The equestrian statue of Michael the Brave

The idea of placing in Craiova a statue of the great voivode, who has held a high local title (Ban of Craiova) before being a ruler, dates from the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1913 an initiative committee was set up in order to erect a monument dedicated to Michael the Brave, in Craiova. In 1927, the "Friends of Science" Society („Prietenii Ştiinţei“) proposed to place the statue in the Unirii Square. In 1933 they addressed the City Hall of the capital the request to move the statue of Michael the Brave to Craiova, if a larger one was to be erected in Bucharest.
The sculptor D. Pavelescu-Dimo made a sketch for a magnificent monument dedicated to the great voivode, but it never materialized. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of Craiova had to wait a long time to see the statue in its current place, because, for many years and for various reasons, it was located in the yard of the Museum of Art.
The statue was brought to Craiova in 1974, but it laid dismantled somewhere in the backyard of the Museum of Art until 1990. In 1990, the statue was erected in downtown, in Unirii Square, near the Prefecture building, facing west. Between 2004-2008, on the occasion of the downtown rehabilitation, it was moved to the large park between the Prefecture and the Holy Trinity Historical Church, facing east, and with great artesian fountains in front.