To the right of Biserica Evanghelica (Evangelical Church) is a huge monument
for Andrei Muresanu, who was a poet and revolutionary. The monument consists of
a huge statue of him on a high pedestal with a few stairs at the bottom. On the
pedestal is a relief of some relolutionaries with a gun and a flag in their
hand, one man in chains and a mother with her child. There is also inscription
telling us who the monument was built for:
ANDREI MURESANU
1816 - 1863
Poet of the revolution of
1848
"The statue of Andrei Muresanu, made in 1937 by sculptor Corneliu
Medrea, is integrated on the city's coat of arms.
The foundation of the pedestal was laid on 15 September 1935, the
inauguration of the statue taking place on 27 November 1938. After the
Vienna Dictat in 1940, the statue was transported and installed in Sibiu.
After the return of Northern Transylvania to Romania, the statue was again
taken to Bistrita and placed on the pedestal that the Hungarians had
prepared for a statue of Miklós Horthy [a Hungarian statesman and
regent of the Kingdom of Hungary]."
Source:
ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statuia_lui_Andrei_Muresanu_din_Bistrita
Andrei Muresanu
"Andrei Muresanu (November 16, 1816 in Bistrita – October 12, 1863 in
Brasov) was a Romanian poet and revolutionary of Transylvania.
Born in a family of a small business owner in the countryside, he studied
philosophy and theology in Blaj. In 1838 he started working as a professor
in Brasov. He published his first poetry in the magazine Foaie pentru minte,
inima si literatura (Paper for mind, heart and literature). He was one of
the leading figures of the 1848 revolution in Transylvania, taking part in
the Brasov delegation at the Blaj Assembly in May 1848. His poem
Desteapta-te, romane!, composition based on a popular tune of an old
religious anthem, became the hymn of the revolutionaries. Nicolae Balcescu
named it "La Marseillaise of Romanians" for its ability to mobilize the
people to fight. The poem later became the national anthem of Romania in
1990.
After the revolution, Muresanu worked as a translator in Sibiu, had some
patriotical works published in the Telegraful Roman magazine. In 1862 his
poetry was gathered in a single volume. Due to poor health conditions, he
died in 1863 at Brasov. He is buried in the city’s Groaveri cemetery."
Source and further information:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Mure?anu