French Cultural Institute Iasi

 

 

The building of the French Cultural Institute in Iași, also called Casa Racoviță or "Little Trianon", was built between 1850-1870 on Carol I Boulevard near Alexandru Ioan Cuza University.

 

The first documentary attestation of the building is in 1905 when professor Alexandru C. Cuza, who was also the owner of the house, asked for a repair permit for the damages suffered due to the earthquake of 1899. The building was then bought by Nicolae A. Racoviță, and between 1916 and in 1926 the building changed its architecture through important renovation and extension works. In 1946, the communist party expropriated the Racoviță family, and the historical monument building became public heritage.

 

Until 1991, the building was the headquarters in the city for various public institutions. In the 1960s it was the House of Culture of the Union of Communist Students, and between 1980-1991 it functioned as the Popular School of Arts.

Since 1991, the historical monument has hosted the French Cultural Institute in Iasi, which is an extension of the French Embassy and belongs to a network of 4 such institutes nationwide. The center was inaugurated by President Ion Iliescu and his French counterpart François Mitterrand.

 

ICF promotes the French language and the culture of French-speaking countries, organizes shows, film evenings, dances, concerts or cultural-scientific seminars. The institution also organizes general and specialized courses for the French language, offers diplomas of knowledge of the French language DELF / DALF and makes available to the public 80 magazines, 2000 audio-video compilations and 30,000 books.