Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi
Encyclopedia
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
historian, politician and patriot.
Origins
Hurmuzachi was born into a family of old aristocratic lineage (see Hurmuzachi brothersHurmuzachi brothers
The Hurmuzachi brothers, Alexandru , Constantin , Eudoxiu , Gheorghe , and Nicolae , were members of an old Hurmuzachi family of Romanian nobles in Austrian Bukovina of Greek origin, with an estate in Cernăuca...
), as the second son of Doxache Hurmuzachi, at the family estate in Cernăuca, Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
(now Chornivka
Chornivka
Chornivka is a village in the Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine. It is located in the Novoselytsky Raion in the historic region of Bukovina , approximately 22 km from the oblast capital, Chernivtsi....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), located in the historic region of Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
. His father used to offer refuge to persecuted Romanian political leaders from Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, and went into considerable debt for this.
Together with his brothers, Eudoxiu would become one of the leading figures of the Romanian national movement
National awakening of Romania
During the period of Austro-Hungarian rule in Transylvania and Ottoman suzerainty over Wallachia and Moldavia, most Romanians were treated as second-class citizens in their country...
in Bukovina.
Activity
Hurmuzachi went to ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to study history; there he experienced the events of 1848
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
, and decided to interrupt his studies. He returned home and participated in the movement to introduce the Romanian language
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
at the Theological Institute in Czernowitz (now Chernivtsi, Ukraine; known as Cernăuți during Romanian rule), and to establish a Romanian language and literature course at the Institute for Philosophic Studies, also in Czernowitz.
In 1849, he petitioned the Austrian emperor to transform Bukovina into a duchy
Duchy
A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...
of the Crown (a “crown land
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
”, Kronland in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
), with rights equal to those of the other lands and kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
s of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
; the petition was granted.
He also contributed articles to the Bucovina newspaper in Cernăuți between 1848 and 1850. After the political upheaval abated, he returned to continue studying history at the Vienna State Archives. At this time, the inhabitants around Câmpulung Moldovenesc
Câmpulung Moldovenesc
Câmpulung Moldovenesc is a city located in Suceava County, which is in the historical Bukovina region of Moldavia in North Eastern Romania...
asked him to do research in order to regain lands that had been confiscated from them. He was successful, and the people of Câmpulung erected a small stone monument as a token of their gratitude.
In 1861, he was elected as their representative in both the local council (Diet) of Bukovina and the Imperial Parliament in Vienna. In 1860, when Bukovina was incorporated into Galicia, he petitioned the emperor and the minister to re-establish the autonomy of the province. He was again successful, and Bukovina’s status as a crown land was restored. The emperor then named him captain of Bukovina in 1864. An imperial decree also granted him the title of baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
.
On August 2, 1872 he was elected as a member of the Romanian Academy
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....
.
Throughout his entire career as a historian, he collected and published 12 volumes of historical documents.
External links
James Chastain, Hurmuzachi Brothers, in online "Encyclopedia of 1848 revolutions" Carmen Preotesoiu, Patrioți cu inima, cu fapta, Jurnalul NaționalJurnalul National
Jurnalul Naţional is a Romanian newspaper, part of the Intact media group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular TV station Antena 1....
, 2 December 2005 -- article about the Hurmuzachi family