The third square, the 8th of June Square^23 was conceived as the new capital’s
centre, representing King Carol II.^24 It reflected the grandomania of the king,
who wished that the square would become “the biggest of our country, to
surpass in its proportion all the squares of the other European centres”^25.
All these projects are clear examples of how urban space is meant to legitimize
the ruler and to represent the nation.
The war monumentsAfter WW I, the idea of a nation also found other different expressions in
the public space, namely through the war monuments. Statues of great men
continued to be built until the WW I, when the belief in the traditional values
and in the industrial progress was shattered by the great loss of human life, on
a scale unseen before. If the monuments from the previous periods of time
were celebrating the great men, their victories and power, after the war the
monuments expressed the idea that sacrifice was necessary in order to defend
freedom. Moreover, they became a tool for showing gratitude to those who
Monica Sebestyen
Fig. 13
Project for the 8th of June square, architect Zamfiropol.
(Arhitectura 1936, nr.7, p. 341)