The Theodor Pallady Hall of the Library of the Romanian Academy hosts, starting Thursday throughout April 21, an anniversary exhibition on the 160th anniversary of the establishment of the highest cultural and scientific institution of the country.

According to the outgoing chairman of the Academy, Ioan-Aurel Pop, the exhibition 'Romanian Academy at 160 ' presents excerpts from the history of the institution.

'We have treasures here, we have treasures from all points of view of which the Academy, 160 years old, can be proud. And you will see that, apart from our national rulers, Alexandru Cuza and Carol I, who until 1881 was prince, there are other older ones. And people asked me why Michael the Brave, Brancoveanu, Vasile Lupu were there. They are all patrons of culture and founders of institutions, which, if they were not called academies, were assimilated to academies. You might say, but Michael the Brave? What does he have to do with culture? Well (...) he compelled the Transylvanian Diet to recognise the Romanian language as an official language, alongside Latin, Hungarian and German. That was a big deal. Once again, for the first time and for a short time, he introduced Romanian among the official languages and issued documents in Romanian, of course, in Cyrillic characters. So, you can count him among the patrons and predecessors. Then, in the 160 years, you see how many important acts have been done,' Pop explained.

He recalled that, after the construction of the new headquarters, the current building, a historical monument, will be transformed into the Museum of the Romanian Academy, which will house, along with other assets, the Academy's large collection of paintings.

'Therefore, going through this exhibition means getting to know a slice of the history of this institution. When I say institution, I mean the library and all those that are part of this structure called the Romanian Academy, which is also loved and envied and hated by some. We want it to be loved always, because it is not ours, it belongs to our national heritage, which the old ones passed on to us and we must pass it on. And the ladies who mounted the exhibition make those who are patient aware of the values that are hidden here and of the importance of this national institution, the only one for consecrating the greatest values, the only one for fundamental research that is important and that carries on these traditions. Thank you. Congratulations!'

Director General of the Library of the Romanian Academy Nicolae Noica, an honorary member of the Romanian Academy, talked about why the exhibition is worth touring.

'We have here an original handwritten document from 1866, which actually impresses, first of all by its writing and, secondly, by the way the paper has been preserved. After that, you have here a fairly clear history of how there was this concern to build a headquarters for the Romanian Academy. Of course, in parallel, the library. See here some extraordinary plans. Look at the splendour... It was made by the great architect Duiliu Marcu and, walking around, you will see that over 100 years have passed. Let's see what we want to do now, there, in that corner. However, these things must be very well understood and a tradition respected. I think it's worth seeing everything we have here: these splendid medals. I would like to thank especially Mrs Alina Popescu and Mrs Carmen Albu and the colleagues who mounted this exhibition, which deserves to be presented,' said Noica pointed out.

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According to the Library of the Romanian Academy, established in 1866 as the Romanian Literary Society, renamed the Romanian Academic Society the following year, was the nucleus of the Romanian Academy, as it was called after 1879. From the earliest years, the Academic Society focused on the problems of the Romanian language and on the creation of the first dictionary of the national language and the creation of a reference library.

At the same time, the activities of the Academic Society diversified very rapidly, leading to the emergence of various scientific sections - the Philology Section, the Historical Studies Section, the Science Section. Currently, there are 14 sections.

Such a diverse activity quickly led to an exponential growth of the collections of documentary resources, which will form the nucleus of the impressive property of the Romanian Academy Library. Thus, the need for a suitable headquarters naturally followed.

In 1890, the Romanian Academy relocated from the headquarters of the University, where it was housed, to Calea Victoriei 135 (today 125), where plenary meetings or sections of the members could be held, but also where the collections of books, periodicals, cartographic materials, museum objects, numismatic pieces, works of art, manuscript and archival collections found their perennial place.

All this scientific and cultural movement, evolving over time, is presented in the 160-year anniversary exhibition. The Print Room of the Romanian Academy Library houses period engravings that recorded the establishment of the Literary Society, photographic portraits of the members and historical meetings of the Romanian Academy.

The historical path is punctuated by several architectural plans from various attempts, some put into practice, others interrupted for objective reasons, to modify and expand the headquarters of the Romanian Academy. This chronological journey through the architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries is happily concluded with the plans of the new headquarters of the Romanian Academy under construction.

The numismatic collection also amplifies the historical-memorial path, making public bronze plaques illustrating the life and work of some of the most famous Romanian academicians.

The exhibits from the collection of rare book manuscripts, historical documents, pieces from the personal archives of various members of the Romanian Academy, internal documents of the institution and the speech of academician D. Panaitescu-Perpessicius at the 100th anniversary of the high academic forum also underline the complexity of the evolution of the Romanian Academy in 160 years.

The exhibition, which is enriched and enlivened by several works of Romanian and foreign graphics signed by famous artists, is open throughout April 21, Monday to Friday, 09:00hrs to 14:00hrs. Admission is free. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Daniel Popescu; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)