The Union Square

The city’s central square is a celebration place of national unity. The Union Hora was first danced here in 1857 and in January 1859 in front of Bacalu Inn (today, the parking lot in front of Victoria Cinema) at the news of Prince Cuza’s double election in Bucharest. The square features three of the nation’s pillars: Emperor Trajan, the beginning of the Daco-Roman civilisation, represented in the medallions on the Hotel (1883); Prince Dragoș, the founder of Moldavia, on the marble mosaic in the pavement (1962); Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Romania’s founder, represented in the bronze statue, designed by the Italian sculptor Rafaello Romanelli (1912). The old coquettish and bohemian square has been extended and redesigned in the 1960s and today it is a place for meeting and socializing. (PHOTO : Andrei CUCU)