Sighet Memorial book launch held at National Bank of Romania

The book ‘Memorialul Sighet. De la idee la faptă’ (The Sighet Memorial: From Idea to Deed) was launched on September 16, 2026, at the National Bank of Romania. Authored by Professor Nicolae Noica, an honorary member of the Romanian Academy and Director General of the Romanian Academy Library, the work examines the historical evolution of the Sighet prison.

During the opening, Mugur Isărescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania, noted that the volume serves as a necessary effort to recover historical memory. The book explores two primary themes: the architectural history of the building, which transitioned from a modern Habsburg prison at the end of the 19th century to a communist-era facility, and the tragic role the prison played as a witness to the crimes of the communist regime, including the physical and moral destruction of a generation.