Mateiaș (Brașov County): the emergence of the monument to the heroes of the First World War

Abstract

In 2014 we celebrate 100 years since the beginning of the First World War and 95 years from the founding of the Society for the Burial of the Heroes Fallen in the War (Mormintele eroilor căzuți în război). On the basis of the law and regulations of the "Cult of Heroes" Society, which was under the patronage of Queen Maria, there was decided to erect monuments, buildings, cemeteries, etc. to perpetuate the memory of the fallen in war or glorify the heroism of Romanians everywhere and at all times. Construction could be carried out by statutory committees of the "Cult of Heroes" Society and by private initiative groups established in accordance with the law.

The idea of creating a monument to the heroes in Mateias, Brasov County originated in 1936 as a result of private initiative and was embodied in the life by the "Cult of Heroes" Society in 1939. Original documents, stored for more than seven decades, tell us how this memorial - a symbol of collective sacrifice made on the "altar" of the Romanian nation - was built.