Lions' Obelisk, Historic monument in Copou Park, Iași, Romania
The Lions' Obelisk is a stone monument in Copou Park in Iași, built from stone blocks quarried in Scheia, with four lion sculptures placed at its base. It stands as the central landmark of the park and can be seen from several of its main paths.
The obelisk was built between 1834 and 1841 to mark the adoption of the Organic Regulations in Moldavia, a set of rules that changed how the region was governed. It was raised during a period when Iași served as the capital of Moldavia and several public works were being commissioned across the city.
The obelisk stands close to Mihai Eminescu's Linden Tree, Romania's most celebrated poet, making this corner of the park a meeting point between history and literature. The four lions at its base are a detail that visitors tend to photograph and remember long after leaving.
The monument sits at the heart of Copou Park and is easy to reach on foot from the main park entrances. It is open year-round and works well as a starting point for exploring the rest of the park.
Gheorghe Asachi, who supervised the construction, was also a writer and journalist and one of the most influential intellectuals of his time in Moldavia. His collaboration with engineer Johann Freywald made this one of the earliest examples of local and foreign expertise joining on a public monument in the country.
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