Statue of Decebalus

Decebalus statue

The Statue of Dacian king Decebalus is a 40-m high statue that is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe. It is located on the Danube's rocky bank, near the city of Orşova, Romania.

The idea belonged to Romanian businessman and historian Iosif Constantin Drăgan and it took 10 years (1994–2004) for twelve sculptors to finish it, at a cost of over one million dollars.

Controversial businessman Iosif Constantin Drăgan financed the execution of this giant monument inspired by the famous rock carving from Rushmore, USA.

On the Danube river`s banks, near the town of Orsova, stands Decebal’s head carved in a giant rock, 40 m high and 25 m wide. The Dacian king’s statue is the greatest in Europe: only six m shorter than the Statue of Liberty, eight m taller than the Christ the Redeemer’s monument in Rio de Janeiro, and ten m taller than the legendary Colossus of Rhodes.

Two teams of six alpinists-sculptors toiled over the colossal work for eight years. One ton of dynamite was used to shape the rock. Situated within the Dubova commune area near Orsova, in Mededinti County, the Mraconia Bay seems out of this world. You can only reach the floating bridge by boat, where Europe’s greatest sculpture arises from the bay.

Opposite Decebalus’s head, on the Serbian banks of the Danube river, the famous Tabula Traiana was carved in the early 2nd century CE, a monument which marks the march of the Roman Empire’s troops on their way to Dacia. Here, near the Small Kazan gorge (Romanian: Cazanele Mici) is the Danube`s deepest point, reaching a depth of 120 m.

12 great artists

Rudolf Cocic (44 years old) has been there ever since the beginning of work: "We started this adventure around the summer of 1994. It all started by clearing the trees covering the rock. Then we cleaned the rocks, the massive cliffs which put people’s life in danger”, recalls the man who spent his last eight years either on the floating bridge or up the cliff. “The access up to the cliff is very difficult because of the water from the bay. We could not make use of any kind of equipment. Everything was carried by boat and on our back. It’s hard to get up here with bare hands, let alone carrying a 40–50 kilo sack on your back!”, says Cocic.

From the rock’s base up to the scaffold, the alpinists-sculptors must climb for half an hour. They work in two shifts, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. All twelve people work from March to October.

“It’s very dangerous work. Each of us has his own route; it has been like that for years. We step on the same rock in the same spot. If you get closer, you can see the rock worn out in the spot where we’ve kept climbing for several years.”

A similar risky operation is handling the scaffold. Once they are up, the sculptors handle with enviable skill the pneumatic hammers. For the carving of Decebal’s face in rock, the classic method is used with a hammer, a center punch, and a sledge hammer.

The communication with the floating bridge is ensured by two walkie-talkies, but it does not help much. Up there everyone is on his own.

“In the summer when the rock heats up from the sun, you can actually fry eggs on Decebal’s head!”, says sculptor Rudolf Cocic describing the conditions up there. Several years ago, two support pitons detached from the support cable placed around the rock. The team of five people from that time fell off the scaffold several m down in a hollow space. Fortunately they were not seriously injured. Recently, one of the alpinists was bitten by a viper hiding in one of the sustaining spots. His colleagues injected him immediately with an antiviperine serum and his life was saved.

Opulence or work of art?

Slowly, Decebal’s face started to take shape. His cap and beard were defined and then followed the eyes and mouth. The biggest problems were with the nose being seven m high. A massive eight-ton block cracked. Because there was soil underneath, it could have detached and fallen. That is why sculptor Florin Cotarcea, the work coordinator, decided to give up on that giant block of rock. A great deal of Decebal’s nose was dynamited for a greater security.

Yet the portrait was not affected as Decebal went through an esthetical operation: his nose was reshaped and strengthened with iron and cement coating. The work of these sculptors-alpinists is a pioneer work in Romania. The two teams struggled to shorten the work’s duration.

“The Americans worked at the Rushmore project for 14 years. The work was finished with the help of over 300 sculptors-alpinists, not counting the support staff. After eight years we are almost close to the finish line with the help of twelve men. Nevertheless we cannot assess the work’s finish because there are always unexpected matters to be solved, such as rock breakage. Overall, in about two years’ time the work should reach its end”, said Rudolf Cocic.

Right in front of the statue, but on the Serbian shore facing Romania, there is an ancient memorial plaque (Tabula Traiana) commemorating the victories of the Roman Empire over the Dacian kingdom in 105.

The financier

Today at the monument’s base there is an inscription with the words: DECEBALUS REX DRAGAN FECIT. The sculptors say that Iosif Constantin Drăgan, financer of Decebal’s rock carving, has spent over one million dollars for this work up to now. This is not his only project. I.C. Dragan promised the mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Gheorghe Funar, that he would allot funds for the execution of a copy of Trajan's Column at full scale, a project on pause for the moment.

See also

• List of colossal sculpture in situ

External links

(Romanian)Statue of Decebalus