ASTRA Contributions to the Formation of a Romanian Elite 1861-1867

Abstract

The period between 1861 - 1867 was marked by profound changes in the Empire, arising asa result of the struggle for national rights for the people of the Empire. Through the work of the dietin Sibiu the rights of the Romanians in the Empire were recognized and Romanian language wasrecognized as an official language alongside German and Hungarian. Since 1861 favorableconditions were created for the formation of cultural societies to fight for the cultural developmentof Romanians in the Empire. The first Romanian cultural societies were formed in Sibiu, Arad andCernăuţi and carried out an intense cultural activity that supported the development of Romanianeducation, the emergence of books in Romanian.

Keywords

• cultural societies
• Astra Arad
• Cernăuţi
• Romanian
• spelling unification
• intellectuals
• king
• Vienna