Statues of Saint George

Two statues of Saint George "protect" Sfântu Gheorghe today. One is located in the square created after the destruction of the city during the communist period - today Saint George's Square, in front of the Sugás Shopping Center - and the other is on the side of the Central Square, next to the Bodoc Hotel, which has long been waiting to be demolished. One is world-famous, and the other is slowly becoming accepted. Because that is the fate of statues: some people like them, others not so much.

The first one, created by István Harmath in 2000, divided public opinion and was the object of mockery for a long time - see: tied ham - but today it has become an accepted part of the landscape of Covasna County's capital. It has not become a favourite meeting place, but its inaccessibility may have something to do with it, given that it is located on a roundabout island.

The second one was erected in the city in 2012 and is essentially a replica, with the original by the Kolozsvár brothers attracting tourists in Prague's Hradčany. As the first full-length bronze equestrian statue in Europe - commissioned by the king in 1373 - it is also considered a landmark in art history. Among other things, this, together with its classical "public accessibility", protects it from any criticism, but it can also function as a meeting place.

Two statues of Saint George guard the downtown block of buildings in Sfântu Gheorghe.

Samu Csinta