By erecting the statue, they "do historical justice" to the knight king who founded the city. The Hungarians of Nagyvárad originally wanted to erect a statue of St. László in the town's main square, but former mayor Ilie Bolojan rejected the petition supported by 8,000 signatures, and placed a statue of the Romanian King Ferdinand on the square.

This year, the equestrian statue of King Saint László will be erected in Nagyvárad Castle, and construction work on the pedestal will begin in March, Bihon.ro wrote on Wednesday.

According to the Nagyvárad news portal, the announcement regarding the installation of the statue, which had been planned for years, was made at the Bihar County Monument Preservation Foundation's annual press conference on Tuesday. Angela Lupsea, the managing director of the foundation, which also deals with the maintenance of monuments in Nagyvárad, said that the construction of the pedestal is being carried out by the company Constructorul Salard, and the work will cost 347,731 lei (27.7 million forints) excluding VAT.

The pedestal will be ready by summer, the date of the statue installation will be announced later. As the client of the artwork, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nagyvárad and the mayor's office of Nagyvárad, which undertakes the construction of the pedestal, decide on this. It is already certain that the equestrian statue will be standing this year, the news portal wrote. He added: the work of art has already been completed and the Bucharest Ministry of Culture has the permission to set it up.

The equestrian statue of King Saint László, revered as the founder of the city of Partium, will be erected following the cooperation of the Roman Catholic bishopric and the local government, the plan was presented last February by county bishop László Böcskei and mayor Birta Florin. They wanted to inaugurate it last year, but the necessary permits did not arrive in time.

The foreman then said:

by erecting the statue, they "do historical justice" to the king who founded the city and emphasize the multi-ethnic and multicultural nature of Nagyvárad. Saint László's legacy is the brave acceptance of the Christian faith, part of the European identity, he said. László Böcskei added: with the choice of location, I would also like to emphasize the role played by the castle in the millennial history of the diocese.

He recalled: the idea of ​​erecting the statue was born in 2017, on the 825th anniversary of the canonization of Saint László. The 5.3 meter high statue is the work of sculptor Árpád Deák from Nagyvárad, the bronze casting was done by Ovidiu Petroman in Zimándújfalu, Arad County.

The Hungarians of Nagyvárad originally wanted to have the statue of the Knight King erected in the main square of the town, a signature collection was also started, but former mayor Ilie Bolojan rejected the petition supported by 8,000 signatures and placed a statue of the Romanian King Ferdinand on the square.

This is how the castle became the next location where two statues of King László I (1077-1095) once stood, the 14th century standing statue and a later destroyed equestrian statue, the work of the famous masters Márton and György from Cluj.

The castle, restored from European sources, is an important monument of the city. King Szent László built the first cathedral in Várad here, which also served as his burial place, and as a result of his cult, several Hungarian rulers and their spouses were also buried here.

MTI

Front page image: Model of the statue / Photo: Office of the Mayor of Nagyvárad