One of the most moving chapters in Romanian history was written in the heart of the old Natural History Cabinet building in Iași. Here, on the night of 3/15 January 1859, the deputies of the National Party gathered in secret, in a tense atmosphere, to make the decision that would change the destiny of Moldavia. After lengthy discussions, they proposed Colonel Alexandru Ioan Cuza as the sole candidate.
Since 1858, this hall had been the meeting place for the great minds of the time. Mihail Kogălniceanu, Vasile Alecsandri, Anastasie Panu, Constantin Rolla, Nicolae Docan, and Petru Cazimir often gathered here, close to the apartment of Dimitrie Rallet, their friend and unofficial host of political debates. The atmosphere was warm and familiar, overshadowed only by the huge silhouette of the elephant skeleton that watched over the gatherings. It is no wonder that their group became known at the time as the “Elephant Group”, a name mentioned by both Alecsandri and Nicolae Șuțu in their memoirs.
The decision taken that night would come to fruition two days later. On 5/17 January 1859, in the Administrative Palace in Iași, Moldovan deputies elected Cuza as ruler of Moldavia, paving the way for the Union of the Principalities.
5/17 January 1859
The memory of these moments remains alive through the objects preserved here: the ballot boxes used in Colonel Cuza’s election, the album with photographs of the Wallachian deputies who achieved the Union on 24 January 1859, the portraits of the princely couple Elena and Alexandru Cuza, painted by C. D. Stahi, the armchair that Cuza used in 1855, when he was president of the Galați Tribunal. Each object is a relic of a time when the idea of a country was born out of determination and courage.
