Statue of Vasile Lucaciu

The Statue of Vasile Lucaciu is a sculpture dedicated to the orator, activist and Greek Catholic priest Vasile Lucaciu (1852–1922). The work of Cornel Medrea, it is situated in Satu Mare's Liberty Square, and was unveiled in 1936. The idea of setting up a monument to Lucaciu in Satu Mare appeared soon after his death, with the first concrete steps taken in 1927, when a planning committee was created. Funds were collected from private and government sources, and a design by local artist Aurel Popp was approved. However, the project had to be shelved due to a bank crisis. It was revived in 1935, when seven designs were submitted. Cornel Medrea’s was selected, prompting an angry response from Popp. The bronze sculpture stands 4.5 meters tall, and depicts Lucaciu leading his people. The sculptor had seen the subject addressing crowds, and also interviewed those who knew him. The work was designed at his studio in Bucharest and cast at Nicolae Malaxa’s factory in the same city. Briefly displayed in front of the Romanian Athenaeum, it was then transported to Satu Mare, where a foundation had been dug in Liberty Square, and unveiled in December 1936. In early September 1940, when the city, together with Northern Transylvania, was about to be occupied by Regency Hungary following the Second Vienna Award, the statue was taken down by the departing Romanian administration. On the afterno

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