The Horea, Cloșca and Crișan Obelisk

The Obelisk of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan stands in Alba Iulia, on Mihai Viteazul Street, in front of the Third Gate of the Alba Carolina Citadel. It is dedicated to the three leaders of the Transylvanian peasant uprising of 1784-1785. After the uprising was crushed, Horea and Cloșca were executed by breaking on the wheel at Alba Iulia on 28 February 1785; Crișan hanged himself in prison before the execution. The obelisk was erected in 1937, within a few months, from a public subscription launched by ASTRA. The sculptor was Iosif Fekete, and the architectural elements were designed by Octavian Mihălțan. The monument is about 22.5 m tall and Art Deco in style. The side facing the citadel gate bears a relief of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan, and the opposite side shows the goddess Victoria holding a wreath. At its base is a cell with wrought-iron doors, symbolising the repression of the uprising. The obelisk can be seen freely from the road leading up to the Third Gate. The obelisk is a listed historical monument (LMI code AB-III-m-B-00401). Did you know that King Carol II and Crown Prince Michael attended the unveiling of the obelisk on 14 October 1937, and that the press of the time reported tens of thousands of participants?