Wayside crosses in Romania

Wayside crosses in Romania are a cultural and religious phenomenon.

Wayside cross from Rășinari, exhibited at the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum
Cross on the Toplița-Bilbor road
Cross shelter in Bărcănești
World War II memorial cross in Feleacu
Field boundary cross in Petreștii de Sus

Terminology and description

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The standard term for the crosses is troiță (pl. troițe); they are also called cruci la răscruci ("crossroads crosses", the northern part of Western Moldavia), răstigniri ("crucifixions", Maramureș), icoane ("icons", Vâlcea County), rugi ("stakes", Ținutul Pădurenilor [ro], Hunedoara County), cruci ("crosses", Transylvania and Oltenia), lemne ("wood beams", in old documents). Troiță is a word of Slavic origin, signifying three joined crosses, associated with the Holy Trinity.[1]

The crosses are a feature of the village landscape, where they were built for divine protection in places thought dangerous. They were meant to preserve the natural order; merely looking at one would confirm the presence of God. The cross is usually made of hardwood, painted on one or both sides. More rarely, they are carved with solar motifs.[1] Some are made of stone or metal. With time and technological advance, simple designs gave way to complex elements.[2]

Symbolic considerations

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The crosses recall a pre-Christian time when people would set up ritual columns or altars in places where the cosmic peace was disturbed by evil spirits, hoping to restore order. Crossroads have also been attracted mystical powers since antiquity; their mythological significance acquired a religious one with the adoption of Christianity, given their cross shape.[3] Columns and poles gave way to crosses, so that the troiță represents “an ad hoc synthesis between the ancient and Christian strata”.[4]

According to Romulus Vulcănescu [ro], the troiță is "the most primitive extant form of religious sanctuary and sacred popular worship". He defines a sanctuary as a place proclaimed holy and respected as such by the people, out of magical, mythical or religious motives. These objects are found in the village center, at the village entrance and exit, at crossroads, unclean places, hillocks and, generally speaking, where the physical and spiritual worlds merge.[3]

Often, the crosses are surrounded by a shelter, with a door towards the road and windows at the sides. Travelers hit by rainstorms can wait inside. In the past, where the water source was farther away, villagers would leave a pitcher of fresh water for passersby. Shelters are rarer in hay and mountain areas; the crosses there are usually covered by tile roofs.[4] The shelters, which form a sort of chapel, are usually painted on the exterior and interior. Christ Pantocrator or the Trinity is on the ceiling, flanked by the Four Evangelists, angels or prophets. Saints and angels are found lower down, with empty spaces filled by grape leaves, ears of wheat, floral or geometric patterns. The exterior might feature medallions of saints or Biblical scenes. Inscriptions appear painted on the inside or carved into the cross.[5]

The magic associations of water means that crosses are found near streams, bridges and wells, superstition holding that well bottoms can hold evil forces. The troiță, pointing heavenward, guards against the dark forces in the depths of the earth. Crosses at village entrances served to guard the locals from plagues and enemies, and were also landmarks. Homeowners would raise crosses in front of their dwellings, seeking spiritual protection. Cemetery troițe do not commemorate the dead, instead watching the boundary between living and dead, amplifying the power of the cross symbol. Finally, a troiță can be a cenotaph, celebrating war heroes whose bodies have not been found, or other dead buried elsewhere.[6][7]

World War I crosses

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Cross on the grave of Michael the Brave in Turda (1926); replaced by an obelisk and displayed at the local history museum since 1977[8]

A particular type of troiță proliferated in interwar Greater Romania: that dedicated to the fallen soldiers of World War I, and promoted by the Cultul Eroilor memorial society.[9] With the majority of soldiers coming from rural areas, it was considered an appropriate way to commemorate the peasant-soldier hero. In 1921, Gala Galaction wrote of the crosses’ aptness for marking scattered graves “which will never be able to be gathered together”. Another writer likened them to “beings kneeling in prayer”, protecting “this sacred land hallowed by the most precious Romanian blood and bodies”.[10]

The designers sought to integrate the crosses into their surroundings, as was the case with the ones set up in the military cemeteries near Curtea de Argeș Monastery and in Sinaia.[10] By 1931, a number had been erected in small, new military cemeteries.[11] Additionally, as noted in a 1926 article, troițe were placed on the battlefields where troops had died. At times, proposed crosses drew objections from local authorities. For example, at Odorhei in 1934, local politicians argued that placing a donated troiță in the city center would damage its aesthetics; it was instead relegated to the yard of the Gendarmerie school.[12]

A number of troițe were dedicated to historical figures during the period. In 1925, one recalling Michael the Brave was unveiled on the site of the Battle of Șelimbăr near Sibiu; a lavish ceremony was organized by ASTRA and led by Nicolae Bălan. From the following year, another cross marked his grave at Turda. Others so honored include Tudor Vladimirescu (Bucharest), Ilie Măcelar (Sibiu) and Aurel Vlaicu (Bănești, Prahova, near the site of his airplane crash).[12] In 1934, Cultul Eroilor donated a concrete cross to Cercetașii României, unveiled during their jamboree at Mamaia in the presence of King Carol II.[13] Throughout the 1920s and ‘30s, the society sent oak and concrete crosses to places around Romania, making efforts to include communities that struggled financially. Thus, alongside the standard monument, the troiță became an accepted way to honor the war dead.[14]

Historiography

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The troiță has been a subject of academic study since the early 20th century. Tudor Pamfile included drawings of the crosses in a 1910 work. Nicolae Iorga considered them as "cheap establishments of believers who lacked the means to show their faith by raising churches"; he added, "at their origins, they were, I believe, something else". They also preoccupied Alexandru Tzigara-Samurcaș (1909, 1928), Grigore Ionescu [ro], Tache Papahagi, and particularly George Oprescu, who called them "curious and impressive expressions of faith" that also satisfied "the remaining pagan superstition" left in the collective consciousness.[15]

It was Vulcănescu who undertook the most thorough research into the phenomenon. His 1947 study Funcțiunea magică a troiței remains a standard reference. In 1972, he substantially expanded his findings in Coloana cerului. In 2003, Ionel Oprișan published Troițe Românești. O tipologie. There, he proposed a classification drawing on Vulcănescu: sacred pre-Christian monuments (heavenly columns and poles), sacred Christian monuments (cross-shaped, icon-bearing and boundary troițe.[15] Further research continued into the 21st century, with a particular focus on Mărginimea Sibiului.[16]

Șoarș: wayside crosses at the eastern (left) and western (right) entrances of the village

List

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The following wayside crosses are listed as historic monuments by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs. Nearly all are associated with the Romanian Orthodox faith.

Location County Date Dedication Image
Bucium Alba 1802
Gura Izbitei Alba 1897 Andrei Șaguna
Sartăș Alba 20th century
Șibot Alba 1899
Dezna Arad 1827  
Dezna Arad 1841  
Hălmagiu Arad 1934 World War I dead
Iosășel Arad 1934 Ioan Buteanu  
Neudorf Arad 1841
Săud Bihor early 20th century World War I dead
Brașov Brașov 1810 Junii Brașoveni (Bătrâni)
Brașov Brașov 19th century Junii Brașoveni (Roșiori)
Brașov Brașov 1748, repaired 1901 Ilie Birt (founder)
Brașov Brașov 1887
Brașov Brașov 1762 Ilie Birt (founder)  
Săcele Brașov 18th century  
Săcele Brașov 19th century  
Săcele Brașov 1918
Oțelu Roșu Caraș-Severin 19th century  
Oțelu Roșu Caraș-Severin 1922-1925 World War I dead  
Beliș Cluj Peasants shot in autumn 1918
Cluj-Napoca Cluj 1940 Albert Szenczi Molnár  
Adânca Dâmbovița mid-19th century
Mislea Dâmbovița 19th century
Răzvad Dâmbovița 19th century
Țuglui Dolj 19th century
Câlnic Gorj 1916-1919 World War I dead  
Rasovița Gorj 20th century
Almaș-Săliște Hunedoara 1942-1945 Romanian soldiers
Boiu de Jos Hunedoara 1916-1918 World War I dead
Buceș Hunedoara 1934
Crișcior Hunedoara 1934 Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan  
Curechiu Hunedoara 1934
Mesteacăn Hunedoara 1934
Mihăileni Hunedoara 1934 Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan, 1848 Revolution  
Ribița Hunedoara 1934
Berbești Maramureș 18th century  
Ieud Maramureș 1935
Mireșu Mare Maramureș 1940 World War I dead  
Someș-Uileac Maramureș 1946 World War I and II dead
Stoiceni Maramureș 1938 World War I dead
Baia de Aramă Mehedinți
Bâlvănești Mehedinți
Drobeta-Turnu Severin Mehedinți 1916-1918
Godeanu Mehedinți
Marga Mehedinți
Prejna Mehedinți
Strehaia Mehedinți
Șiroca Mehedinți
Dăneasa Olt
Făgețelu Olt 19th century
Iancu Jianu Olt 19th century
Izvoru Olt 19th century
Oboga Olt
Fântânele Sibiu 19th century
Rășinari Sibiu 1883
Rod Sibiu 1871
Rod Sibiu 1877
Săliște Sibiu 19th century  
Sibiel Sibiu 1803  
Sibiel Sibiu 1814  
Șelimbăr Sibiu 1925 Battle of Șelimbăr and World War I dead
Tilișca Sibiu 19th century
Turnu Roșu Sibiu 18th century
Bătinești Vrancea 1924 German World War I dead  
Cârligele Vrancea 1933 World War I dead
Hăulișca Vrancea 1937 World War I dead
Poienița Vrancea 1936 World War I dead
Prisaca Vrancea 1941 Independence War and World War I dead
Source:[17]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Totoianu and Anghel, p. 31
  2. ^ Totoianu and Anghel, pp. 31, 33
  3. ^ a b Totoianu and Anghel, p. 33
  4. ^ a b Totoianu and Anghel, p. 35
  5. ^ Stoia, p. 48
  6. ^ Totoianu and Anghel, p. 36
  7. ^ Stoia, p. 47
  8. ^ (in Romanian) Mormântul lui Mihai Viteazul at the Turda City Hall site
  9. ^ Soroștineanu, p. 166
  10. ^ a b Soroștineanu, p. 168
  11. ^ Soroștineanu, pp. 168-69
  12. ^ a b Soroștineanu, p. 169
  13. ^ Soroștineanu, p. 170
  14. ^ Soroștineanu, pp. 170-71
  15. ^ a b Totoianu and Anghel, p. 28
  16. ^ Totoianu and Anghel, pp. 28-29
  17. ^ "Lista Monumentelor Istorice" [List of historic monuments]. patrimoniu.ro (in Romanian). National Institute of Patrimony. Retrieved September 28, 2023.

References

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  • Adrian Stoia, “Troițele din Mărginimea Sibiului, cu o privire specială asupra crucii din piatră de la Boița”, in Studia Universitatis Cibiniensis. Series Historica, vol. XIV/2017, pp. 45-61
  • Radu Totoianu, Călin Anghel, Troițe și cimitire cu stâlpi funerari de pe Valea și din Munții Sebeșului. Cluj-Napoca: Editura Mega, 2018, ISBN 978-606-020-033-8
  • Valeria Soroștineanu, “Despre troițe și Cultul Eroilor”, in Astra Sabesiensis, vol. 6/2020, pp. 161-72