Statue of a Roman Soldier (1836)
The statue of a Roman soldier made of white stone was restored. It was found in the riverbed of the Tounjčica River in Tounj. Date of creation: 1836.
The statue originates from the upper level of the stone bridge in Tounj and was transferred to the museum in 1972.
It was restored in the conservation workshop of restorer Ante Brčić from Zagreb.
Although they are referred to as “Roman soldiers,” the statues actually represent border knights, paying tribute to the military tradition of this region, which for centuries was part of the Military Frontier.
Guardians of the Bridge:
Originally, four statues of “Roman soldiers” stood on the upper level of the bridge (in fact, soldiers in a Neoclassical style inspired by Antiquity). They symbolically “guarded” the bridge and its passers-by.
This bridge is unique in Croatia as it has two levels, with the upper level built in 1836 to ease the ascent along the Josephine Road.