The Kissing Gate – is the space that makes the transition to another world. The symbol of the kiss carved on the two pillars could be perceived as the inward eye. The work is made of Banpotoc travertine being 5.13 m high, 6.45 long, with one side of the pillars of 1.69 m.
The Endless Column – is a true “spiritual testament” of the great artist, a true Axis mundi as if designed to support the sky, being considered “the peak of modern art” by Sidney Geist. It is made out of 17 rhomboidal cast iron modules measuring 29.33 m high. The modules of 1.80 m in height and about 860 kg are mounted on a shaft of steel embedded in a concrete foundation with a side of 5 m.
The Table of Silence– is the peasant’s table and also the table where the combatants were sitting down before a confrontation in the battle. Made of travertine, it has the following dimensions: the flat surface has a diameter of 2.15 m and a thickness of 0.43 m; the leg has a diameter of 2 m and a thickness of 0.45 m. Initially, the 12 chairs placed around it were much closer to the table and arranged two by two.
“Christian Tell” County Library on Heroes Street is a vibrant part of the community’s promotion of culture, education and lifelong learning in Târgu Jiu and Gorj County. It organises various major events at county and national level in collaboration with other institutions.
“Elvira Godeanu” Dramatic Theatre –- established on 6 June 1993 is of particular importance in providing for the public this exceptional cultural space where theatrical movement can be developed and future generations of actors, followers of Elvira Godeanu, can be trained. Since 26 October 2002 the theatre has a new, modern hall where performances, theatre festivals and other cultural events are appreciated by the public.
“Ecaterina Teodoroiu” Memorial House – is situated in Vãdeni neighbourhood, on DN 66 Târgu Jiu-Petroşani. The house, where Ecaterina Teodoroiu (1894 – 1917) was born, was built in 1884 by her parents and has two rooms: a living room with fireplace and a bedroom. There is a porch in front of the house and on the west side. Until 1945 the house was inhabited by family members and since 1959, after restoration, it became a memorial house. There is an exhibition of photographs, documents and personal objects of the second lieutenant Ecaterina Teodoroiu, faithfully recreating the atmosphere where the so-called “The Heroine of Jiu” lived.
“Alexandru Ştefulescu” County Museum – was founded on 16 July 1894 on the initiative of scholars of the time, including Alexandru Ştefulescu, Iuliu Moisil and Aurel Diaconovici. The museum has specialized sections of ethnography, archaeology, history, numismatics, religious objects, natural sciences and is housed in The Administrative Palace of that time located on Geneva Street. The Museum has more than 24,000 objects relating to the history of Gorj which were collected, investigated and processed through others by the historian Alexandru Ştefulescu. It also includes a gallery of historical figures from Gorj since the XVIth century.
The Art Museum – is located in the Central Park of the town presenting paintings and artwork of local artists, various religious art objects and sculptures.
Tudor Vladimirescu’s Statue– is located in the park, in front of “Tudor Vladimirescu” National High School and it is the work of the sculptor C. Bălăcescu being raised in November 1898 by a group of students from Gorj and having as honorary president, the historian Grigore Tocilescu.
General Gheorghe Magheru’s Statue – was unveiled on 7 October 1972 and is the work of the sculptor V. Năstăsescu, located at the intersection of Eroilor and Gheorghe Magheru streets where his house used to be.
Alexandru Ştefulescu’s Bust – the work of the sculptor Vasile Blend was unveiled in 1937. Alexandru Ştefulescu (1856-1910), primary school teacher, school inspector, journalist, archaeologist and numismatist was a famous animator of the cultural life in the town, his writings having a valuable contribution to our understanding of the past of Gorj County.
Ecaterina Teodoroiu’s Mausoleum – sarcophagus ornamented with bas-relief was built in 1935, in the Square of The Administrative Palace by the artist Miliţa Petraşcu, a student of Constantin Brâncuşi, in order to house the remains of “the Heroine of Jiu”. The statue of Ecaterina Teodoroiu, done by Iulia Oniţă, was unveiled on 22 January 1979, in the C.A.M. area.
Heritage Buildings
The Administrative Palace (nowadays The Prefecture and The County Council) was initially a space dedicated to The Town Hall. The construction started on 22 August 1898 and the reception took place on 9 May 1900. The Council Room is very impressive by its Moorish style. The works were completed in 1904 by mounting the clock. When Gorj County was formed in 1968, new spaces were added to the central building of The Town Hall (whose wings were demolished) due to the need of spaces for the political and administrative headquarters.
Târgu Jiu Town Hall (no. 19 Constantin Brâncuşi Boulevard) is an important building that impresses with architectural style and grandeur, the cornerstone of which was laid on 11 July 1932 and was initially an apprentice school.
Cornea Brăiloiu House was built in 1710, in Vădeni and is a historical and architectural monument in Brâncoveanu style. A church was built inside the house.
Vasile Moangă House (Siret Street) was built around 1770 being the property of Vasile Moangă, a friend of Tudor Vladimirescu to whom the leader of the revolution told the plan of the movement organized with his Pandours in January 1821.
Dumitru Mălădrescu House (no. 36, Tudor Vladimirescu Street) is one of the oldest and the most interesting houses in terms of architecture. It has a rich history, reminiscent of diplomacy (boyars and leaders) and cruelty (after the defeat of the Revolution of 1821 the Turks made piles of the Pandours’ heads they had killed).
Barbu Gănescu House is near the (current) Administrative Palace and represents a monument of old architecture from Gorj, dating from the XVIIIth century. Constantin Brâncuşi was hosted in this house between 1937-1938 when he worked at The Monumental Ensemble “The Heroes’ Path”.
Iosif Keber Memorial House is situated on 11 June 1848 Street and houses a collection of paintings and an art library being considered an architectural monument.
Sâmboteanu Fountain is located near The Water Tower and was built at the end of the XVIIIth century by the intendant Ianache Sâmboteanu, from Gorj County, being the place from where the town was supplied with water.
The Cathedral (The Church of Holy Voievodes or The Church of Merchants) in Victoria Square, was built by city merchants (important founders being Dobre Sârbu and Radu Cupeţu) starting with 1748 on the place of the old church which was built in 1717. The exterior painting is decorated with the prophets ‘faces and was enriched within the restoring period 1933-1940 by the contribution of the famous painter Iosif Keber.
The Church of Peter and Paul Saints on The Heroes Street was built between 1929-1938, on the site of an old church (dating from the XVIIIth century,) on the axis of the Monumental Ensemble devoted to the memory of the heroes by the great artist Constantin Brâncuşi.
St. Nicholas Church (11 June 1848 Street) was built in the XVIIIth century by the Archpriest Andrei Schevofilax in byzantine architectural style. As in the case of the Cathedral, the painter Iosif Keber has contributed to the restoration of the exterior painting in 1980.
Gorj County’s relief presents a rare harmony and beauty of landscapes that attract the attention of every traveller. In the north, rise The Godeanu Mountains, The Vâlcan Mountains and The Parâng Mountains, with The Parângul Mare peak of 2519 m, whose landscapes gradually descend in the Subcarpathian depressions.
The most spectacular natural sights are the gorges and the caves located along the southern rim of the Carpathians, in contact with Subcarpathians.
The entrance to The Polovragi Cave is on The Olteţ Gorges along which there is a forest road that in some parts was dug in the rock where a sort of canopy was formed increasing the picturesque of the valley. The Polovragi Cave resulted of the work of an old underground course of The Olteţ River that dissolved the calcium carbonate on its way. According to the research of the Speleological Circle “Living Fire” in Bucharest, in 1974, the total length of the known galleries reached 9000 m. There are only 3200 m described and mapped namely the galleries previously known. The cave is carved by water dissolving calcium carbonate in the left side of The Olteţ Gorges and the entrance of the cave is located at about 200 m from the entrance to the gorges, at a height of 20 m above the thalweg of The Olteţ River. The cave is easy to navigate and is electrified.
In the past, the cave was shelter and refuge for outlaws. It seems that in 1821, Tudor Vladimirescu’s Pandours stored in the cave weapons brought from Sibiu. The legend says that the cave housed the God of the Getae (or Dacians) Zalmoxis and ruins of a Dacian fortress were discovered nearby.
In the cave there are formations of stalagmites and stalactites receiving names depending on the form they got: Pipe Organ, The Small Dome, Altar Hall, Altar Veil, The Pulpit, The Big Chandelier, The Odalisque, Santa Claus, The Bustard, The injured hawk and due to leakage of iron oxides which gave a rusty colour to the place – the place is called The Bloody Rock. In the main gallery there is an area where the cave floor has numerous pools, sometimes, especially in spring, full of water, named The Large Basins.
Near the Turks’ Room there is the Bears’ Gallery where there were found numerous fossils, skeletal remains and more than 100 skulls of the cave bear (Ursus Spelaeus), extinct species and other skeletal remains of hyenas, lions, foxes, wild goats, wolves, wild boars that prove climate change throughout the geological eras.
The cave is located in the municipality of Baia de Fier (560 m altitude). The toponym of the settlement came from the iron extracted from here as historical documents testify.
Romans worked at this road in 104 AD for moving their armies to Sarmisegetuza. During the World War I, German army paved the road for military reasons. In 1933, it was rebuilt by King Carol II who was impressed by the beauty and wildness of the landscape that the road was passing through. The inauguration of the road took place in 1935, in Poiana Sibiului.
Transalpina is the highest road in Romania, having the highest point in Urdele Pass (at 2,145 m), being recently paved with asphalt./su_animate]
JDThe Jiu Defile, with a length of 30 km, is one of the most spectacular and wild defile of the Carpathians. The road and the rail passing over the deep valley, crossing viaducts and tunnels constitute a tourist attraction. The National Park “The Jiu Defile” occupies an area of 11,127 hectares and is located on The Jiu Valley between The Vâlcan Mountains and The Parâng Mountains.
Polovragi commune takes its name from a rare plant that grew here, “polovragi” used by a famous medicine man that lived in the mountain cave to cure people of stomach and bones diseases. Archaeological excavations in Polovragi have revealed the remains of a fortress and a cemetery since Dacian times. A big celebration (Nedeia) takes place every year, on the 20th of July, in Polovragi, where people from Gorj, Vâlcea and Transylvania come.
“The human body is beautiful only when it reflects the soul.”
“Work like a slave, command like a king, create like a god!”
Constantin Brâncuşi
- The Statue of Buzeşti Brothers – Crasna
- The Chocolate Factory – Crasna
- “St. John the Baptist” Church – Novaci
- The Crosses Museum – Mãceşu
- The Museum of Mountain Civilization – Rãnca
The Municipality of Tãrgu-Jiu takes its name from The Jiu River that crosses it, initially known as the weekly fair held on the banks of The Jiu River, a fair that is held even today on Thursdays. It is first mentioned as the Jiu Fair 600 years ago and as a city 400 years ago. The Public Garden was established in 1856, in the field, on the left bank of The Jiu River.
The sculpture is a specific stylization of funerary columns of southern Romania. Its original name was The Column of Endless Gratitude and was dedicated to Romanian soldiers who died in World War I, in 1916, in the battles on the Jiu bank.
Brâncuși himself called it “a draft of the column which, if enlarged, could touch the sky.”
The Column was brassed on the site by brass wire spray application. This technology has been used for the first time in Romania and was specially brought from Switzerland. The total weight of the column (core + “beads”) is 29,173 kilograms.
