The Role of the ”Petru Maior” and ”România Jună” Societies in the Formation of the Romanian Elite

Abstract

In the second half of the 19th century, both in Vienna and Budapest there were numerous Romanian students, but also a Romanian elite consisting of several Romanian intellectuals who held important positions. Vienna and Budapest were the most important university centers for Romanians in Transylvania. Arriving in the two capitals, the young Romanians became aware of the problems faced by the Romanian society and some of them got involved in various activities aimed at solving them and emancipating the Romanians. Among them we might mention Nicolae Oncu, who will stand out as the director of an important Romanian bank from the Dual Monarchy, the future publicist Iosif Vulcan, the composer Ciprian Porumbescu, the politician Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, the writer Ioan Slavici, the politician Vasile Goldiș, or the Romanian national poet, Mihai Eminescu. The two societies of Romanian students in the Austro-Hungarian capitals are important, because it was here that these young people met and made friends. In less than a decade they asserted themselves as important personalities, active both in Romania and in the ranks of Romanians from the Dual Monarchy. Most of them became supporters of the idea of national unity of all Romanians. The beginnings of their activity are linked to the experiences they lived through in Vienna and Budapest.