The Gate of the Kiss
Târgu Jiu, Gorj County · Oltenia
About The Gate of the Kiss
At the town-side entrance to the Central Park in Târgu Jiu, Constantin Brâncuși raised a stone gate through which the path leads on to the Table of Silence. It is one of the three works of the “Heroes' Way” Monumental Ensemble, commissioned by the National League of Gorj Women in memory of those who fell defending the town in 1916. The blocks of Banpotoc travertine were set up in October 1937, and the sculptor carved them in the summer of 1938; the ensemble was inaugurated on 27 October 1938.
The gate is 5.13 m high, 6.45 m wide and 1.69 m deep: two massive pillars carrying a lintel wider than they are. Its motif comes from “The Kiss”, a theme Brâncuși had been working on since 1907: the two embracing figures have become here a circle cut into two halves, like two eyes looking at each other. Since 2024 the ensemble has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
What you can see
Each face of the two pillars carries the kiss motif carved large, and the lintel repeats the same sign, small, all along its length, like a row of couples. On the underside of the lintel you can see small arches, and above them fine lines that recall the shingles of a roof. Through the gate you step onto the Alley of Chairs, lined with stone seats, which leads about 150 m west to the Table of Silence. In the other direction, the Heroes' Way runs east for about 1.3 km to the Endless Column.
Good to know
The Central Park is being modernised: in September 2026 its northern and southern sections were closed, while the Alley of Chairs, with the gate and the table, stayed open. A full restoration of the ensemble, prepared by the National Heritage Institute, has been held up by several tenders that found no contractor; the gate has only had periodic maintenance, most recently in October 2025.
- The kiss motif carved on every face of the pillars: a circle split into two halves, like two eyes.
- The lintel above, with the same sign repeated small along its length, like a row of embracing couples.
- The view west through the gate, along the Alley of Chairs, to the Table of Silence.
- The walk east along the Heroes' Way, on the axis of the ensemble, to the Endless Column.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: the gate is in the centre of Târgu Jiu, at the western end of the Heroes' Way (Calea Eroilor), at the entrance to the Central Park, next to Bulevardul Constantin Brâncuși. The Endless Column, at the other end of the axis, is about 1.3 km to the east.
Public transport: from Târgu Jiu railway station the gate is about 1.3 km as the crow flies, roughly a 20-minute walk through the centre.
- Rules
The monument is protected: do not climb on it, lean against the pillars or touch the stone, which is porous and fragile. The usual rules for the town's green spaces apply in the park.
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