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VELICAN HOUSE
THE CITADEL’S SQUARE
October 23, 2017
TRANSYLVANIA’S BASTION
October 24, 2017VELICAN HOUSE
Until after the middle of the 20th century, many personalities of Romanian nationality from the city of Alba Iulia lived in the Maieri neighborhood, downtown. This was also the case of the lawyer Camil Velican who became the first Romanian mayor of Alba Iulia in 1918.
Camil Velican was born on December 18th, 1878, in Targu Mures, being the son of a judge. He attended the primary school in Alba Iulia, the high school in Blaj, then the Faculty of Law at the University of Cluj and Budapest, graduating in 1903. Then he enrolled in the Bar of Alba Iulia, where he later served as Vice-President. At the end of the First World War, he returned from the Italian front, where he had the military service, and, as an active member of the Romanian National Party contributed to preparations for the union. On December 3rd, 1918 he was appointed mayor of Alba Iulia. Later on, he continued to hold important functions: as a liberal politician, he was the prefect of Alba County, from 1922 to 1926, a post in which he cooperated for the successful celebration of the Coronation in October 15th, 1922. He has also been elected deputy and senator in the Romanian Parliament and the National Liberal Party. He received important distinctions such as the Ferdinand I Order, Crown of Romania in the rank of Commander, Star of Romania in the rank of officer, the Eagle etc. He ceased to exist in 1937.
The wife of Camil Velican, Georgeta, also had a prodigious activity, directed especially towards the social area, helping families of widows and orphans, victims of First World War. She founded and organized in Alba Iulia the local branch of the Prince Mircea Society, which she led until 1946. After the establishment of communism, she suffered humiliation, being considered „bourgeois and exploiting”, she was kept in custody and the house was nationalized.
In Camil Velican’s house, important meetings of Transylvanian elites took place around 1th of December 1918, including the meeting of the Governing Council, the Transylvanian executive body that had taken the decision to unite with Romania.
Scientific consultant: Tudor Roșu, PhD historian
Translation made by: Ciprian Dobra, PR expert
Located in the central area of Alba Iulia, the Velican House embraced Romania’s history before 1 December 1918 and in the period that followed. One of the reasons for choosing the building as a meeting place for Transylvania’s lead politicians was that the Velican family used to have old connections with prominent fighters for the cause of the Union of Transylvania with Romania. The building was also comfortable.
Camil Velican was one of the key organizers of the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia which decided the unification of Transylvania with Romania. Representatives of the Transylvanian Romanians used to meet in his home both before and after 1 December 1918. On 2 December, for instance, the “Directing Council” (Transylvania’s provisional government) was established and worked here until it moved to Sibiu.
On 3 December 1918, Camil Velican became the first Romanian mayor in Alba Iulia.
The 1918 Union was not the only notable event to which he contributed. Camil Velican, as the prefect of Alba County, was among the organizers of the Crowning Celebrations in 15 October 1922.
The Velican House was nationalized in 1950 by the Communist authorities and, following the year 1989, the house was owned again by Camil Velican’s descendants. The building might be transformed both into a memorial house and a museum of the city of the interwar period.
