Brief History of Teachers and Nature Lovers in Blaj and Certain Local Specificities of Nature Protection
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Proceedings of INTCESS 2019- 6th International Conference on Education and Social Sciences, 4-6 February 2019- Dubai, U.A.E. BRIEF HISTORY OF TEACHERS AND NATURE LOVERS IN BLAJ AND CERTAIN LOCAL SPECIFICITIES OF NATURE PROTECTION Valentina-Mariana Manoiu Assoc. Prof. Dr., Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, ROMANIA, [email protected] Abstract Blaj City, old cultural, historical and spiritual center of Romania, the hearth of unique and memorable events in the evolution of the Romanian people, conveys history and spirit every step of the way. The country’s first systematic higher education institutions that used Romanian as the main teaching language were opened in Blaj in 1754, and the first Romanian school books were printed here. This is where “the Sun of Romanians rose in the sky”, as noted by Ion Heliade Rădulescu, the first president of the Romanian Academy. The national poet Mihai Eminescu, while passing through Blaj, called it “Little Rome”. The purpose of this study is to present the most important teachers in Blaj who were active in nature protection, while also highlighting certain successes attained in this field. The paper is a qualitative- descriptive study based on the analysis of studies conducted on Blaj and its teachers, as well as on the investigation of local natural monuments and nature reservations. Of the 33 articles available on Web of Science that mention Blaj, only one tackles nature protection and outstanding individuals involved in the process, as the paper describes the city’s Botanical Garden. 22 papers address various historical, cultural and religious issues, 6 focus on viticulture, 2 on environmental pollution, one on agriculture and one on chemistry. Blaj teachers of the past were and still are moral, ethical, spiritual and professional role models for all Romanians. Most of them have studied in Blaj before moving on to renowned national and European universities. Nature-loving teacher-priests will remain bright lights in nature sciences, “green” pioneers in the field of nature protection (Alexandru Uilăcan, Ambrosiu Cheţianu and Alexandru Borza) and people who spark the love of young souls for all that is alive (Father-Teacher Ioan Ovidiu Suciu). Currently, by recognizing and approving the Botanical Nature Reserve of County Interest (Botanical Garden in Blaj) and the two natural monuments in Blaj City, a legal framework was established enabling an effective management, preservation and use, as well as preserving the local ecological balance. The Botanical Garden, the oldest in the world belonging to a high school, will need to be given the attention it deserves via an appropriate rehabilitation project, which can result in its being incorporated into ecotourism circuits and can ensure that it will continue to provide environmental education to young people. Keywords: Blaj, teachers, nature protection, Greek Catholic Church Motto: „I know not what sweetness attracts us to our natal soil and keeps us from forgetting it” - Bishop Inocenţiu Micu Klein (Romanian Greek Catholic Church website) 1 INTRODUCTION Blaj City (Fig. 1), one of Romania's old cultural, historical and spiritual center, the hearth of unique and memorable events in the history of the Romanian people, is located in the eastern part of Alba County at 23°55' east longitude and 46°10' north latitude, at the confluence of Târnava Mare and Târnava Mică rivers, in the west of Târnava Plateau (Buza, Stroia, 1985). Blaj has a relatively central position in Romania and an ISBN: 978-605-82433-5-4 51 Proceedings of INTCESS 2019- 6th International Conference on Education and Social Sciences, 4-6 February 2019- Dubai, U.A.E. average altitude of 260 m, and totals 98.93 km2 (Buza, Stroia, 1985). Its population on January 1, 2016 (the number of Romanian citizens residing in Blaj), according to the National Institute of Statistics, was 20.994 inhabitants (National Institute of Statistics website). Blaj was first mentioned officially in a 1252 act, when Count Herbord and his brother, Laurențiu, bought half of the Sâncel estate “which was located between the two Târnavas, where these two rivers meet” (Buza, Stroia, 1985). It is then mentioned again in a 1271 document as “villa Herbordi voievodae” (the village of Herbord Voivode); the medieval settlement was located on the right bank of Târnava Mare and later called “Blaj village”. In 1313, Herbord’s property passed to the possession of Blasiu, Herbord’s son, from whom the name of the settlement is derived (Buza, Stroia, 1985). Fig. 1. Blaj seen from Eminescu's Linden Tree Every inch of Blaj conveys history and spirit. The country’s first systematic higher education institutions (Fig. 2) that used Romanian as the main teaching language were opened in Blaj in 1754, and the first Romanian school books were printed here (Buza, Stroia, 1985). In 1761, Blaj held the country’s first theater performances, and in 1881 the world's first botanical garden built alongside a secondary school was founded. Greek Catholic center, Blaj holds the largest iconostasis in Romania at the “Holy Trinity” Greek Catholic Cathedral. This is where “the Sun of Romanians rose in the sky”, as noted by Ion Heliade Rădulescu, the first president of the Romanian Academy (Lupu, 1934). National poet Mihai Eminescu, in his passing through Blaj, called it “Little Rome” (Călinescu, 1977). Blaj held the Great Assembly at Câmpia Libertății (The Field of Liberty) in May 3/15, 1848, attended by more than 40.000 Romanians, where the program of national, political, religious and social democratic claims, formulated by Avram Iancu, Al. Papiu-Ilarian, Simion Bărnuțiu, George Bariţiu, Timotei Cipariu, August Treboniu Laurian, Axente Sever and others was adopted (Berindei, 1998). At the Blaj National Assembly, Romanians demanded that Romanian citizens in Ardeal (Transylvania) be given the same rights as the province’s other communities, shouting in unison, “We want to unite with the Country!”. Historians say that in Blaj, in May 1848, the idea that “Ardeal is no longer Ardeal, it is Romania” was strengthened (Berindei, 1998). The cultural and spiritual fame of Blaj is primarily due to its schools and eminent teachers. Many of them were true scholars in their respective fields and later became university professors and members of the Romanian Academy (Blaga, 2011). However, it is essential to note that these teachers were moral role models for Romanians, and the duty of today's teachers is to strive to come as close as possible to these “sources of science, culture and morality”. ISBN: 978-605-82433-5-4 52 Proceedings of INTCESS 2019- 6th International Conference on Education and Social Sciences, 4-6 February 2019- Dubai, U.A.E. Fig. 2. “Holy Trinity” Greek Catholic Cathedral in Blaj and the first systematic higher education school that used Romanian as the main teaching language The purpose of this study is to present the most important teachers in Blaj who were active in the field of nature protection in the past, while also pointing out several related achievements. The paper is a qualitative- descriptive study based on the analysis of studies conducted on Blaj and its teachers, as well as on the investigation of local natural monuments and nature reservations. Of the 33 articles available on Web of Science that mention Blaj, only one tackles nature protection and outstanding individuals involved in the process, as the paper describes the city’s Botanical Garden (Ludusan et al, 2013). 22 papers address various historical, cultural and religious issues, 6 focus on viticulture, 2 on environmental pollution, one on agriculture and one on chemistry. 2 TEACHERS IN OLD BLAJ – MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL ROLE MODELS Teachers in old Blaj had a unique, irreproachable moral stature in that Romanian pedagogical landscape; most of them were teacher-priests (or priest-teachers), for whom teaching and preaching were forever fruitfully and harmoniously intertwined (Blaga, 2011). Up to 1948 (when Communist authorities banned the Greek-Catholic cult in Romania), teacher-priests in Blaj were the symbol of communion between the two categories of spiritual values, i.e. secular (represented by schools) and religious (represented by the Romanian Greek Catholic Church). Historically, Blaj features a long list of this type of teachers (Blaga, 2011), some of whom we will briefly mention – those who had remarkable contributions to Romanian education, including university- and academy-related endeavors. In the next chapter, we will detail the activity of those who were active in the fields of natural sciences and nature protection: - Timotei Cipariu (1805-1887), philologist, teacher and director of the Blaj gymnasium, speaker of 12 foreign languages, founding member of the Romanian Academy, canon (hierarchically, canons are subordinate to bishops), Bobian Capitlu member (old Presbyterian institution in the administration of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church) (Popa-Andrei, Covaci, 2013). - George Barițiu (1812-1893), historian, journalist, politician and physics teacher in Blaj, one of the main figures of the 1848 Revolution in Transylvania, considered to be the founder of the Romanian press in Transylvania and, in his last year, President of the Romanian Academy. - Ioan Micu Moldovan (1833-1915), a graduate of Blaj schools, with theological studies in Budapest and Vienna, member of the Romanian Academy, metropolitan canon, vicar capitular, vicar general archdiocese, religion teacher in Blaj, as well as history, geography, Romanian and Latin