Story By: Gabriel Zamfir, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
The monument was unveiled in the city of Alba Iulia in Central Romania’s Alba County and celebrates the union of Transylvania with Romania in 1918.
The 22-metre (72-foot) monument weighs 1.530 tonnes and cost over 10 million RON (1.9 million GBP) but has been slammed online for its resemblance to social media giant Facebook’s logo.
The monument has four cross-shaped pieces which converge at the top, representing the four Romanian provinces uniting in 1918.
However, the four pieces all bear a striking resemblance to the ‘f’ used in Facebook’s logo and one netizen even edited them into the colour of the social media company’s logo.
Influential Romanian journalist Cristian Tudor Popescu said: “Curved at the top, which makes people say ‘Facebook monument’. This is the one from Facebook.”
And netizens were quick to point out the resemblance, with one social media user writing: “Facebook seems to have a monument dedicated to it in Alba Iulia.”
Whilst another netizen wrote the monument resembles “a giant blue-coloured penis”.
The Mayor of the city, Mircea Hava, said: “I don’t detest or refute the opinions, especially the critical ones. Widespread acceptance is impossible also for less important things in a country or community.”
But he also added: “I deplore the fact that the ministry which approved this project did not have more options to choose from which could have been less controversial.”