Timişoara to set up memorial route of 1989 Revolution

A Memorial Route of the December 1989 Revolution will be set up in Timişoara, the western Romania city where the 1989 started.

The route will include nine points marked by ground-level monuments. Where the space allows it, benches will also be added and trees planted, the Timişoara City Hall said.

Each monument will feature a text evoking a specific moment that happened in that place during the 1989 Revolution. The text will also be available in Braille to facilitate access for the visually impaired.

An augmented reality (AR) application allowing for an interactive experience of the route is to be developed as part of the project.

The places included in the route are: Maria Area – Sfânta Maria Square / Gheorghe Doja Street / Timotei Cipariu; Traian-Maria Bridge – Tudor Vladimirescu Road; Opera Area – Iancu Huniade Square / Victoriei Square (pictured); Libertății Square Area; Sf. Gheorghe Square Area; 1989 Revolution Blvd.; Băile Neptun Area – Splaiul Nistrului; Heroes Cemetery Area – Sever Bocu Boulevard; and Martyrs Area – Mareșal Constantin Prezan Street.

"The 1989 Revolution must be more than a memory. It is part of the city's identity. Recently, a Hollywood actor said that he brought his child to Timișoara to show him the place where a dictator fell. That is our goal: for anyone who comes to Timișoara to feel history firsthand and to take forward the story of our city, where the spark of freedom was ignited," Timişoara mayor Dominic Fritz said.

The project of the route is funded through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2020-2026 (PNRR).

(Photo: Mihairomeob | Dreamstime.com)