Bucharest is the capital of Romania and today has over 1.8 million inhabitants. In 1659 Bucharest replaced Târgoviște as the capital of the Principality of Wallachia. After the unification of the Danubian principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia) under Ion Cuza in 1861, Bucharest became the capital of Romania in 1862. Within a short time, it had become by far the largest city in the Southeast European region between Budapest and Istanbul. Under King Carol I. (1866-1914) Bucharest underwent urban planning changes following Western trends, with palaces, boulevards, parks, Art Nouveau villas and electric lighting. Towards the end of the 19th century, the city also developed into an industrial and financial center. In 1916, during World War I, it was occupied by the Central Powers, with whom a peace treaty was signed in 1918. Between 1936 and 1940, a Parisian-style boulevard was built in Bucharest, which also earned the city the nicknames "Micul Paris" ("Little Paris") or "Paris of the East." In World War II, after a brief period of neutrality, Romania sided with the Germans after General Ion Antonescu and the fascist "Iron Guard" turned Romania into a "national-legionary state." When Antonescu was arrested by King Mihai 1944, this resulted in air raids by the Germans, which destroyed large parts of Bucharest. In 1977, an earthquake caused widespread damage. Beginning in 1984, communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu had parts of the historic old city demolished in order to build a large socialist center, but this was never completed after his execution and the fall of the communist regime in 1989. Bucharest is now the seventh largest city in the EU, of which Romania has been a member since 2007.
Preserving books for posterity takes time, expertise and financial resources. To this end, the third-party funded project “Gelesen, geliebt, gesichert” (“Read, Loved, Protected”) was launched at the Institute for German Culture and History in South-East Europe (IKGS): It ensures the long-term preservation of original German-language monographs of minorities from current and former settlement areas in present-day Romania.
A book missing its cover. Helene Dorfner / Institut für deutsche Kultur und Geschichte Südosteuropas an der LMU München, Free access - no reuse
A book missing its cover. Helene Dorfner / Institut für deutsche Kultur und Geschichte Südosteuropas an der LMU München, Free access - no reuse
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During the communist era, minorities in Romania were free to publish in their mother tongue, which was unique across the entire Eastern Bloc. The selection of media from the holdings of the IKGS concentrates on the publications of the “Jugendverlag” (youth publishing house) until 1970 and the Kriterion publishing house from 1970 onwards in .
București
eng. Bucharest, deu. Bukarest
The books were published between 1953 and 1990 during the communist era. In Eastern and Southeastern Europe, the production and use of acidic paper was more widespread than in Western Europe. It was not until 1990 that an orientation towards new standards in paper production slowly began. Not only the paper quality, but also the binding of the selected works make conservation and restoration measures necessary. A large number of volumes are already showing signs of damage through their storage and usage. Many are held together by metal staples and must have the metal removed and be re-stitched to prevent rust damage. In addition, the dust jackets of the books are to be either restored or glued into the books. The blurbs printed on them often contain relevant information, such as the biography of the authors, or a short summary of the book's contents that cannot be found elsewhere.
In order to prevent further or impending decay, to enable use, and to ensure the preservation of the originals, the selected holdings must be cleaned, de-acidified, restored, and protectively packaged. An external service provider is being commissioned to carry out these inventory maintenance measures.
The project is financed by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media within the framework of the Special Program for the Conservation of Existing Objects 2020.
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Further information about the project
Institutions
Adresse
Halskestraße 15, 81379 München, Germany
Telefon
+49 89 780609-0
E-Mail
Funding body
Koordinierungsstelle für die Erhaltung des schriftlichen Kulturguts
Adresse
Unter den Linden 8, 10102 Berlin , Germany
Telefon
+49 30 266431454
E-Mail
Project manager
E-Mail
Staff
Duration
- 2020 - 2020
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License
- Published under CC0 1.0 (illustrations see picture credits)