Revolution Square and Memorial of Rebirth

Revolution Square, or Piata Revolutiei, is a major public space on Calea Victoriei in Sector 1 of Bucharest, Romania, and the central site of the December 1989 revolution that ended the communist regime. The square was previously known as Palace Square and is bordered by the former Royal Palace (now the National Museum of Art of Romania), the Central University Library, the Athenaeum nearby, the Athénée Palace Hotel and the former Central Committee building of the Romanian Communist Party. On 21 December 1989 Nicolae Ceausescu addressed a rally from the balcony of that building; the crowd began to jeer, the broadcast was cut, and protests escalated. On 22 December Ceausescu and his wife Elena escaped from the roof by helicopter, and they were tried and executed on 25 December. The Memorial of Rebirth, a 25-metre white marble and steel pillar inaugurated in 2005 and designed by Alexandru Ghilduş, rises from a pedestal topped by a structure that critics nicknamed the 'potato on a stick'; it is dedicated to the victims of the revolution. Its design has been controversial in Romania. Nearby are the Equestrian Statue of King Carol I, restored in 2010, and the former Royal Palace, whose facade and the library were damaged in the fighting and have since been restored. Bullet marks and commemorative plaques remain around the square, and the nearby Kretzulescu Church and the University Library show the extent of the restoration. The square is an open-air site with no ticketed entry. Interpretation is limited to plaques and monuments, so a local guide or a prior reading of the events of December 1989 greatly enriches the visit. It is also a living public square used for protests, commemorations and events, particularly on the anniversary of the revolution in December.