Kaiser-Franz-Monument (Sibiu)
The monument to Emperor Franz I in Hermannstadt (Sibiu) in Romania , a bust originally cast in lead on a marble base with an inscription, is a monument erected in 1828 in honor of the ruler. The bust was badly damaged during the 1989 Revolution and replaced with a stone replica in 2006.
location
Sibiu was once fortified by three fortress rings, mainly to protect against Ottoman attacks. The monument is located in a niche of the inner, still preserved fortress ring of the city, which once led from the Heltau Bastion to the Dicken Turm , in the middle of the promenade of the Corneliu Coposu boulevard (in communist times, 23 August boulevard).
history
After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Emperor Franz II was from 1804 to 1835 under the name Franz I. Emperor of Austria and King of Bohemia and Hungary. He visited the city in September 1817 with his wife, Empress Karoline Auguste . On this occasion the street lighting was installed in the place.
This work of art was the first of its kind in the city. The well-known Hermannstadt painter Franz Neuhauser the Younger (1763–1836), who belonged to the group of artists sponsored by Baron Samuel von Brukenthal , was commissioned to carry out and coordinate the project. The lead bust was created by the Viennese sculptor Franz Prokop (1790–1854) in 1828.
A round stone platform with an artesian well was arranged in front of the monument , on the front of which a plaque was placed in the spring of 1829 in memory of General Johann von Vecsey, who had ordered the construction of the ensemble. The fountain was surrounded by a wrought iron fence. The monument was restored in 1883, at a cost of around 1,000 guilders from Emperor Franz Joseph. The rotunda with the fountain in front of the memorial was restored by the Romanian government in 1981.
During the Romanian Revolution of 1989 the bust was devastated. Several bullets had been fired at the statue, so that the nose and part of the skull were missing. The bust was taken from the pedestal and stood in the second courtyard of the Brukenthal Museum until 1995, when it disappeared and people thought it was lost.
On the initiative of the Austrian Klagenfurt-Hermannstadt Foundation and with the support of the City Council under the direction of Mayor Klaus Johannis , the restorers Sorin Fogarascher and Mirel Bucur from the ASTRA Museum took on the task of making the new bust in spring 2004. After almost two months of research, they were able to derive the original shape from old coins and photographs. They created a replica that was cast in artificial stone by the museum's restoration department .
After the original was found in the cellar of the town hall in 2008, the prefecture of the Sibiu district , led by Ilie Mitea, decided to restore it and donate it to the Brukenthal Museum . After the restoration in April 2009, the bust was placed at the entrance to the Brukenthal Museum.
description
The overall monument consists of the bust of Emperor Franz I standing on a pedestal, a round platform in front of it with an artesian well. The bust rises in a niche in the classical style , embedded in a similar way to the monuments in ancient Greece . In front of it there is a three-step stone staircase. Two columns with capitals decorated with vegetal motifs support a three-part stone framework . A serrated, blue-colored frieze stretches around the support beam, underneath a plate with the following engraved inscription: IVSTITIA REGNORVM FVNDAMENTVM (V is equal to U; translated: “Justice is the basis of royalty” ). The frieze supports a triangular pediment.
As already mentioned, the bust shows Emperor Franz I, dressed in the ancient Roman fashion, his forehead crowned by a laurel wreath. Originally, the monument was flanked on both sides by a bronze sphinx . A red marble plaque is attached to the base with the following inscription: FRANCISCO. I. AUGUSTO. AD III. SEPTEMBR. MDCCCXVII. HUNG. XYSTUM. DEAMBULATIONS. COLUSTRANTI. SACRUM. EAT . IUSERUNT. PIETATIS. MONUMENTUM. CIVES. CIBINIENSES. MDCCCXXVIIII. (Basically: Emperor Franz I, the Hungarian ruler on September 3rd, Anno Domini 1817, is consecrated this xystum with round pillar colonnade as a monument of loyalty, decided by the citizens of Sibiu in 1829) The marble votive tablet is flanked by two bundles of Roman lictors . The city coat of arms of Sibiu is shown in gold in a bas-relief.
A basin with an artesian well, originally surrounded by a wrought iron fence, was placed on the platform in front of the monument. On the opposite side, facing the boulevard, there is a stone block in the classical style, 2.60 m high and 1.15 m wide. In the upper, semicircular area, a high relief can be seen, which shows the Habsburg parade armament (flags, imperial helmet, sword and cannon barrels). At the bottom, a red marble tablet is placed between two pillars. The inscription commemorates Major General (rank of October 6, 1826) Johann von Vecsey († July 1, 1833), who, as city commander, had given the order for the building. The text of the Latin inscription reads: IOANNEM A VECSEY SUPREMUM EXCUBIARUM PREAFECTUM AD CAL. FEBR. MDCCCXXVIII QUUM ESSET LEGIONIS XXXI TRIBUNUS PUBLUCUM AMBULACRUM ANNO MDCCCXXVII LIBERALI INDUSTRIA AUXISSE ET INSTRAURASSE EXIQUO MONUMENTO PREATEREUNTES NOMERE VOLUERUNT GRATI CIBINIENSES MDCCCXXVIII. The grateful citizens of Sibiu want to show travelers through this small monument (actually a plaque) that Johann von Veczey, formerly the fortress commander, said goodbye to this city in mid-February 1828. When he was in command of the 31st Brigade, he built and extended the public promenade in 1827, inspired by worthy endeavors. [Erected] 1828.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Laura Buciu: Comoara din beciul Prefecturii. In: Sibianul. April 18, 2008.
- ↑ a b c Alexandru Avram, Vasile Crişan: Ghid de oraş. Sibiu. Editura Sport-Turism, Bucharest 1983, p. 103.
- ↑ a b Ioana Căpăţînă: Francisc I, salvat de la mutilare. In: Ziarul Obiectiv. July 14, 2004.
- ↑ Monitorul Cluj .
- ^ Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: The kk or kuk generality 1816-1918. Austrian State Archives, 1907, p. 193.
Coordinates: 45 ° 47 '35.7 " N , 24 ° 9' 6.9" E