The University of Bucharest (UB) on Saturday will relocate an eagle and two griffin sculpture to the pediment of its building in the centre of the capital city. The sculptural ensemble was almost entirely destroyed in the WWII bombings of 1944.

According to UB, the installation of the three sculptures marks the beginning of a project of complete restoration of the original pediment of the University Palace. The works will continue in the next two years, until the complete reconstruction of the ensemble designed by architect Alexandru Orascu and made by sculptor Karl Storck between 1862 and 1869.

The original pediment of the neoclassical Palace of the University of Bucharest, was called 'Minerva protecting the arts and sciences', being inspired by the Glyptotheque in Munich. The artistic composition was conceived by Theodor Aman, and the bas-relief, carved in Rusciuc stone by Karl Storck and his collaborators depicted the goddess Minerva crowning the sciences and arts, surrounded by allegories of academic disciplines and fine arts.

Above the pediment, on the acroterion, there is the ensemble formed by the crowned eagle and the two griffins, a symbol of the state's protection of knowledge and of the university institution. It was almost entirely destroyed in the bombings of 1944. During the post-war reconstruction, the facade of the central body was simplified, and the sculptural elements that defined the image of the University Palace for almost a century disappeared.

According to UB, the ensemble to be mounted is made of bronze and consists of an eagle weighing about one tonne and two griffins weighing about 300 kilograms each, which makes the entire assembly weigh 1.6 tonnes. The work, valued at approximately RON 2 million, is made by sculptor Alexandru Siminic, together with his collaborators, Teodor and Stefan Siminic, using the traditional technique of lost-wax casting of bronze, chased and patinated, and is based on the original creation of sculptor Karl Storck.

The restoration of the pediment is part of an extensive project of consolidation, restoration and modernisation of the University Palace in Bucharest, the largest education building in Romania covering over 45,000 square metres, and one of the most important monuments of the architectural heritage in Romania. The investment is financed under the National Programme for Structures of Public or Social Interest carried out by the National Investment Company (CNI) under the authority of the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration.

'The return of the eagle and the two griffins to the University Palace in Bucharest represents, first of all, an act of historical recovery of a symbol that marked the identity of the university and of the Romanian capital for 75 years, until its destruction in WWII. That is why this moment is charged today with the significance of the reintegration of historical memory after the most destructive attack on Bucharest, as a gesture of reconstruction and respect for the past. The restoration of the heritage of our university and of the symbolic building of the University Palace of Bucharest, with government support, is a necessary gesture of homage to the past that built the present and which must be the basis for building the future,' says Marian Preda, rector of the University of Bucharest. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Roberto Stan; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)