Monuments and Memory: Two Examples from Transylvania: Exploring National Identity and Ethnic Conflictthrough Public Space

Societies erect monuments to commemorate heroes orremember crucial and significant events in theirhistories. Set in stone, they become part of thepublic landscape. While some fade into obscurity,others assume an ever greater role in the society'sunderstanding of the past, and perhaps moreimportantly, the present. This work analyzes thehistory and impact of two monuments in Transylvania,a multi-ethnic community, whose national affiliationchanged after World War I. This work tells the storyof the attempts to use, manipulate, and re-imaginethese monuments and turn public space into another,more subtle, battleground in the conflict between anew state and a historical ethnic minority. The workalso analyzes larger issues concerning how statescould deal with disputed monuments and defuseconflict about public space.