The Mihai Eminescu Central University Library (Biblioteca Centrală Universitară Mihai Eminescu) is the main university library in Iași, housed in the former King Ferdinand I University Foundation building on Mihai Eminescu Square. The library traces its institutional history to 1835, while its present monumental headquarters was built between 1930 and 1934 and became the library’s home after the Second World War.
The library began as the library of the Mihăileană Academy and became the University Library when the University of Iași was founded in 1860. It moved with the university from the old academic building, now occupied by the Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, to the new university palace in Copou in 1897. Its collections grew from older princely academy libraries, monasteries, private donations, and later acquisitions, including manuscripts, incunabula, rare books, and works that once belonged to figures such as Mihai Eminescu, Ion Creangă, Titu Maiorescu, and Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu.
The present building was created for the King Ferdinand I University Foundation, established in the 1920s as a cultural institution commemorating both King Ferdinand and Iași’s role during the First World War. Architect Constantin Jotzu won the design competition, while engineer Emil Prager oversaw construction between 1930 and 1934. The large Neoclassical building was arranged around the triangular site where Bulevardul Carol I meets Strada Păcurari, with a rounded central tower, Ionic columns, Neo-Doric pilasters, triangular pediments, and medallions portraying major Romanian cultural figures.
Inside, Carrara marble and Venetian mosaic give the public spaces a much richer finish than the restrained exterior suggests. The building also contains an auditorium with a royal balcony, the B.P. Hasdeu Hall overlooking the square, and an observatory in the cupola. These spaces can sometimes be seen during guided visits, while the building otherwise functions as an active university library.
After the Second World War, the university library moved into the foundation building and in 1950 absorbed the foundation’s own collections, creating the present Mihai Eminescu Central University Library. The name reflects the library’s history as much as the building itself: Eminescu worked for the institution during the 19th century, long before it moved to its current headquarters.
