Iulia Hașdeu, the daughter of the scholar Bogdan Petriceicu Hașdeu, was a young intellectual who wrote poems from an early age. She knew several foreign languages and was interested in philosophy. She was the first Romanian accepted to the Sorbonne university and many said that she would have surpassed Mihai Eminescu. He dies at only 18 years old, but it is only after his death that the truly captivating stories begin.
Iulia Hașdeu was born on November 14, 1869 and was the only daughter of the scholar and writer Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu. The girl had extraordinary intelligence. At only 11 years old, he graduated from the “Saint Sava” National College, and in parallel attended the courses of the Music Conservatory in Bucharest. Despite her young age, she spoke five foreign languages.
At 16, Iulia Hașdeu began her studies in Paris, being the first Romanian accepted to the Sorbonne. He amazed the teachers with his talent and wrote many poems, mostly in French. While he was studying abroad he fell ill with tuberculosis. She underwent treatment in Switzerland but her condition worsened and she had to return to Romania.
On September 29, 1888, when she was only 18 years old, Iulia Hașdeu died from the merciless disease. His father decides to bury her at the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, but it is very difficult for him to accept the loss of his only child.
Photo source: “Memoria Chisinau” section / Facebook
The first sign from the other world
Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu did not accept the death of his daughter. Six months after her death, Iulia gives the first sign to her father. It was the scientist himself who told how his daughter, passed away, sent him a message that she was happy.
The scholar recounted that one wet and gloomy evening, while he was at his work table, he received his daughter’s message. In front of him, as usual, were sheets of paper and writing pencils. Unaware of what was happening, his hand took a pencil and placed the tip on a piece of paper. In his temple he felt short and frequent beats, as if a telegraphic message had been sent to him.
“Suddenly, my hand started to move unexpectedly. About five seconds at most. When the arm stopped and the pencil fell from between the fingers, I felt awake from a sleep, although I was sure that I had not fallen asleep. I glanced at the paper and saw there very clearly: «Je suis heureuse; je t’aime; nous nous reverrons; cela doit te suffire. Julie Hasdeu» – (I’m happy; I love you; we’ll see each other again; That should be enough for you). It was written and spelled out in my daughter’s handwriting”, Hașdeu wrote in the book “Sic Cogito”.
The séances of spiritism
After the message sent by Iulia Hașdeu, the scientist goes deeper into the practice of spiritualism, which he had been attracted to long before his daughter’s death. He realizes that this is the only way he can keep in touch with his daughter. He organizes spiritualism sessions in his house in Bucharest, in the office at the State Archives, where he was director, and in Dr. Constantin Istrati’s house in Câmpina. Some meetings took place at Iulia’s grave or in the temple in Câmpina.
Not everyone could participate in these séances. The scientist invited doctors, colleagues from the guild or actors. The bishop of Argeș, Ghenadie Petrescu, also participated in some of them. Among the mediums, the most active were: ZC Arbore, V. Cosmovici, Th. D. Sperantia, Ioan P. Sârbulescu and N. Vaschide. Hasdeu himself was a medium.
Each séance had a protocol, which recorded all the events that happened within that session. 101 summaries have been preserved, which can be read in the book “Protocoales sedientor de spiritism”, edition compiled by Mircea Colosenco and Jenica Tabacu, in 2000.
Iulia Hașdeu tells his father how to build the castle at Câmpina
Photo source: 17400796 © Cristi111 | Dreamstime.com
In the spiritism sessions, not only Iulia Hașdeu was invoked, but several family members. Communication with the spirits brought various information from the other world, about the past and about the future.
In one of the spiritualist sessions, Bogdan Petriceicu Hașdeu received from his daughter the construction plans of the Castle in Câmpina, a strange and futuristic building for that era. This and Julia’s tomb, in the Bellu Cemetery, are the only spiritist temples in the world.
Iulia Hașdeu would have told his father how to make the cave for him. She would have ordered three busts: of Jesus Christ, of Shakespeare and of Victor Hugo, all forming the trinity.
“From the spiritualist archive we can learn that on April 12, 1891, the medium being Th. Hope, the scientist received the proposal to place, on one side and the other of the stairs, somewhere at the entrance to the cave, two mirrors.
Iulia would have told him… BP Hașdeu does exactly that, then orders the artist GD Mirea to paint one angel each, whose face is reflected in the other mirror, thus producing a special impression”, it is written in the book “The spirit of Iulia Hașdeu” still haunts the castle in Câmpina”.
Iulia’s grave in the Bellu Cemetery, closed with chains
The Bellu Cemetery in the Capital houses the dead bodies of many famous names in Romania. Each individual grave has a story, but Iulia Hașdeu seems to have the scariest one. Many people attracted by the paranormal go to see with their own eyes the place where the young woman is buried, hoping that they will get some surprises.
Currently, the grave of Hașdeu’s daughter is surrounded by fences, and the vault is closed with chains. Legend has it that this gesture was resorted to because of a witch who would have stolen Iulia’s head. She would have cast spells and bound curses, and strange things would have happened at her grave. To prevent body parts from being stolen from the young woman who died at only 18 years old, her grave was closed with thick chains.
Photo source: danaparaschiv.com
Iulia Hașdeu still makes her presence felt in the Câmpina castle
The Câmpina castle, which Hașdeu said he built according to the instructions given by his daughter in spiritualism sessions, is a strange place. Over time, several strange events took place there, which gave rise to numerous stories related to the spirit of Iulia Hașdeu.
Consisting of three towers, the edifice houses in its center a temple with the role of a church. There is a large wooden statue of Jesus. In addition to a reception room, dining room and BP Hașdeu’s office, inside the Câmpina castle there is also the room where the writer participated in spiritualism sessions.
The locals say that Iulia Hașdeu makes her presence felt in the castle or in the surroundings even today. In the presence of visitors, the piano began to play by itself several times. Another event seen by the villagers happened right in the garden of the castle. Iulia was seen with a bouquet of daisies. The gardener found the flowers in the yard, although it was not their season.
“Sometimes, in the morning, Iulia could be seen in front of the castle, dressed in a white dress and holding a bouquet of daisies. During the interwar period, several young people photographed themselves next to the statue of the Savior in the castle, one of them put a cap on the head of the statue. A few days later, the person who put on the cap fell into the sulfuric acid bath at the Steaua Română factory in Câmpina. About four years ago, a group of children visited the Castle and while they were being guided they heard the piano playing by itself”, museographer Dragoș Stanciu told b1tv.ro.
2023-10-29 21:45:00
#Iulia #Hașdeu #genius #grave #closed #chains #legend #haunted #cave #Capital #Event #Day
