Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and the Culture of the Romanian People

It had an important role in the cultural life and the movement of national awakening for the Romanians in Transylvania.

Its first president was the ethnic Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Sibiu — Andrei Şaguna.

Its vice-president was the Greek-Catholic priest Timotei Cipariu, and George Bariţiu was secretary.

On 7 February 1895, ASTRA decided to edit and publish a Romanian Encyclopedia under the supervision of Cornel Diaconovici.

Today, the central ASTRA library contains approximately half a million works, mostly acquired through donations of the Transylvanian population, local publishing houses, or publication exchanges organized with other libraries.