In front of the Prefecture Palace, on the Northern side of Avram Iancu Square, it is located the bust of the prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859-1866). His era marks the reunion under one state of the Romanian principalities Wallachia and Moldavia and represents the first stage from the modern Romanian history which generated the formation of the Romanian unitary stat.
In most major cities in Europe we find statues of saints who protected those communities from the plague, a disease that killed more people than wars. One such monument is the statue of St. Mary the Protector, which today stands on Universității Street.
Initially, the monument was built on a site near the Piarist church. It was made by the Austrian artist Anton Schuchbauer in 1774 by order of Governor Anton Korniş. It was removed in 1959 and placed since 1961 behind the church of St. Peter and Paul.
On Cetățuia hill, starting with the 18th century, the fortress of the Habsburg army garrison was built. The Vauban-style fortress also served as a prison, and in 1848, Pastor Stephan Ludwing Roth, the leader of the German community in Transylvania, was imprisoned and executed in this fortress by order of the Hungarian revolution leader, L. Kossuth. In the interwar period, between 1936-1937, the Greek-Catholic bishop, Iuliu Hossu, built a crucifix here in memory of those imprisoned in this fortress for the defense of national ideas, on the same location being then built the current monument.
On December 1, 1997, on the occasion of the Romania national day celebration, the current monument was inaugurated, known as the Cross of the “Nation’s Heroes”. The monument is the work of the architect Virgil Salvanu, it is 23 m high and approximately 60 tons weight.
Between 1945-1966, the romanian intellectuals from the interwar period, officers of the royal romanian army but also the simple peasants who were considered enemies of the new totalitarian regime were exterminated in detention camps. At the entrance of the “Simion Bărnuţiu” Central Park, the architect from Cluj Virgil Salvanu, built a monument dedicated to the victims of the anti-communist resistance, which was unveiled in 2006. It is made in the shape of a concrete cube covered with white marble, but the names of the cities where the concentration camps from the communist period existed are covered with black marble.
Horea, Cloșca and Crișan were the heroes of the Romanians from the Apuseni Mountains who led the revolt in Transylvania in 1784, during the reign of Emperor Joseph II and Governor Samuel von Brukenthal. The three, Ursu Nicola called Horea, Ion Oargă called Crişan and Marcu Gurgiu called Cloşca were arrested and sentenced to death. Horea and Cloşca were executed by being “pulled on the wheel”, while Crişan hanged himself in prison. In their memory, near the „Simion Bărnuţiu” Central Park, a statuary group representing them was placed in 1974, the monument was made by Ion Vlasiu.
In December 1989, tragic events took place in Cluj-Napoca during demonstrations that led to the fall of the communist regime. A symbolic statuary ensemble was built in memory of those who lost their lives, shot near the University Library in the city center. The monument known as the “Shot Pillars” was made by the sculptor Liviu Mocan in the form of seven bronze columns that symbolically bear the marks of bullets.
On the north side of Avram Iancu Square, parallel to the altar of the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral, the Glory of the Romanian Soldier monument was built in 1996. The work of sculptor Radu Aftene marks the role played by the Romanian army in the liberation of Transylvania in the autumn of 1944. The bronze tank dedicated to USSR soldiers on the site of the monument was moved to a pedestal in the Heroes’ Cemetery, near the graves of Soviet soldiers.
The statue of Lucian Blaga (1895-1961), located in front of the National Theatre from Cluj Napoca, theatre which bears his name, was inaugurated in 1986. The monument is the work of the sculptor Romulus Ladea and it was located near the statue of Mihai Eminescu, having the same height as this one. Lucian Blaga is a memorable personality of the Transylvanian space from the 20th century, being a poet, dramatist, philosopher, diplomat, professor of the University from Cluj and academician.
The statue dedicated to the national poet of Romania was built in 1976 in front of the National Theatre from Cluj-Napoca. The monument is the work of the sculptor Ovidiu Maitec and it was followed ten years later by the uncovering of the statue of Lucian Blaga, located next to it, the two statues bordering in this way the steps of the theatre. The personality of Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889) was a complex one, distinguishing himself by poetry, prose, dramatics and journalism.
Beginning with the 18th century, Transylvania came under the jurisdiction of the Habsburg Empire. In 1817, the imperial family, Francis I and Empress Carolina, visited the city situated on the banks of the Someș Mic river. The obelisk bearing the queen’s name was built in the city’s main square – today Unirii Square – to commemorate this visit. On the obelisk with a height of 10 m we find bas-reliefs depicting the coat of arms of Medieval Cluj, the entrance of the imperial family on the main gate of the city, the visit to various institutions and a Latin inscription attesting the visit. These bas-reliefs were made by the Viennese sculptor Iosef Klieber.
In the upper part of the obelisk you can see the bas-relief with the portrait of the two family members, the angel wearing the effigies in a laurel wreath and the four stone eagles holding in their beaks the wrought iron laurels, the latter being made by Anton Csuros and Samuel Nagy from Cluj. The obelisk was completed with the financial support of prosecutor Imre Topler. The monument has been located since 1898 in the Museum Square, which was the main square of the town from the Roman Era until the 14th century.
