Centenary March
Its participants, both Moldovans and Romanians, targeted 300 cities and villages, passing through several points significant for the Great Union (Bessarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania).
During it, the participants intended to collect one million signatures to launch a referendum on the unification of Moldova and Romania, which was one of the main objectives of the march.
[2][3] Participants were often accompanied by three buses sent by the city hall of Iași, each with a color of the flag of Romania (blue, yellow and red).
Local authorities and civilians lit the Union Flame in front of the Coronation Cathedral, where Ferdinand I was proclaimed King of Greater Romania,[6] which is the reason why the city was chosen as the starting point.
[6] In Piața Tricolorului, people gave speeches about the importance of union with Moldova and held a Romanian flag 100 metres (330 feet) long.
The first stage of the march, from 1 to 5 July, covered a route starting in Alba Iulia, passing through Teiuș, Unirea, Turda and Cluj-Napoca and ending in Căianu Mic.
The latter was a Wallachian prince who briefly ruled for the first time in history the three principalities inhabited by Romanians (Moldavia, Transylvania and Wallachia).
Afterwards,[12] they were received in the Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral, in the Avram Iancu Square, by Andrei Andreicuț [pl; ro; ru], metropolitan bishop of the Metropolis of Cluj, Maramureș and Sălaj.
The participants were welcomed by representatives of the municipality of Cluj-Napoca, greeted the people of the city and offered them Romanian tricolor flags and other symbols.
[11] On 5 July, the first stage of the Centenary March ended in Căianu Mic, in Bistrița-Năsăud County, where the participants received help and support from the locals.
[14] On 7 July, the second stage began, which covered Căianu Mic, Cămărașu, Crăiești, Reghin, Târgu Mureș and Bahnea.
They also passed through Sărmășel-Gară (thus entering Mureș County), Satu Nou and Silivașu de Câmpie, where the mayor Ioan Dâmbean assisted them.
At the entrance to the city, a small march was made in front of the Ascension of the Lord Cathedral, shouting Mureș vrea Unire!
The City Council of Iași decided to send three buses collectively known as the "Union Caravan" (Caravana Unirii) to the march, each with a color of the Romanian flag (blue, yellow and red).
However, Dan Coțcaru, a journalist from the city, complained about the activities that were taking place on the march (parties and drinking) and that the buses were being ignored.
[22] On 15 July, the participants passed through Dumbrăveni and Mediaș and reached Copșa Mică, all of them in Sibiu County and walking approximately 32 km (20 mi).
[23] Coțcaru reports that the following night, in Slimnic, a drunk participant who believed his luggage was stolen threatened to kill one of the bus drivers.
[22] On 17 July, around noon,[26] the Centenary March finally reached Sibiu, thus ending the third stage and completing 300 km (190 mi).
Upon arrival, the participants received a blessing from the priest Constantin Necula [ro] at the Holy Trinity Cathedral urging them not to give up and to fight for unification.
[28] Once there, they held hands,[26] sang patriotic songs, talked with the locals[27] and shared flags, calendars and nationalist insignias.
This stage ran through Sibiu, Brezoi, Tuțulești, the Cozia Monastery, Râmnicu Vâlcea and Curtea de Argeș.
A priest invited the participants to the St. Dumitru Church and offered them a blessing, to which they responded by singing the song Când a fost să moară Ștefan ("When Stephen was about to die").
[35] Once there in the cathedral, they met the priest Adrian Enache, who talked to them about the tomb of the Wallachian ruler Neagoe Basarab, as well as the ones of kings Carol I and Ferdinand I and the queens Elisabeth and Marie.
[36][37] Despite the obstacles from the Moldovan authorities,[38][39] the Centenary March was welcomed by thousands of enthusiasts, ending in a demonstration at the Great National Assembly Square in Chișinău.
