For those who know Baia Mare well, these arches are a familiar sight. They stand between the Elisabeth House (to the left) and the Géza Vida Museum (to the right).

Elisabeth House (Erzsébet-ház in Hungarian) is the oldest building in Baia Mare (the oldest private house or civil building), being built in 1446 by John Hunyadi (Hunyadi János, Iancu de Hunedoara), Regent-Governor of the Kingdom of Hungary and Voivode of Transylvania, for his wife, Szilágyi Erzsébet (hence the name of the house). It is said that Erzsébet lived in this house after the death of her husband in 1456. The couple had a son, none other than Matthias Corvinus (Hunyadi Mátyás, Matei Corvin), the well-known King of Hungary, who played an important role for Baia Mare, restoring it (in 1464) to the free royal town status it has lost in 1411 and granting permission to enclose the town with walls (in 1469). Gheza Vida (Géza Vida in Hungarian) was a Romanian-Hungarian sculptor (and also political militant), one of the most renowned artists of Maramureș. He is perhaps best known for the Monument of the Romanian Soldier in Carei.

I thought that the arches look nice from this rather atypical angle and with the sun’s rays projecting in this way, despite the obvious and all-encompassing ruin of everything…

Also… it is perhaps interesting to meditate on the symbolism of an arch – a kind of bridge that connects but also an element that supports… An arch can also be part of a portal that links spaces or times, being a facilitator. While entering through a portal, we always leave something behind so as to experience something new, the portal being, at the same time, something that divides (and closes a chapter) but also binds together (maintaining a fluid form or a coherent narrative).

Old arches are impressive through their stability in their roles to connect, support and facilitate; people can also have this role for years in a row, being always there – on the edge, on the border or between worlds – connecting, supporting and facilitating. We intuitively know – often sleepwalkingly – where to find them. And they always seem say: I am here!