The monumental ensemble \u201cThe Heroes\u2019 Path\u201d (\u201cCalea Eroilor\u201d) created by Constantin Br\u00e2ncu\u015fi in Romania and the Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Dacia have been added to UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage List, thus considered some of the most notable examples of public art. The sculptural ensemble in T\u00e2rgu Jiu (southwest), comprising four works \u2013 \u201cThe Table of Silence\u201d, \u201cThe Alley of Chairs\u201d, \u201cThe Gate of the Kiss\u201d and \u201cThe Infinity Column\u201d \u2013 was designed and built by Constantin Br\u00e2ncu\u015fi over 1937-1938. These sculptural ensembles aligned on a 1.5 km-long surface area alongside the Boulevard of Heroes in T\u00e2rgu Jiu are but some of Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i\u2019s works that are still in Romania. \u201cThis recognition compels us to protect the monumental ensemble, to keep it intact for future generations and for the cultural memory of humanity\u201d, Culture Minister Raluca Turcan said.<\/p>\n
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The second application greenlit by UNESCO concerns Roman fortifications (the so-called Danube Limes) erected along the northern border of the province of Dacia, totaling 277 sites from 16 counties. Part of the general defense system of the Roman Empire, the Frontiers of the Roman Empire \u2013 Dacia bear testimony to the expansion power of the Roman Empire through the consolidation of its northern borders. Extending over a thousand kilometers, it is the largest segment of Roman borders, including both land and river sectors.<\/p>\n
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Constantin Br\u00e2ncu\u015fi was born in the small village of Hobita in Gorj County, but lived in Paris most of his life. He arrived in the French capital in 1904, after a long journey that took 18 months, and finally worked for the great sculptor Auguste Rodin. However, he left his workshop in 1907 saying that \u201cnothing grows under big trees\u201d and became one of the most influential artists of the 20th<\/sup> century. He bequeathed his workshop and part of his art to the French state upon his death in 1957. He wanted to leave his works to Romania, but the then communist government refused the offer. In 2023, the city of Timi\u0219oara (west) organized the first exhibition of the artist’s works in Romania in over 50 years. A separate, full exhibition of Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i\u2019s works also came to a close this month at the Pompidou Center in Paris.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The latest additions to UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage further enrich Romania\u2019s presence on this list. The first to be recognized was the Danube Delta (1991) and then Villages with fortified churches from Transylvania (1993), the Churches from Moldova (1993, 2010), the Hurezi Monastery (1993), the Dacian Citadels from Or\u0103\u015ftie Mountains (1999), the Historic Center of Sighi\u015foara (1999), the Wooden Churches from Maramure\u015f (1999), the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (2017) and the Ro\u015fia Montan\u0103 Cultural Mining Landscape (2021). (VP)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n