UNESCO added a series of outdoor sculptures by Romanian modernist master Constantin Brancusi to its list of world heritage sites on Saturday, celebrating their place as one of the most notable examples of 20th-century public art, Reuters reports. Brancusi created the open-air collection that includes the "Endless Column" and the "Gate of the Kiss" in the small south-western Romanian town of Targu Jiu in 1937-1938 as a tribute to fallen World War I soldiers. The five sculptural installations aligned on a 1.5-km-long axis along Targu Jiu's central Avenue of Heroes are one of the few Brancusi works located in Romania. "The granted recognition forces us to protect the monumental ensemble, to keep it intact for future generations and for humanity's cultural memory," Romanian Culture Minister Raluca Turcan said. Brancusi was born in the small village of Hobita near the Carpathian Mountains, but lived in Paris for most of his life. He arrived in Paris in 1904 after an 18-month walk and eventually worked under Auguste Rodin. He left Rodin's studio in 1907 saying "nothing grows under big trees" and became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He bequeathed his studio and some of his art to the French state after his death in 1957. He had wanted to leave his art to Romania, but the then communist government declined the offer. In 2023, the western Romanian city of Timisoara staged the first retrospective exhibit of Brancusi works to be held in his home country in more than 50 years. A separate comprehensive Brancusi exhibit ended this month at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Romania’s Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) issued a negative opinion on the new bill regarding magistrates’ pensions. The move is only the latest development concerning a heated issue that led to tensions between the executive and the judiciary branch. CSM’s opinion is consultative, and the government led by Ilie Bolojan can still take responsibility for […]
Romania took the presidency of the Central European Initiative (or CEI) on Wednesday, November 26, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). The organization is a regional intergovernmental forum established in 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall. It gathers 17 Member States in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe […]
Trade between Romania and Poland continues to grow, with annual bilateral exchanges in goods now valued at more than EUR 12 billion, according to figures presented by the Polish-Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PRBCC). The data was released during a reception in Bucharest marking Poland’s Independence Day and Romania’s National Day. Polish investments […]
As Romania moves closer to implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, local employers are preparing for one of the most consequential shifts in workplace regulation in over a decade. The directive, set for transposition by June 2026, introduces strict new rules on salary disclosure, pay reporting, and equal-pay verification, aiming to close persistent gender gaps […]
A young Romanian has developed a new system that allows people to return entire bags of recyclable packaging at once, replacing the traditional method of inserting bottles one by one into reverse-vending machines. The concept, called IZI, was created by Ștefan Parascanu, who returned to Romania after studying and working in the United Kingdom. The […]
JTI, the global owner of both Winston and Camel, announced on Thursday, November 27, a plan to build a new, state-of-the-art factory in Ștefăneștii de Jos, Ilfov County. Designed to replace the current Bucharest production site, which is operating under space constraints, the facility is scheduled for completion in 2027. Ground works at the new […]
