The Iulia Hasdeu Castle is situated in the town named Campina, Prahova, whose construction lasted for three years, and was finished on the 2nd of July 1897 and blessed by the Episcope Ghenadic Petrescu of Arges
A great hit for the writer was the death of his daughter, Iulia Hasdeu, on the 1st of September 1889. In “Testimonials”, B.P.Hasdeu says: “At 1st of September 1889, the day when Iulia Hasdeu died, also her father died. He could live no longer. For him, she became the vision of all his beloved memories. From her death on: he lived much closer to his thoughts than he had done before.”
The castle Iulia Hasdeu appears as a medieval temple, named “The temple of the Spirit”, a place of prayer with defense towers. In the yard are placed the bust of B.P.Hasdeu, “the titan of science and of Romanian culture”.
The great philosopher retired, towards the of his life, in Campina, living a patriarchal life, where his wife, Iulia, took care of him. In his paper work “Sic Cogito” his pain is described, his religious thoughts and a small impulse of life.
The castle is 18 meters tall, with 2 wings, each of them having a donjon in the center (similar to a medieval tower). At the level of the two wings is placed a niche which has in its relief, right in the middle, the blazon of the Hasdeu family, and above it’s written “E pur si muove”.
The castle Iulia Hasdeu is surrounded by large terraces, with carved granite pillars. A sharp stone is vertically separating the entrance in two parts. Hasdeu considers this castle as being his daughter’s creation, the “mistress of the castle”.
Inside the castle’s vestibule is placed the portrait of Iulia Hasdeu, realized by Diogene Millart, her art professor in Paris. In its surroundings are placed the portraits of Alexander Hasdeu the father, made by Sava Hentia, B.P.Hasdeu, made by N. Grigorescu, C.Davilla, by H Braun-Stein, A.Paun, by H.Braun-Stein and Dimitrie Bolintineanu, by M. Spirescu.
In the welcoming chamber the époque furniture that belonged to the family is placed and also a few paintings showing personalities of that era (friends of B.P. Hasdeu and of his family). In this chamber is also placed a console made of marble dating from the 19th century, a pendulum in Boulle style, an armchair, the seal of the Hasdeu family, the portrait of Efrem Hasdeu, by G.D. Mirea, the great-great father of B.P.Hasdeu.
The son of Efrem Hasdeu, named Stefan Hasdeu (1619-1673) fell under the Hotin walls during the battle between the Polish and the Turks. The genealogic tree of the family is the work of Tadeu Hasdeu (1769-1835), the grandfather of B.P.Hasdeu. Tadeu Hasdeu fought against the Turks at Novi-Bazar in 1788, at the age of only 19 years old, and decorated with the knights’ blazon. He is also known as writing a few poems in Polish, odes, satires, fables, and legends as well (Romanian folklore).
In the genealogic tree there is also a list of Polish names. Alexander P. Hasdeu, the father of B.P.Hasdeu studied in Munich- he wrote poems, novels, studied philosophy, history and archeology, and also became member of the Antiques and History Society in Poland.
On the 26th of February 1939, in Cristinesti (village, Hotin, Bessarabia, nowadays is part of Ukraine), B.P. Hasdeu is born. His mother, Elisabeta Dauksza dies in 1848, when Bogdan was only 10 years old. The boy goes to school in Chisinau, Kharkov and Kiev, and is gifted with an impressive literary talent that he manages to improve not within school but especially from his particular lecture, a hobby in which he puts a lot of passion.
In some other chamber a table clock is kept, in Biedermeier style, with an astronomic quadrant and barometer, which belonged to Alexander Hasdeu. Guarded by windows, a blue crystal goblet is palced, with silver carvings, a scepter, a dagger and the sheath of ivory sculpted by Sobieski and offered as a gift to Dumitrascu Caragea during the battle from Hotin in 1673. In the same chamber, the cabinet piano is placed, belonging to Iulia Hasdeu.
The very talented Iulia Hasdeu has written poems until the age of 19, like “Au bord de la mer”, “Cousin el cousine”, “Feuille verte de chene”, ,,Doine roumaine”, etc, the poems volume “Burgeous d’avrie”, novels, stories, scripts. At the age of 16, she was a student at the faculty of Philosophy and Letters of Sorbonne, in Paris, and in particular she was taking Greek, Latin, painting, piano classes, and was also singing along with remarked professors and singers. For her PhD. thesis she chose the subject “Philosophy in Romania in unwritten literature”, but she never got to finish it, because in her trip back to Romania, she died. Along with her thesis, also remains the poem “The poet and the Muse”, also remains unfinished, which is a great pity indeed for those who were infatuated with her talent.
After the death of his daughter, B.P. Hasdeu lives a spiritual life, and gives up the battles and the contradictions in life.
In the castle Iulia Hasdeu, at the ground floor is a circular chamber, in the middle of which is placed a pillar, with two iron stairs, which are leading towards the first floor inside the donjon. Above the pillar is placed the statue of Jesus, made of plaster and colored in white and red, in the baroque style, made by the sculptor Raphael Casciani from Paris. The lord receives light from the three doors that are communicating with the three terraces and a round window showing a cross. In the back of the statue, under the round window is placed the bust of Iulia Hasdeu, covered with a thin veil.
At the bottom of the castle are placed two chambers that are hosting the libraries. The window of one library is colored green, and the other one blue. In here the wooden desk is also placed, holding a bronze ashtray, an ink pot, and a medal belonging to B.P.Hasdeu given by Carol of Hohenzollern “for Arts and Sciences”. Near the desk is also placed the work table of Iulia Hasdeu from 1883-1888, which was brought from Paris. From inside the desk there is a door that leads to Iulia’s bedroom, a chamber with the walls painted in flowers (blossoms, her favorites), and in which is placed her favorite doll and her bust made of marble by the sculptor Ioan Georgescu in 1890.
The last chamber of the castle represents the spiritualism chamber, with wooden furniture, chairs with 3 feet, the occultism table, with a pigeon on top, the astronomic telescope, a statue of Jesus, documents and pictures. Above the entrance door is placed the “World Eye” along with the years 1893-1896, and on the door is the family blazon with the motto “Pro fide et patria”.
B.P.Hasdeu insisted within his will for his descendants to fulfill the tasks started by him, to build a temple out of the castle’s tower, symbolizing his neo-evangelical faith.
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