară, p.176-77]
Notes
References
*Dan Jumară, "Studențimea bucovineană și Marea Unire", in ''Acta Moldaviae Meridionalis'', Anuarul Muzeului Județean Vaslui, Vaslui, Nr.XXI, 1999–2000, p. 173-81
{{DEFAULTSORT:Societatea Academica Junimea
1878 establishments in Austria-Hungary
1938 disestablishments in Romania
Chernivtsi University
Student organisations in Austria