Memorials to visit Romania

It occupies the former prison, infamous for having housed many opponents of the communist regime in the 1950s. Some 200 politicians, clerics and intellectuals were imprisoned and tortured here. 54 died. Photographs in the cells show the horror of this repression and retrace the history of communism and dissidence. The inner courtyard is home to the Cortege of the Sacrificed, a moving group of bronze statues.

At the beginning of the boulevard, this obelisk topped by a bell commemorates an important episode in the country's history: the Transylvanian Memorandum. In 1892, representatives of the Romanians of Transylvania, then under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, sent a petition in defense of their rights and culture to Emperor Franz Joseph, who ignored it. In response, the petition was made public in Sibiu. Tensions, violence and, under pressure from Hungarian nationalists, a trial followed in 1894. Fourteen people were imprisoned, then pardoned in 1895.

Housed in a decrepit former military barracks, this association-run memorial is an essential stop-off point for immersing yourself in the genesis of the Romanian Revolution. It traces the chronology of the uprising in Timișoara, and then the entire country. The exhibition is supported by numerous black-and-white period photos, offering a man's-eye view of the events. The main panels are translated into English, and a rather well-made documentary, available in French, is screened upstairs. The association's staff can also guide you through the rooms. One of them features a series of children's drawings, produced shortly after the revolution, forming a mosaic of hard-hitting and touching glimpses of events. Another room shows miniatures of the twelve sculptures of remembrance scattered around the city. Each has its own significance: one is dedicated to the mothers of the victims, another to the children killed during the repression, and so on. The memorial features maps indicating their location and meaning. Throughout the exhibition, you'll also find emblematic objects: flags with holes in them (symbols of the revolution), police uniforms or demonstrators' clothes... A chapel has even been reconstituted, in memory of the 104 people killed in Timișoara, four of whom have never been identified. While the lack of resources is palpable, the visit is nonetheless instructive and emotionally charged.

Close to the Gare du Nord railway station, the former prison, in operation from 1941 to 1977, is infamous for the atrocious experimental re-education-through-torture program that political opponents underwent here between 1949 and 1951. The same program, in which everyone was both victim and torturer, was later applied in the Aiud and Gherla prisons in Transylvania. A memorial was built there, and opened to the public in 2014. The premises have been left virtually untouched, with documents and testimonies. An emotional visit.