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Modern Romanian Monuments and Sculptures
In the town of Calafat, Dolj County, a historical monument for the War of Independence, 1877 - 1978, a monument which commemorated the place where the first Turkish cannons dropped their loads on Romanian territory, at the beginning of the war, just in front of King Carol I of Romania who famously said 'this is the music that I like!'
At the top of this column was placed a huge bronze eagle. In the communist period, this eagle was removed, and was missing for 70 years. The Alexis Project has applied for a European project involving the towns of Calafat and Vidin, with a theme concerning the War of Independence.
Photo: Courtesy Adrian Gheorghe, 24th March 2015
Source: Old postcard
The Alexis project is still hunting for the eagle, made of bronze, from the top of the Independence Monument of Calafat, Dolj County. He and others from the Project have found a secret fountain under the Mayor's back yard, where the Baba Lupa spring is, on the left bank of the Danube river. This seems to be a good place to hide the eagle under water.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 29th March 2015
The search continues to find the artefact and place it back on top of the obelisk, where it belongs.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 29th March 2015
It is raining in the spring in Maglavit monastery where a poor man claimed to have seen God a century ago, with a small forest around it.
God looked like an old man, and spoke about peace and the understanding of people.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 29th March 2015
On this day there was a cold rain falling, but a man was inside singing a beautiful Orthodox song about peace and love between people, like a friendly touch to the soul.
Adrian felt that it was like a short meeting with a part of my own mind. Now it is time to go back to ordinary life.....
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 29th March 2015
In the town of Calafat, Dolj County, a historical monument for the War of Independence, 1877 - 1978, a monument which commemorated the place where the first Turkish cannons dropped their loads on Romanian territory, at the beginning of the war, just in front of King Carol I of Romania who famously said 'this is the music that I like!'
At the top of this column was placed a huge bronze eagle. In the communist period, this eagle was removed, and was missing for 70 years. The Alexis Project has applied for a European project involving the towns of Calafat and Vidin, with a theme concerning the War of Independence.
Photo: Courtesy Adrian Gheorghe, 24th March 2015
Source: Old postcard
As part of this project we intend to restore the historical monument, and to find the bronze eagle, and replace it on top of the stone column. The eagle is being sought. We will inform you of each step of our actions, which initially is to speak with people with memories of that time, about the possible location of the eagle. Some information has already come to hand.
We are doing this for the glory of Romanian soldiers, who gave freedom to Romania and Bulgaria, in order to escape from Turkish rule in 1877. We need your help. If you have any old images of the eagle on the monument, please send them to us.
Photo: Courtesy Adrian Gheorghe, 24th March 2015
Source: Old postcard
In the middle of Drobeta Turnu Severin city, Mehedinti County, Adrian and Alexandru found a concrete water tower, in a Medieval style, which was erected between 1910-1913, on a street named Adrian.
Nearby this tower there are two old schools, perhaps from the same time, one for girls, one for boys, although now both are coeducational.
As with many such monuments, there is no text nearby to explain it, only an ancient text on metal, very hard to get a good photo of.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 28th November 2010
In the centre of the historical monument area of the town of Calafat, on the left bank of the Danube, where in 1877 the Romanian people won a very important war for independence, there is a modest stone statue of a girl.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 23rd May 2010
This girl, called Maritza, was killed by the Turkish army, during this 1877 war of independence, because she gave water to Romanian soldiers.
The girl was of the Vlahian people, a brother people of the Romanians, (Vlahs or Vlachs, were descendants of the ancient Romanian people) across the Danube River.
The monument was built by the Vlahs as a reminder of the brotherhood between the two people. Calafat town is a small town on the left bank of the Danube river, where, during the war for Independence, made by Romania, helped by Russia, against Turkey, there were a lot of acts of heroism, as Maritza did...
Even though she was very young, even though she was not a Romanian girl, but a Vlahian one, even though she did not know the entire importance of the war and its purpose, felt solidarity with the Romanian soldiers and tried to help them as a model of brotherhood across borders.
In Calafat, near the bank of the Danube, there is an entire area of monuments about this 19th Century war of independence, such as cannons, statues, and an esplanade for activities in memory of the heroes of this war.
But this monument was built by the Vlahs in our country, so maybe there are also some Romanians who feel the same sense of gratitude and brotherhood.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 23rd May 2010
An old military fighter plane in a small village near Bailestu, about 50 km south of Craiova, in the grounds of the Coanda Museum.
It looks like it is modelled on a Soviet MIG fighter, similar to the MIG 23 Flogger but smaller and with rounded air intakes instead of rectangular intakes. I'd be glad of a better identification.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
GPS coordinates of the Soviet MIG fighter at the Coanda Museum.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 9th February 2008
This monument is in Calafat, on the left bank of the Danube in the southern part of Oltenia County. This is the place where in 1877 the Romanian people started the War of Independence against the Turkish occupation, over the Danube, into Bulgaria.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
The photo on the left showing the surrender of the wounded Osman Pasha at the end of the seige of Plevna, Bulgaria, and the text below is from Wikipedia:
The Romanian War of Independence was fought in 1877 against the Ottoman Empire.
On 4 April (Old Style) / 16 April 1877, Romania and Russia signed at Bucharest a treaty under which Russian troops were allowed to pass through Romanian territory, with the condition that Russia respect the integrity of Romania. The mobilization began, and about 120 000 soldiers were massed in the south of the country to defend against an eventual attack of the Ottoman forces from south of Danube. On 12 April (O.S.) / 24 April 1877, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire and its troops entered Romania.
At 9 May (O.S.) / 21 May, in the Romanian parliament, Mihail Kogălniceanu declared the independence of Romania as the will of the Romanian people and a day later the act was signed by King Carol I. A day later, the Romanian government canceled paying its tribute to Turkey (914 000 lei) and the sum was given instead to the War Minister.
Initially, Russia did not wish to cooperate with Romania, since they did not wish Romania to participate in the peace treaties after the war, but the Russians encountered a very strong Turkish army of 50 000 soldiers led by Osman Pasha at the Siege of Pleven (Plevna).
Due to great losses, Nikolai Konstantinovich, Grand Duke of Russia asked Carol I for the Romanian Army to intervene and fuse with the Russian Army. Carol I accepted, and became the commander of the Romanian and marshal of the Russian troops, of which the combined forces had conquered Plevna after heavy fighting. The most important battles were at Grivica, Oryahovo, Opanez and Smirdan. Romania won the war, having about 10 000 casualties.
Osman Pasha surrendered the city of Plevna, the garrison and his sword to the Romanian colonel Mihail Cerchez. The number of Ottoman prisoners-of-war captured at Pleven exceeded 2 100 officers and 43 000 soldiers. They were subjected to a death march comparable to the Germans who surrendered at Stalingrad. Only a handful of them returned to Turkey after the war. Turks rarely took prisoners and chose to kill and mutilate any russians they captured.
The armistice between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was signed in San Stefano, on 19 January 1878. Russia did not keep its promises of the 4 April 1877 treaty (signed by Russian consul Stuart Dimitri and Romanian prime minister Mihail Kogălniceanu) to respect Romania's territorial integrity. The peace treaty gave Romania its independence, the territories of Dobrogea, the Danube Delta, and Insula Serpilor, but Russia occupied the southern counties of Bessarabia (Cahul, Bolgrad and Ismail), which by the Treaty of Paris (1856, after the Crimean War) were included in Moldavia.
Old cannon at the Independence 1877 monument.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
At the Independence 1877 monument.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
At the Independence 1877 monument.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
In the middle of the town of Corabia, in the southern part of Oltenia County, on the left bank of the Danube, is an important monument to the heroes of the Romanian people. Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
The new Maglavit Monastery, a strange place where a shepherd named Petrache Lupu from Maglavit claimed to have seen God in 1935 and where the King Carol II of Romania decided to build a Monastery.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
An old wooden cross at Maglavit Monastery.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
This is the inside of the new Maglavit Monastery.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
After 70 years, a Romanian businessman named George Becali decided to finish this monumental church. A problem is that the curch does not look like an orthodox one because of the huge bell tower inside the church, an unusual fact for Romanian people.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
A bell and a piece of wood called a Toaca at Maglavit Monastery, a few kilometres north of Calafat in the southern part of Oltenia County. The Toaca was hit by monks with wood hammers to remember the moment when Christ was hit on the cross 2000 years ago.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
A cross with a sculpture of Christ, near Maglavit Monastery.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
The road leading to Craiova, looking from the Hills of Podari, from south to north, over the city.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
This is a monument of the heroes of the First World War at Resca, near Caracal, a small town of Oltenia County, placed between Corabia and Craiova, near the Roman Castle of Romula.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
A few artefacts found near the monument of WWI, near Resca.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
General view of the Roman Castle Romula at Resca, near Caracal, where there are no digs, and the people don’t care about it.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
A very important statue in the middle of the town of Caracal, remembering the fight in WWI.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
A watchtower in the middle of Caracal, used by fiefighters many years ago.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
The National Theatre Building in Caracal.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
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Alexis Project Filiasi/Romania
RC J/263/230/2007 CIF 21464151
Email: [email protected]