The Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Universitatea de Medicină și Farmacie Grigore T. Popa) is a medical university in central Iași, based in the former Calimachi Palace. The historic building became the first home of the University of Iași in 1860 and later remained with its Faculty of Medicine, from which the present institution developed.
Built in 1791-1793 as an aristocratic residence, the house was acquired by Prince Alexandru Calimachi in 1795 and used as a princely palace during his reign. It passed through several owners during the following decades before alterations in 1845 enlarged it into a two-story Classical-style residence. The property was eventually purchased by the state under Alexandru Ioan Cuza for the new University of Iași, which was formally inaugurated here in 1860.
For almost four decades, the former palace accommodated the university’s faculties, library, and other academic institutions, becoming known later as the Old University. Mihai Eminescu worked here as a university librarian, while the National Picture Gallery of Iași also occupied rooms in the building. The Faculty of Medicine opened in 1879, establishing the medical teaching tradition from which the present university would eventually emerge.
When the University of Iași opened its new palace in Copou in 1897, the Faculty of Medicine remained in the older building, conveniently positioned near the Saint Spiridon hospital complex used for clinical teaching. As medical education expanded, the former palace was enlarged to provide additional teaching, laboratory, and administrative space, including a substantial three-story extension with a mansard roof completed in 1912. A fire damaged part of the complex in 1922, followed by further repairs and alterations during the following decades.
These additions gave the university much of its present appearance, with a Neoclassical façade marked by three large entrance arches and upper-floor windows framed by Ionic columns. The earlier princely compound extended beyond the residence itself and was once enclosed by walls, most of which disappeared as the site changed. In front of the university, the Gate of Hope preserves the historic entrance of the former princely enclosure, with the Moldavian coat of arms above the arch. The old portal was restored in the 1970s and is believed to bring students good luck in their examinations.
In 1948, the Faculty of Medicine was reorganized as a separate medical institute, ending its administrative dependence on the University of Iași. Pharmacy and dental medicine developed alongside medicine, followed later by medical bioengineering, and in 1991 the institution became the Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Its namesake, anatomist Grigore T. Popa, taught in Iași and became known internationally for research that contributed to the development of neuroendocrinology.
