The Bacău County Library Costache Sturdza (Biblioteca Județeană „Costache Sturdza” Bacău) is the main public library of Bacău County, housed in the former building of the Iulian Antonescu Museum central Bacău. The purpose-built museum, inaugurated in 1996, was extensively renovated and converted into a modern library, which opened at this location in September 2026.
The library traces its origins to June 27, 1893, when the Cultura Society established Bacău’s first public library in the Town Hall. Its initial collection of approximately 2,000 volumes included 948 books donated by Mayor Gheorghe Sturdza from the personal library of his father, Costache Sturdza. In recognition of this substantial contribution, the institution adopted the latter’s name.
The collection passed through several institutions during the following decades, including the Prince Ferdinand High School and the Vasile Alecsandri cultural society. A new public library was organized in 1950, eventually becoming the regional library and, following administrative changes, the Bacău County Library in 1974. In 2004, it moved into temporary accommodation at the Ion Borcea Natural Sciences Museum in Cancicov Park, where it operated for more than two decades.
The relocation in 2026 followed the transfer of the Iulian Antonescu Museum’s history, archaeology, and ethnography collections to its newly expanded headquarters on Strada Nicolae Titulescu. The former museum building was renovated and adapted to accommodate the library’s collections, reading areas, and spaces for cultural activities. It was officially inaugurated on September 17, 2026, with an art exhibition by Dragoș Burlacu and the unveiling of his monumental portrait of Costache Sturdza.
The library provides access to books, periodicals, and research materials, while also organizing literary events, exhibitions, educational activities, and meetings with authors. Outside the building stands a bronze statue of historian and archaeologist Vasile Pârvan, installed in 1998 when the site still served as the county history museum.
