- Charles de Gaulle Square
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Millennium Cross in the Charles de Gaulle square
Charles de Gaulle Square (Romanian: Piaţa Charles de Gaulle) is a square in northern Bucharest, Romania. It lies at the intersection of Aviatorilor, Constantin Prezan and Primăverii Boulevards, and Calea Dorobanţilor.
In the centre of the square stands Paul Neagu's Crucea Mileniului (Millennium Cross), built in the 1990s. In September 2006, on the occasion of the Francophonie Summit held in Bucharest, a statue of Charles de Gaulle was unveiled. Sculpted by Mircea Spătaru, it is 4.6 m high and was financed by the government.[1]
Contents
Neighbourhood
Overview of the area around the SquareHerăstrău Park is located to the northwest of the square, Arcul de Triumf is located in its own square a few hundred metres to the west, on Constantin Prezan Boulevard, while Piaţa Victoriei, where the Romanian Government headquarters is situated, is located south, at the end of Aviatorilor Boulevard.
The state-owned Romanian Television is located about 100 metres to the southeast, on Calea Dorobanţilor. The Primăverii neighbourhood, which used to include the houses of the Communist nomenklatura, is located to the northeast.
Charles de Gaulle Plaza, an office building inaugurated in 2004, is located in the southeastern part of the Square and the Aviatorilor metro station is located right underneath the Square, oriented from north to south.
Name
Charles de Gaulle statueThe square was originally Piaţa Jianu, from Iancu Jianu, a haiduc (brigand) and folk hero who fought together with Tudor Vladimirescu in the 1821 Wallachian Revolution. In the early 1940s it was renamed Piaţa Adolf Hitler, but its original name was restored shortly after 23 August 1944, when Romania joined the Allies and turned against the Axis Powers.
However, following the Soviet occupation of Romania, its name was changed in 1948 to Piaţa Stalin, lasting until the early 1960s, when Romania began to assert a more independent foreign policy vis-à-vis the Soviet Union and it was renamed Piaţa Aviatorilor, Aviators' Square.
Its final name change happened in the late 1990s, the square being renamed after Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French Forces and first president of the French Fifth Republic.
Notes
- ^ "Monumentul 'Charles de Gaulle' inaugurat in piaţa cu acelaşi nume" ("Charles de Gaulle Monument Unveiled in Eponymous Square", HotNews.ro, September 26, 2006.
External links
- Charles de Gaulle Square, aerial view from the north
- (Romanian) Arhitextdesign - Cladire birouri Piata Charles de Gaulle Bucuresti, and an image of it
Geography of Bucharest, Romania Sectors of Bucharest 
Districts (quarters): Aviaţiei • Băneasa • Berceni • Bucureştii Noi • Centrul Civic • Colentina • Cotroceni • Crângaşi • Dămăroaia • Dealul Spirii • Dorobanţi • Dristor • Drumul Taberei • Dudeşti • Ferentari • Floreasca • Ghencea • Giuleşti • Giurgiului • Griviţa • Iancului • Lipscani • Militari • Moşilor • Obor • Odăi • Olteniţei • Pantelimon • Pipera • Primăverii • Progresul • Rahova • Regie • Tei • Titan • Vitan • VăcăreştiSquares: Charles de Gaulle • Constituţiei • Revoluţiei • Romană • Rosetti • Unirii • University Square • Victory Square • Quito SquareMajor streets: Şoseaua Kiseleff • Lipscani • Bulevardul Magheru • Calea Moşilor • Bulevardul Unirii • Calea VictorieiHills: Rivers: Lakes: listParks and forests: Băneasa Forest (Codrii Vlăsiei) • Bordei Park • Botanical Garden • Carol Park • Cişmigiu Gardens • Giuleşti Park • Herăstrău Park • Grădina Icoanei • Tineretului Park • Vitan ParkSee also: Coordinates: 44°27′58.23″N 26°5′10.82″E / 44.466175°N 26.0863389°E
Categories:- Squares in Bucharest
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