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The
things history teaches us, reminds us, and confirms for us!
The
other day I received from a friend a few documents about King
Carol I, the first Romanian king from the dynasty/family of
Hohenzolern-Sigmaringen (very German, that is) so I started looking
things up to refresh my history. There is enough there to
make a good epic movie!
Some
time before 1866, the two Romanian Principalities, Moldavia
and Wallachia, still vassals to the Ottoman Empire (the
Turks) managed to get united when the two peoples
intentionally elected the same person, Alexandru
Ioan Cuza, to
serve as ruler or Prince (in Romanian "Voda" short for the Slavic
"Voivod"). That was all good but the agreement signed at
ad-hoc meetings before the unification, was to bring in a foreign
prince to rule the two united countries, since noble families from both
countries (Cuza was from Moldavia) were bucking for the throne and the
in-fighting would have never ended! So, later
on, Cuza was politely ousted and sent in exile, where he lived
in places like Paris, Vienna and Wiesbaden together with his
childless wife, his mistress, and the two sons that he had from his
mistress and that his wife raised. What times! What
people! (And these young folks wanting what they call
"freedom" think they are "revolutionary" in their family
arrangements!).
Anyway,
with Cuza gone, Romanian dignitaries set out to find in Europe
a suitable prince, to rule their now prince-less new country.
They proposed the crown first to Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of
Flanders, who refused because (whine, whine) he didn't want to become a
vassal to the Ottomans.
Later, and on good advice,
they made the same offer to the German Prince Karl
Eitel Fredeich Zephyrinus von
Hohenzolern-Sigmaringen (one can't get any more German than
this!). Karl, later to become King Carol I of Romania, said
that the "vassal" relationship to the Sultan was "no great
problem, because it will be thrown out at the appropriate
time"! Prince Karl, quite frail and not very
tall, was then only 27 years old! But he was the
product of fine German military schools, artillery
officer, and already hardened in battle! He was
known as a good military leader and was loved by his
soldiers. And, I might add, without a doubt, had a vision for the
future,
and perspective on history!
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Karl accepted
the crown and its conditions, and in March 1866 departed for
Romania. On May 10 1866 he entered Bucharest
and swore allegiance to his new country and its laws in front
of the Romanian Parliament! As he didn't know the Romanian
language, he spoke the oath in French, saying in Romanian only one
word: "Jur" (I Swear). He endeared himself to his new subjects by
changing the spelling of his name to the Romanian "Carol" and was
crowned Prince Carol of the
Romanian Principalities. During his very first year,
a new Constitution was adopted, that was one of the most advanced in
Europe and didn't even mention the vassal relation to the Sultan! (a
slap in the face of the
Turks!). In 1877 Carol I, after
parliamentary debates, proclaimed, on May 10, the
absolute independence of Romania, That was after
joining Russia in the Russo-Turkish war, with himself fighting
in the front lines! Becoming a head of state didn't make
Carol less of an arillery officer - at the first thunderus salvo, from
the battery bearing his name, towards the town of Vidin
occupied by the Turks, he marked the start of the war by
exclaiming: "This is the music I like!" ("Asta-i muzica ce-mi
place!") words that remained proverbial in Romanian
history!
What
men! What times!
Romania
won her independence in that war, declared itself a kingdom, and made
Carol I King. For his new coronation, on May 10 1881
(yes, three is a charm, same date - May 10!) this
time being crowned as King, Carol was presented with a crown made, not
of gold and precious gemstones, but all made of steel. And not
of any steel, of steel taken from the muzzle of a 90
mm cannon that Romanian soldiers heavily spilled their blood
to capture from the Turks during
the important and bloody battle of Plevna in November
1877. This steel crown was made, not by jewelers,
but by the soldiers and cadets of the Romanian
Arsenal. Since then, this first ever crown of a first ever
Romanian King became the official and only crown of all Romanian kings
- a crown made by Romanian soldiers,
from steel taken from the barrel of a cannon captured in
battle from a historic enemy, by Romanian troops under their king's
command, symbolizing the earned independence and the strength of
Romania, a crown with the Holly Cross of the Romanian Orthodoxy on top,
and blessed by the Romanian Metropolitan Church!
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The Steel
Crown of Romania at the National History
Museum
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The
crown, as heavy with symbolism as it is, weighs only 1,115
grams (2.46 lb). The captured cannon, made for the Turks in Carol's
native country, Germany (how's that for cosmic irony?) by the firm F.
Woehlert of Berlin, and bearing the Ottoman crest and
the signature of Sultan Abd Al-Hamid, was then placed in the Arsenal's
museum, and Carol instructed that, for the new State Order he created,
the Order of the Crown of Romania, the small crowns affixed on the
order's military medals, be made from the steel taken
from the
same cannon. The cannon is now in the Romanian National
Military Museum.
Carol
I established the new Constitutional Monarchy and chose for
the "credo" of his house "Nihil Sine Deo" (Nothing Without
God) that will appear on all correspondence and official documents of
the Royal House and on the Romanian currency, and he reigned over
Romania for the rest of his life under this credo! Carol I,
King of Orthodox Romania was and remained a devout
Roman-Catholic, although all his successors were to be baptized into
the (Romanian) Christian Orthodox religion, as the Constitution
stipulated.
Carol
I ruled a total of 48 years, an incredibly long time for a Romanian
ruler. In those 48 years he took Romania from a fragmented,
backwards, impoverished new Balkan state to a strong country
and a kingdom recognized by all the European powers and
beyond, a country with a vast network of railroads, with the longest
(at that time) railroad bridge in Europe (the bridge over the Danube
now called the Anghel Saligny Bridge, presently
disaffected, crossing 14Km or 8.7 Miles of water!), with a clock-work
postal system, a new port and sea-faring Navy, with cultural
and administrative buildings, edifices that make Bucharest the
city it is today, such as the Athenaeum
concert hall,
the Savings Bank Palace - Carol
personally set the corner-stone of the monumental "Palais des
Postes" (once
the main Bucharest Post Office) - and many more edifices, that
gave the city the nickname "The Little Paris". He was a
tireless worker, meticulous, and with permanent concern for
the prestige of the dynasty he created. His wife, Queen
Elizabeth, was saying that Carol was so obsessed with his work and
legacy that he was "wearing his crown even in his sleep"! In
his will and testament Carol I asked to be buried dressed in
the service uniform of General, which he customarily wore
daily, not in the formal or "full" dress. The steel crown of
Romania was to accompany his casket to the cemetery, then be returned
to the palace. And his wishes came to pass in 1914.
Although
under other Romanian kings (especially under Carol's
successor, King Ferdinand) the country has grown substantially
and added to his legacy, Romania has Carol I to thank for the
country it is today. And to whom does Romania have to thank
for Carol himself? To the historic figure who recommended him
to the Romanian dignitaries looking for a prince fit to rule their
country, to Napoleon III, who was the first President of a French
Republic
and, after that, also the last French Emperor. For
dignitaries of a country like Romania, where French was the
second language and the French culture was the
culture, a recommendation coming from a French head of state,
and a Bonaparte, no less, had the weight of an order.
Now,
remember the Belgian prince who refused the crown of Romania, Philippe,
Count of Flanders? One wonders what would have become of the
fledgling Romanian Principalities if he would have accepted the
offer. I have a hunch that "Romania" wouldn't even exist
today, not as an independent, strong country, probably not as any
country. And it was not the Gaelic or Latin mind
that saved and built the Latin, and add also French
speaking, Romania, but the Germanic mind, hard work,
dedication and determination!
What
a difference one mind
makes!
The
Gaelic/Latin mind: (Whine) No, because I don't want to be a
vassal to the Turks!
The
Germanic mind: Yes, and in due time we'll take care
of those Turks!
And
that's how history is written. That (and not only that) is
also why I say that, today, my betting money is on Germany.
Chris
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In front of
Sinaia's Pelesh Castle that he built,
the statue of old Carol I of Romania
stands
dressed in the General's service uniform he
wore even to his grave.
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