"Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University Library
The library of the "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University of Iași is one of the most attractive tourist attractions in Iași. In an online opinion poll, conducted in 2015, the library in Corps A of the University Palace in Copou was voted by over a quarter of a million users as one of the most beautiful in the world.
The history of the library is related to Petru Poni who collaborated with Louis Pierre Blanc, a Swiss architect, who together drew up some ideas for the plans of the University Palace on Copoului Hill. Poni's notes show, however, that the architect Pierre Blanc did not opt for all the concepts proposed by the Romanian scientist. What is certain is that the inspiration of both designers was stimulated by the most important academic architecture in Europe at the end of the 19th century.
The inauguration of the University Palace in 1897 featured Prince Ferdinand I, who placed the Foundation Stone in the presence of King Carol I and Queen Elizabeth. In 1933, the extension of the original Palace was completed, a project made by IG Pompilian, following the same architectural motifs as its predecessors. The "Gheorghe Asachi" Polytechnic School split from the Mihailean University in 1937, thus building its own library, which would later be called the Central Library of the Polytechnic Institute.
The bombings of World War II severely affected the structure of the library so that the building was proposed for demolition. This did not happen and with the help of the Polytechnic School which undertook the restoration of the space, the library was completely rebuilt. The teachers, students and other employees of the Polytechnic Institute participated in the restoration work, recalls the vice-rector of Neculai Eugen Seghedin.
In the early 1960s, the library owned a fund of 75,000 units. After extraordinary campaigns to develop the collection of publications in the late 1960s, the archive amassed over 300,000 volumes.
Today, the reading space and the library itself in Building A are the headquarters of the "Gh. Asachi" Technical University and together with 6 other libraries of the technical faculties hold a total of approximately 1 million volumes and 300,000 technical documents.
The library and the lecture room inside it, under normal conditions, can be visited from Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 15:00 with a reservation made in advance.
