Endless Column
Târgu Jiu, Gorj County · Oltenia
About Endless Column
Known to most Romanians as Coloana Infinitului (the Column of Infinity), the work officially bears the name Brâncuși gave it, Coloana fără sfârșit, the Endless Column, while in the town hall records of 1938 it appears as the “Column of Endless Gratitude”. It is dedicated to the Romanian soldiers who fell in the autumn of 1916 in the fighting on the Jiu and was commissioned by the National League of Gorj Women, led by Aretia Tătărescu. Brâncuși, who had been working on the idea of a column of repeated elements since 1918, accepted the commission without a fee.
The modules, which the sculptor called “beads”, were cast in iron in 1937 at the Central Workshops in Petroșani, under the supervision of engineer Ștefan Georgescu-Gorjan, and threaded onto a steel core anchored in a concrete foundation 5 m deep. There are 15 full modules, with a half module at the base and at the top; the open upper half suggests the column goes on without end. It stands 29.35 m tall, weighs almost 30 tonnes and was inaugurated on 27 October 1938, together with the rest of the ensemble.
In the 1950s the communist regime wanted to pull it down as an example of “bourgeois” art, but the plan was never carried out. Tilting and rusting, the column was placed in 1996 on the World Monuments Fund's list of endangered sites and was restored between 1998 and 2000. Since 2024 the “Heroes' Avenue” monumental ensemble has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What you can see
The column rises on its own in the middle of a wide, grassy park at the eastern end of Heroes' Avenue (Calea Eroilor), so it can be seen from afar and from every side. Up close you can make out the rhythm of the rhomboid modules and the brass coating, which changes colour with the light, from gold to brown. To the west, along the same axis of about 1.5 km, Heroes' Avenue passes the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and leads to the Central Park, home to the Gate of the Kiss and the Table of Silence.
Good to know
The protective coating has deteriorated again in recent years and rust stains are visible on the modules; a new restoration has long been awaited. From October 2026 the town hall is installing architectural lighting with 16 floodlights around the column. In the Central Park, at the other end of Heroes' Avenue, the northern and southern areas are closed for renovation, probably until May 2027; the Alley of Chairs, with the Gate of the Kiss and the Table of Silence, remains open.
- The half module at the top, left open, which gives the column the feeling that it never ends.
- The colour of the brass, which shifts from gold to brown with the light; at sunset the column becomes a silhouette against the sky.
- The walk west along Heroes' Avenue, about 1.5 km, to the Gate of the Kiss and the Table of Silence in the Central Park.
- The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, set on the same axis, halfway between the column and the Central Park.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: Column Park is on the eastern side of Târgu Jiu, at the end of Heroes' Avenue, near the exit towards Râmnicu Vâlcea (DN67). From Craiova take the DN66 (~115 km), from Râmnicu Vâlcea the DN67 (~115 km), and from Petroșani the DN66 through the Jiu Gorge (~55 km).
Public transport: Târgu Jiu has a railway station on the Craiova – Petroșani – Simeria line and a bus station with connections to nearby towns. From the centre you can walk to the column along Heroes' Avenue, starting from the Central Park, in about 20 minutes.
- Fees & discounts
Entry to Column Park and to the column is free, with no ticket; the same goes for the Central Park, with the Gate of the Kiss and the Table of Silence.
- Rules
The column is a historic monument and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site: do not climb onto the base or lean against the modules. The monument is guarded around the clock by the local police.
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