University Square (Romanian language: Piaţa Universităţii) is located in downtown Bucharest, near the University of Bucharest.
The four statues depict Ion Heliade Rădulescu (1879), Michael the Brave (1874), Gheorghe Lazăr (1889) and Spiru Haret (1932).
The square was the site of the 1990 Golaniad, a peaceful student protest against the ex-communists in the Romanian government. The demonstrations ended violently when miners from the Jiu Valley were called in by president Ion Iliescu to restore order in Bucharest (see: Mineriad).
The Ion Luca Caragiale Bucharest National Theatre and the Intercontinental Hotel are also located near University Square.
University Square marks the northeastern boundary of the Old Center of Bucharest.
In the 15th century, here was the northern limit of the city. Around 1700, the limit was already around what is today Roman Square. Thought to define the axes north-south and east-west of the city after 1880, "the great crossroad" (Romanian: marea intersecție), follows the Haussmannian scenario of urban modernization – in the spirit of Parisian influence specific those times. This intersection has never evolved as a monumental square, but emerged as a road junction, the most important of the capital, by its location in the geometric center of the city.
Source: Wikipedia
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