23/01/2026
Holy Triniy Monument / The Plague Column in Timișoara, Romania
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The Plague Column (in German Pestsäule, Dreifaltigkeitssäule), also known as the Plague Statue or the Holy Trinity Monument, is raised in the middle of Union Square in Timișoara, in accordance with the architectural style of the surrounding buildings (baroque). The monument belongs to the typology of the plague columns, spread in the Baroque era throughout the South German, Bohemian and Hungarian space. The statue commemorates the end of the plague epidemic that devastated the entire Banat, between 1731 and 1738. During the epidemic, more than 1,300 plague patients lost their lives in Timișoara alone. A similar monument can be found in Teremia Mare commune in Timiș county.
The foundation stone of this monument was laid on November 21, 1740 by the councilor of the local administration at the time, Johann Anton Deschan von Hansen, the initiator of the creation of the monument, following a solemn promise. The actual installation took place between 1755–1758. The monument is composed of a tall triangular column symbolically decorated, on which the Holy Trinity enthrones, the Father and the Son hold the heavenly crown above the head of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who kneels at their feet. At the base of the column is the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk and below it, Saint Rosalia.
At the same height as Saint Nepomuk are the statues of King David and Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners; the triangular plinth is guarded by the statues of legendary protective powers, Saint Rochus, Saint Sebastian and Saint Charles Borromeus. On the three sides you can also see relief sculptures, representing the three calamities - war, famine and plague - caused at that time by the Turks (1737 - 1739). The monument is made of sandstone and has a special artistic value, having been created in Vienna, in the Baroque style, and brought to Timișoara by water, on the Danube, the Tisa and the Bega canal.
