The Romanian Geographical Society and the Modernization of Romania

Răzvan Săcrieru

“Before dismounting on the country’s soil, the founder of the dynasty took a map, drew a line between the British archipelago and India, meaning he first assessed the situation of the Romanian land from a geoeconomic and geopolitical perspective. The one who, in 1866, received the responsibility to govern a state, admittedly constrained by neighbors but with great future possibilities, on the Lower Danube, was a disciple of the famous geographer Carl Ritter, whom he had listened to at the higher war school. Ritter considered our planet to be the educational home of humankind. Therefore, for Prince Carol, the Romanian land had been and had to continue to be the educational home of the Romanian nation…” said Simion Mehedinți on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Romanian Geographical Society. This year, we celebrate 150 years since that moment, and it is fitting to highlight its role not so much in the development of geographical sciences in our country, but especially in stimulating research directions, by supporting and establishing institutions that are still active today.

The Romanian Geographical Society (SGR) contributed to Romania’s institutional modernization by supporting in-depth research that led to the development of the Army Geographical Institute, as well as the founding of the Geological Institute and the Meteorological Institute. From the very beginning of the Society’s establishment on June 15, 1875, its founder, Carol I, clearly set objectives for each section. Prominent figures from various fields related to geography were among the founding members (General Constantin Barozzi, Vice-President, geodetician) or members of the administrative council (Alexandru Odobescu – archaeologist, Gregoriu Ștefănescu – geologist, Ștefan Hepites – meteorologist).

“Through the map, the country will be brought out of the region of the unknown” – Carol I, inaugural speech at the founding of the SGR, 1875

The need for detailed topographical maps made by Romanian specialists was recognized by Alexandru Ioan Cuza, already in his first year of reign, when he established the Romanian Military Topographical Service (November 12, 1859), which became the Scientific War Depot from 1868. General Constantin Barozzi, trained at the Army Geographical Institute in Vienna, led this institution between 1870 and 1883, coordinating geodesic triangulation works that allowed for the creation, by 1900, of maps of Moldova, Dobrogea, and Wallachia almost up to the Olt Valley. Romanian topographical officers used “starting sides and geographical coordinates” from Austrian and Russian specialists who had carried out works in the territories bordering the young Romanian kingdom. The new maps at a scale of 1:20,000 were used by construction engineers who designed and executed the railway network, essential in the country’s modernization process. Also, the maps were used in administration, forming the basis of the future cadaster system. In less than three decades, an enormous leap was made from the very rudimentary estate plans made by land surveyors, in terms of planimetry and especially leveling, to topographical plans at a scale of 1:10,000, with contour lines at a 10m equidistance. All these cartographic achievements were presented by General Constantin Barozzi to the SGR members at the festive meeting organized for the 25th anniversary of the Society’s founding.

Starting in 1895, the Military Topographical Service transformed into the Army Geographical Institute. Several other changes in its name followed, from which the word “geographical” disappeared starting in 1950. Currently, the institution is called the “General de divizie Constantin Barozzi” Geospatial Information Agency of Defense, thus recognizing the merits of the former vice-president of the Geographical Society.

“It is absolutely necessary to seriously consider the execution of a geological map; through such work, the Geographical Society would erect a true monument to itself.” – Carol I, 1875

At the time of the Geographical Society’s establishment, geology was already a natural science with a diverse field of activity: mineralogy, paleontology, and general geology. The research results of the first two professors from the universities of Iași (Grigore Cobălcescu) and Bucharest (Gregoriu Ștefănescu) were known in the European scientific world. However, there was no geological society and no specialized publication. The co-opting of Professor Gregoriu Ștefănescu as a member of the Geographical Society’s administrative council was a natural occurrence, and the fruits appeared in 1882, with his establishment of the Geological Bureau, the first geological research institution, with the objectives of exploiting the country’s underground mineral resources and creating the geological map of Romania. Gregoriu Ștefănescu presented many scientific papers at the society’s annual meetings and represented the society at various international gatherings. Young Romanian geologists, trained at the most prestigious universities in Europe, carried out their research activities within the Mining and Geological Service (1896-1906) and the Oil Commission (1901-1906).

All these forms of organization constituted the preliminary phases leading to the founding by Royal Decree, in 1906, of the Geological Institute of Romania. Its leadership was entrusted to Professor Ludovic Mrazek, a mineralogist and petrographer, a researcher of, among other things, the salt masses in our country, and the author of the diapir fold theory, later accepted by geologists worldwide. Other geologists very close to the exceptionally effervescent geographical movement around the SGR were Sabba Ștefănescu and Gheorghe Munteanu-Murgoci. Sabba Ștefănescu, a paleontologist, began his activity in the Geological Bureau and took over the position of general secretary of the Society after the energetic engineer and writer George Ioan Lahovari, editor of the SGR Bulletin. Gheorghe Munteanu-Murgoci, a mineralogist and pedologist, collaborator of Professor L. Mrazek, developed, starting in 1902, together with I. Popa-Burcă, the 4th-grade gymnasium textbook, Geography of Romania and the Countries Inhabited by Romanians. The textbook, printed in 10 editions until 1935, was praised by the geographer Simion Mehedinți, the most important author of geography textbooks and the organizer of geographical education in our country. Gheorghe Munteanu-Murgoci remains in the history of geology with the merit of applying the theory of nappe thrusts in the Southern Carpathians (1907), before its acceptance by the majority of the world’s geologists. The merit of these geologists mentioned above is also that they did not draw barriers between the natural sciences within the sphere of geology and those of geography (geomorphology, pedology).

The elaboration of geological maps, the main objective of the Geological Institute, allowed for detailed knowledge and valorization of mineral and energy resources, substantially contributing to the industrial development of the young kingdom at the mouth of the Danube. Through the Mining Law of 1924, the Geological Institute had the power to approve the extension of exploration permits, for the concession of hydrocarbon deposits, for the establishment of hydrogeological protection perimeters, and for the validation of mining work results. The geological map of Romania at a scale of 1:500,000 was developed between 1936-1959, and by 1968, the map sheets at a scale of 1:200,000 were completed for the entire territory of the country.

“Climatology… precisely this part of science is among the most important for a country that depends almost exclusively on its agriculture.” – Carol I, 1875

At the time of the SGR’s founding, the young Ștefan Hepites, a doctor of science from the Polytechnic School in Brussels, was working as an engineer in the port of Brăila, his hometown. A year later, the passionate researcher set up a meteorological station in his own home where he made observations himself, sometimes even at night—the first hourly observations with direct readings in Romania. His scientific preoccupations were immediately recognized by the Geographical Society, which welcomed him into its ranks as a temporary member (1877) and a member of the steering committee (1882). In 1884, the Meteorological Institute of Romania was established, under the subordination of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, Commerce, and Domains. As director, Ștefan Hepites expanded the network of meteorological stations year after year, co-opting staff from the most diverse professions: engineers, officers, professors, foresters, postmen. All meteorological data were subsequently collected, centralized, and published in the Annals of the Meteorological Institute. Two of his first comprehensive works, The Climatological Album of Romania and The Pluviometric Regime in Romania, were awarded at the International Congress of Meteorology in Paris (1900). These were geographical works with many scientifically and methodologically valuable maps, extremely useful to agronomists.

Ștefan Hepites carried out pioneering work in fields such as topoclimatology, agroclimatology, phenology, and climatic risks. In 1908, disappointed by the integration of the Meteorological Institute into the Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory, under the subordination of the Ministry of Public Instruction, with predominantly didactic tasks, Ștefan Hepites retired from the institution he had created. He focused exclusively on scientific and organizational work within the Royal Romanian Geographical Society (the title “Royal” was attributed to the society in 1912 at the proposal of the erudite climatologist) and the Romanian Academy. Starting in 1914, he was vice-president of the SGR and a year later president of the Editorial Committee of the Bulletin of the Geographical Society. The old Meteorological Institute, after many name transformations, is today called the National Meteorological Administration and is under the subordination of the Ministry of Environment, Waters, and Forests.

In conclusion, we aimed to highlight certain milestones in the history of scientific institutions with an overwhelming role in the modernization and development of Romania. If we consult the websites of the aforementioned institutions today, in the “history” section, we will find information about the prominent figures we have highlighted above, but not about their involvement in the Romanian Geographical Society. Discussions regarding the necessity of establishing these institutions took place during the society’s meetings, even being emphasized in the inaugural speech of its founder, Carol I, and included in this text. King Carol I, as president of the SGR, combating egoism and individualism, had the wisdom to unite within a single scientific forum personalities with diverse preoccupations, but sharing a lively and fruitful geographical consciousness.