Târgu Jiu is known for the Brâncuși Ensemble of sculptures. Constantin Brâncuși was a Romanian artist who made career in Paris; he is considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century and a pioneer of modernism. Brâncuși grew up in a village close to Târgu Jiu, so when he was commissioned to create artwork in memory of the WW I heroes who had defended the city, he welcomed the opportunity to contribute to his hometown and refused payment for it.
The Sculptural Ensemble includes the famous Endless Column (coloana fără sfârșit), which is the centerpiece of a park, and in another park close to the river Jiu, arranged in one straight line along the Avenue of the Heroes (Calea Eroilor), are also the Gate of the Kiss (poarta sărutului), the Alley of Chairs (Aleea scaunelor) and the Table of Silence (Masa tăcerii).
All of the pieces are under the strict eye of the police. I walked towards the column in the park to get a different perspective on it, and a policeman came toward me from the other side of the lawn and spoke with me in a raised voice. Thanks to my friend, I was able to understand that I wasn’t allowed to enter the gravel circle around the column; I might have got myself into trouble otherwise. Funny enough, at the other park, my friend put something on one of the chairs along the Alley of Chairs, and another policeman had an agitated conversation with her, clarifying that it is not allowed to even touch the artwork. They kept a very close eye on us during our stay, and I heard them yell at some other tourists as well. What a job!
The park with the gate and the table and chairs was close to downtown Târgu Jiu, and after enjoying the spring sun and the first flowers of the year in the park, we explored the city a little and had a coffee somewhere. We didn’t stay very long here, but I am glad we came to see it.
Oh, Happy Canada day! If you were still Canadian I would wish you happy anniversary of you arrival! It seems to be dating things in your time zone but I am writing this on July 1.
C
Nice to see the police are on top of things and don’t want there national treasures defaced! Not sure if you heard but this week the Rome police had to detain a young man(early 20’s) for carving into the Coliseum! (his name/ heart/ his girlfriends name) Can you believe he did that!!!
How do you remember all the captions for the pics by the end of the day? Do you take notes or do you caption the pictures as you go?
Very nice park!
C
What a lovely place to visit with more examples of local architecture & so clean its nice to see it being maintained
This looks like a beautiful place and the perfect day to visit it. Very colourful mural! The roofs look unique…