ROMANIAN ELITE AND COMMUNITY IN ALBA IULIA
IN THE FIRST DECADES OF TTHE 20TH CENTURY.
GLEANING FROM PRINTED DOCUMENTS
AND OTHER SOURCES OF THE TIME
(II)

Abstract:

The present paper continues the presentation of bibliographical and documentary information collected as a result of examining certain historical sources, that were not priory interrogated by researchers, and which represent spiritual patrimonial values of the Union Museum of Alba Iulia. First and foremost, several inedited documents referring to the activity of the Reuniunii de cetire şi cântări a economilor şi meseriaşilor” [The reading and singing Reunion of economists and craftsmen] of Romanian origin from Alba Iulia have been edited, revealing fragments of association life between the years 1906-1922. They capture the modernization and adaptation of association life to the new historical demands determined by the incontestably turning event of The Great Union from the 1st of December 1918. The year 1922, illustrated rather well by the content of the published documents is evidently one of conceptual and organisational restructuring, of expansion even in the over two decade activity of the organization. The Reunion includes even more foreigners than in 1901-1902, the year it was founded. The criteria on which it functions follow a rather different hierarchy with emphasis on the economical ones, seconded by the educational and cultural aspects which remain however viable, following the initial purpose of national development. However, the political and national implications of Reunion members seem to have blurred out in the years immediately after the Union.

Keywords:

Elite, picture, intellectuals, community, spiritual life.