Avram Iancu

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Avram Iancu (1824 – September 10, 1872) was a renowned Romanian lawyer from Transylvania who played a pivotal role in the local chapter of the Austrian Empire Revolutions of 1848–1849. He excelled in rallying peasants around him and earning allegiance to the Habsburgs, earning the moniker Crăișorul Munților ("The Little Prince of the Mountains"). Born in Vidra de Sus (now Avram Iancu, Alba County), Transylvania, into a family of emancipated peasants from serfdom, his father was Alisandru Iancu (1787-1855) and his mother Maria Gligor. He had one elder brother, Ion (born 1822), who became a priest. His grandfather, Gheorghe Iancu, deceased before 1812, had seven children: four girls – Sântioana, Maria, Zamfira, and Ana – and three boys – Alisandru (the father), Avram, and Ioan. Little is known about Avram Iancu's childhood, but local tradition suggests he had a typical moț character, joyful, witty, and skilled in playing the leaf, alphorn, flute, and violin. Avram Iancu attended primary school in his village, in the Târsa hamlet, where his teacher was Mihai Gomboș. He later moved to the school in Neagra village and then to the Câmpeni school, graduating at age 13 with Mihai Ioanette as his teacher. After this, he studied in Zlatna, where he learned Hungarian in a Latin-language school, as Romanian schools didn't exist in that area. His teachers were Iozephus Stanken (1837-1838), Gregorius Iakabus (1838-1839), and Ludovicus Kovács (1839-1840 and 1840-1841). He graduated at age 17. He studied humanities from 1841 in the Piarist College of Cluj, graduating law school. Avram Iancu became a law clerk in Târgu Mureș, where he learned about the events of March 1848 in Vienna and Pest. His attitude showed the nature of the conflict that was to engulf Transylvania: while welcoming the transition, he was indignant at the Hungarian revolutionaries' refusal to debate the abolition of serfdom. In the Apuseni mountains, he started rallying peasants in Câmpeni. The protests he organized were recognized as peaceful by the authorities but worried them. Centered on Alexandru Papiu Ilarian, the group opposed the union with Hungary and got into conflict with the minority wing around Greek-Catholic Bishop Ioan Lemeni. While the union was carried out on May 30, 1848, the majority of Romanian activists looked towards Vienna and Emperor Ferdinand, sharing the cause of the Transylvanian Saxons. Things became heated after July 11, when Hungary declared its independence. Austria started to open itself to the Romanian demands, while bloody conflicts ensued between the Hungarian nobles and their Romanian serfs. The last Assembly in Blaj saw the Habsburg governor, Anton Freiherr von Puchner, approve of the arming of National Guards for Romanians and Saxons. On September 27, the lynching of Austrian plenipotentiary Count Lemberg by a Pest crowd cut off any dialogue between the two centers. The new Emperor Franz Joseph and the Austrian government granted the Romanians numerous liberties and rights; although Lajos Kossuth's government abolished serfdom, this was no longer a match for the Imperial offer. A statue of Avram Iancu is placed in the Republic Square (city center Turda), where until 1998 was located in Turda the statue Lupa Capitolina. The inscription on the pedestal reads: "The only miss of my life is to see my nation happy." It was built to celebrate 150 years since the revolution of 1848 and was unveiled on October 25, 1998 Armed Forces Day, with care from Turda City Council, Mayor Virgil Blasiu, and Society "Avram Iancu". The statue, made in July 1998 by sculptor Ilarion Voinea, in collaboration with Emil Cretu in Cluj-Napoca, Adrian, and Daniel Sandu Mitran, was translated into bronze. It has a height of 3.5 m.