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DRUMMER’S SQUARE
THE MINT’S GATE
October 23, 2017
THE CITADEL’S SQUARE
October 23, 2017DRUMMER’S SQUARE
It received this name after the statue that is placed in its center. The „square” actually represents the space between the Saint Elisabeth and Saint Carol Bastion, having in front of it, north wise, the Saint Elisabeth Ravelin. This area only became available to the public after the last decade rehabilitation projects of the citadel.
Both bastions on the sides of the square have over 100 meters long sides, displayed in an 80 degrees sharp angle. The curtain (the straight wall between the bastions) is over 100 meters long as well. Like all the other bastions and curtains, their height is over 10 meters.
The Saint Charles bastion was named like that to honor the emperor Charles the 6th (1711-1740), during whose reign the citadel was built, and the next bastion, Saint Elisabeth, was dedicated to his wife, the beautiful empress Elisabeth Christine (the mother of her even more famous daughter, Maria Theresa, and the grandmother of the famous queen of France, Maria Antoinette). The saints with the same name, who actually the bastions were dedicated to, are Carlo Borromeo, the 16th century cardinal, famous for his effort against the Counter reform, and saint Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.
In the upper peak corner of each of the seven bastions, statuary groups were placed as frames for coat-of-arms and inscriptions, sending to the patron of each bastion. The sculptures have mythological themes, with fantastic characters and grotesque figures and various floral and vegetal decorations. The platforms placed onto the crown of all bastions were planned to support statues representing the saints who gave the names for the bastions. A representation of Saint Elisabeth was placed on top of her bastion, but we have no information on how the statue was looking 300 years ago, if it was placed at that time.
Scientific consultant: Tudor Roșu, PhD historian
Translation made by: Ciprian Dobra, PR expert
The name of the square is given by the statue placed in the middle of it, representing a drummer dressed in the 18th-century uniform. It is the place where you can walk, ride a bicycle or rollerskate.
„The square” is actually the space between two of the Alba Carolina Citadel’s bastions on the northern side of the fortification: Saint Elisabeth and Saint Charles. The fortification element placed in front of them, towards the north, is called ravelin and it is also called Elisabeth.
The name of the Saint Charles bastion is referring to the emperor Charles 6th, under whose rule the Citadel was built. Even more, the monogram of the Austrian emperor, flanked by two bizarre animals, is placed on the upper side of the bastion. In spiritual terms, the name of the bastion is referring to Carlo Borromeo, the 16th-century cardinal famous for his effort during the Counterreform.
The bastion next to it, Saint Elisabeth, was dedicated to the beautiful empress Elisabeth Cristina, the wife of Charles 6th and the mother of his even more famous daughter, Maria Tereza. On the peak of the bastion we have a medallion with a lion raised on his back legs and bearing the imperial crown. They are dominated by the statue of Saint Elisabeth, placed above them. In spiritual terms, the bastions are referring to the mother of Saint John the Baptist. Both bastions have a triangular shape with the corners towards the exterior.
The sides are more the 100 meters long and the walls are more than 10 meters high. The straight wall that unites them is called „curtain” and it is more than 100 meters long. The Alba Carolina Citadel has seven bastions that give it the specific seven cornered star shape. The bastions form in the central area „the safety precinct”of the fortification, the most important and the best protected area.
