Reading Societies in Bihor between 1849-1918
The first attempts to found a Literary Society in Bihor begun in 1843; but only in march 1852 the students at the Law Academy in Oradea managed to obtain the official recognition of the Reading Society from Oradea whose meetings took place until 1875 and served both literature and national emancipation. Wisely, the Society included, alongside the educated youth, the entire intelligentsia. By establishing a genuine cultural society, no social restrictions were established, and the emphasis was placed on the cultural emancipation of the entire Romanian population. Following the example of their colleagues from Oradea, the Reading Society “Samuil Vulcan” from Beiuş included in 1862 all the Romanians involved in the cultural and national emancipation. The historians findings are extremely eloquent: the Church people and the representatives of the Romanian culture have come together, combining their efforts for the cultural and national emancipation. The Romanians under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy have endeavored to establish and subsequently to maintain and develop Reading Societies and Cultural Associations in order to preserve “the Romanian language and traditions” and to keep alive – in this way – the ancestral faith and the conscience of our nation.
IOAN OVIDIU BOCŞAN
|
|
