The Memorial of Rebirth The Memorial of Rebirth (Memorialul Renaterii in Romanian) is a memorial in Bucharest, Romania that commemorates the struggles and victims of the Romanian Revolution of !"!, #hich overthre# $ommunism% The memorial comple& #as inaugurated in 'ugust ())* in Revolution +,uare, #here Romania-s $ommunist.era dictator, /icolae $eau0escu, #as publicly overthro#n in 1ecember !"!% The memorial, designed by 'le&andru 2hildu0, features as its centrepiece a (*.metre.high marble pillar reaching up to the sky, upon #hich a metal 3cro#n3 is placed% The pillar is surrounded by a 4)) m5 pla6a covered by marble and granite% The memorial cost *%4 million lei (R7/ *%4 million, R78 *4 billion, appro&imately 9%* million)% :ts initial name #as 3;ternal 2lory to the <eroes and the Romanian Revolution of 1ecember !"!3 (Glorie Etern Eroilor i Revoluiei Romne din Decembrie 1989)% The memorial-s name alludes to Romania-s rebirth as a nation after the collapse of $ommunism% Controversy 1espite a commonly ackno#ledged need for a memorial commemorating Romania-s !"! revolution, the monument sparked a significant amount of controversy #hen it #as inaugurated in ())*, mainly to do #ith its design% Many artists stated that the memorial, especially its central pillar, #as devoid of any symbolism, being too abstract, and thus didn-t ade,uately represent the suffering and magnitude of the !"! revolution, #hich claimed around ,*)) lives% 7thers stated that they personally didn-t like the aesthetics of the design= the mayor of Bucharest, 'driean >ideanu, stated, 3:t-s a ,uestion of taste% : personally don-t like it% : don-t understand its symbolism%3 There #as also controversy because the designer, 2hildu0, #as an applied artist, designing ob?ects like chairs and lamps, rather than a sculptor% The art critic Mihai 7roveanu said, 3@'le&andru 2hildu0A doesn-t have the ,ualifications to undertake such a #ork, since he is a designer, not a sculptor3% The Memorial of Rebirth has been described as 3a potato ske#ered on a stake3, an 3olive on a toothpick3, 3the potato of the revolution3 and 3the vector #ith the cro#n3% The placement of the memorial #as also critici6ed and the Brbanism $ommittees of both the Crd +ector and of Bucharest re?ected the design, but their role is officially only as consultants and the memorial #as erected any#ay% 7#ing to its relative unpopularity, the monument is guarded round.the.clock, but despite this, on the night of ( May ())4, it #as vandali6ed% ' stencil graffiti figure representing the fictional revolutionary character 3>3 #as dra#n on the side facing the /ational Museum of 'rt% References Radu $rivat, Memorialul Renasterii D :naugurare cu >:E.uri Memorial of Rebirth D :nauguration #ith >:Es, article in Jurnalul Naional (in Romanian)% 1ate unkno#n, accessed ) 1ec ())*% F Memorialul RenasteriiG, ce oribilitateH (3The Monument of Rebirth D ho# horribleH3), ;ditorial, Sptmna inanciar, 'ugust ())*% 'ccessed (* +eptember ())4% (Romanian) This lists the nicknames mentioned in the article (and ,uite a fe# more)% 2abriela 8upu, 3Regele $arol :, vecin cu IeapJ lui 2hildus3, (3$arol :, neighbor of 2hildu0-s spike3), article in $otidianul! "in Romanian#$ undated% appear& to be no later t'an 1 Dec ())*+ 3Bn bibelou deloc amabil3, 3/ot at all a likable knick.knack3, article in ;ditura Eolirom Suplimentul de cultur C) 'pril.4 May ())* (in Romanian)% 3FKepu0a cu cartofL vandali6atJ de graff.eri3, article in 2Mndul, C May ())4 $oordinatesN OOP(4Q!%(CR/ (4P*Q*)%C!R; $ategoriesN Monuments and memorials in Bucharest 7utdoor sculptures in Bucharest Memorials to victims of communism $alea >ictoriei This page #as last modified on * 7ctober ()C at ONO%