Lucian Blaga Memorial House, Lancrăm

The Lucian Blaga Memorial House stands in Lancrăm, a locality belonging to the municipality of Sebeș, about 3 km north of the town centre. Lucian Blaga, poet, philosopher, playwright, translator, diplomat and member of the Romanian Academy, was born here on 9 May 1895. The house was built in 1870 by the priest Simion Blaga, the poet's grandfather. Lucian Blaga was the ninth child of the priest Isidor Blaga and of Ana Blaga. After his father's death in 1909 the family moved to Sebeș. The poet died in Cluj on 6 May 1961 and was buried in his native village. The house became a museum after 1995, when, on the centenary of the poet's birth, the Romanian state bought the property. The house displays manuscripts, old documents, letters, books signed by the poet, portraits, photographs, peasant and period furniture and personal belongings, including his hat, overcoat and student suitcase. The former barn has been turned into a new building with a small library and a room for cultural events. Every year, at the beginning of May, the memorial complex hosts the opening of the International Lucian Blaga Festival. The birthplace is a listed historic monument (LMI code AB-IV-m-A-00422) and since 2000 has been run as a department of the Lucian Blaga Cultural Centre of Sebeș, under Sebeș Local Council. Did you know that, by his own account, Lucian Blaga did not speak at all until the age of four? He later described himself in a line of verse as "Lucian Blaga is mute as a swan".