Romulus And Remus – In Transylvania

On a walk between the Citadel and the train station I came across this statue of the Capitoline wolf feeding Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome. One face value the existence of this statue here appears somewhat odd.

It was given to Sighisoara by Rome to commemorate close ties between Rome and Romania – ties that were used by the communist regime against the claims of Hungary. Like the rest of Transylvania, Sighisoara was part of Hungary until WWI. Similar statues to this are to be found in other towns in the region. While Capitoline Wolf statues can be found in many countries there are certainly a disproportionately large number of them in Romania which would add weight to this rather ulterior motive for ‘collecting’ them.

Roman legions under the Emperor Trajan penetrated the heart of Transylvania in around 105AD and hung around for nearly two hundred years when the Emperor Aurelian, faced with rebellion on the Rhine and in Syria was forced to abandon Transylvania.

Address: Lower Town
Directions: Just below the Citadel

This entry is one of a group (loop) of entries on Sighisoara, Romania. I suggest you continue with my next entry – HERE – or to start the loop at the beginning go to my introductory entry – HERE.