Romfilatelia, the specialized company in issuing and trading Romanian postage stamps, is launching, on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the inauguration of the Carol I University Foundation building, the philatelic issue called Central University Library (former Carol I University Foundation) – 110 years since the inauguration.
Simultaneously with the instauration of the monarchy in Romania, more cultural institutions have been founded, which were necessary to the public. One of them was the Carol I University Foundation.
Starting from an actual situation – the lack of public libraries, King Carol I has decided to organize at his own expense a library meant especially for the students. On May 3rd 1891, the king entrusted his Prime Minister with the letter of intent regarding the foundation of the University Library and of the Material Support Foundation for deserving students lacking financial means.
On June 27th 1891, under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Education, the Carol I University Foundation was determined to be a state institution. The same year, the construction of the building was started; the building was inaugurated on March 14th 1895.
If in 1895 the library had 48 seats for readers and 3,400 books, in 1906, the number of books had exceeded 20,000 and the number of seats had risen to 128. The extension works – which generated the current aspect of the building – were started in 1911 and on May 9th 1914, the new building was inaugurated by King Carol I; on this occasion, he quoted the words of the historian Miron Costin: “… there is no leisure activity more beautiful and more useful in human life than reading books.”
Years have passed, political regimes have changed, but the Central University Library in Bucharest is still the same, defying time and history. The events in December 1989 have caused, in addition to the great number of human victims, significant damages at the Royal Palace and especially at the library. The library caught fire and the book patrimony was ruined almost entirely.
With a significant material and financial effort from the state, with the UNESCO contribution provided by several ambassadors ascertained in our country and with the support of money and book donations offered by the Romanians living in the country and abroad, the Central University Library was reborn from its own ashes.
In more than 15 years from the great fire in 1989, even if the halls have not been renovated entirely due to the lack of funds, the Central University Library (former Carol I University Foundation) is displayed nowadays in its entire splendor to those passing by the Royal Palace Square.
